A Beautiful, but Lost Turkey

For some reason, my heart  has been in Turkey this morning. Between my junior and senior years of college, I spent 6 weeks doing an internship on the Asian side of Istanbul, Turkey. I went with an organization called MUP (Missions to Unreached Peoples) that is based out of Seattle. There were about 13 of us on the trip, from all over the US, all of varying ages ranging from 18-mid 40's. I did not feel like we accomplished much in the areas of outreach, but rather it was definitely more of an informative trip where we learned about Turkish culture and did a lot of touring of southern and southwestern Turkey (Antalya, Fetiyeh, Cappadocia, Ephesus, Marmaris, Corinth, Bodrum). I have some of the best memories there, because the land itself is AWESOME and so beautiful.

But the people of Turkey are very lost. It is a semi-closed country... you may not speak the Word of God to anyone in pubic, missionaries are there under the guise of certain businesses because missionaries themselves are not allowed. With a population of about 12.8 million, Istanbul currently only has 3 churches. All three are disguised, and the congregations meet in unidentified buildings. 99% of the country is considered Muslim, but Secularism is becoming very popular. Turkey desperately needs the gospel.

Here are some pictures of the places that our team visited while there.

This is on the island of Buyukada, meaning "Big Island" because it is the largest of the Prince's Islands in the Sea of Marmara. Motorized vehicles are prohibited, so the only forms of transportation are by foot, horse drawn carriages, bicycling, and donkeys. It was absolutely beautiful, with bougainvillea flowering everywhere, and tree lined streets, like in this picture.

This is a "hotel" of sorts that our team stayed at when we were touring Fetiyeh, in southwestern Turkey. It was actually more like a Bed and Breakfast because it was so small, with only 5 bedrooms. Our meals were served outside on the back patio as well, and the meals came with the lodging cost. One of my best memories is from this hotel. It was really fun, because we were the only guests there. The first night we got there, the owner went out to the pavillion next to the pool and began BLASTING the Gypsy Kings over the loud speaker. It was weird and wonderful all at the same time... listening to latin flavors of music in a Turkish setting.

These two pictures are from Ephesus. The first in a picture of the public toilets that were built in 1C AD. There was a fee to use them. There was also a pool in the middle of the room. So I'm not sure if you would go to the bathroom, and then go for a swim?? Not real sure there... but it was amazing to walk around and see these old buildings. The second picture is of the Great Theatre, that was supposedly the first one to be built in the Hellenistic period in third century B.C during the reign of Lysimachos. But it was enlarged during the Roman period to what is seen today.

And last, but definitely not least, is a picture of the Blue Mosque, which is located on the European side of Istanbul. It was built between the years 1609-1616. While still used as a mosque, it has also become a very large tourist attraction.

Please join with me as we pray for the people of Turkey today.

No recipe yet. I'll put one on tonight! :)