Side by Side

Side (see-deh), a small city, both ancient and modern. The locals don't pay much attention to the ancient city...they are too busy trying to make money from the tourists. Side is a popular tourist attraction and is situated on the Mediterranean Sea in south-east Turkey.
The impressive and abundant ruins in Side are from a Hellenistic, then Roman city which included a Great Theater, a market place and two temples. There was a colonnade along the main street and arbors to shade people who were shopping. Now there are only ruins. But as your bus passes by innumerable ruins, with your guide telling you what they are, you start to get a feel for the ancient city and what it must have looked like. And then, just before you enter the Turkish Market, you pass through this impressive entryway. Our big tour bus passed through this portal with inches to spare!

The Turkish Market here has open doorways, with shopkeepers shouting out to us to come in and buy something.
"You want a rug? We have beautiful rugs"..."Lady needs a purse?"....
"Try our Turkish-Delight!" And the bustling little market place is all the more confusing because cars keep coming down the little one-lane road while you are trying to navigate from shop to shop. There isn't enough room for the tourists and the cars but that doesn't matter, it is a bustling, confusing, shoppers paradise!

Our group of missionary couples followed our enthusiastic guide down the street because she is taking us to the ruins of two old temples down by the harbor. We see nothing to indicate there are temples close by and you can't see them from the marketplace...

...but as we round a corner along the water's edge, we get our first glimpse of the Temples of Apollo & Athena, and it is a startling sight. It is steps away from the marketplace where the land juts out a little into the Mediterranean. It is said Anthony and Cleopatra used to meet at these temples. There were no entrance fees, no security, no fencing around it, just this beautiful monument for people to come wander through...
And here we are side by side in front of the Temple of Athena with the beautiful Mediterranean Sea behind us. Can you believe it? What kind of mission is this? It is a WONDERFUL mission.

The coastline is beautiful, it's no wonder Cleopatra and Mark Anthony wanted to meet here.










On the bus ride here, our guide handed out Turkish Delight, a very sweet candy. She said, when sugar was introduced in the late 18th century, Turkey confectioners started experimenting with new kinds of sweets. According to local legend, the kitchens of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire made a very sweet candy out of fruit, pistachios, and sugar, to keep the Sultans many wives happy. A British traveler came to Istanbul and took a large amount of this candy back to Britain and labeled it "Turkish-delight." And now it comes in many flavors and is eaten around the world.

These hanging lights were really pretty and Elder Davis wanted to buy one. But how would we get it home? Too hard to ship...

Sister Davis bought a jeweled camel trinket box to remind her of the camels that were at Aspendos, two scarves and a magnet. Turkey is a part of the European Union and accepts Euros but we hadn't had a chance to get any Euros so we were stuck with a few American coins and a Visa card.

We needed to get some pictures of the Great Theater. It is said that this is where the Apostle Paul taught the Romans in this part of the Roman empire. Wooden arches were constructed to keep the stones in place. This theater was not in as good of shape as the one in Aspendos.

Can you imagine Paul or other early Christians coming through this entrance to speak to the Romans? Back then, people were eager to have visitors come to the main theater in town to entertain and orate. And these big Roman theaters were designed with great acoustics, so the big guy in front row could hear as well as the little guy on the top row.


Everyone back on the bus...the last couple on, got a round of "Here we sit like birds in the wilderness" from all of us in our seats who had been waiting for them. Who says old missionaries aren't any fun?
And on our way back to the resort, Elder Davis puts his camera up to the window and starts taking pictures of the "real" Turkey, what the houses look like, signs and scenery. It's these pictures that give you a feel for the country we are in.












A typical modern Turkish home with multiple hot water heaters on the roof. Some of the buildings are apartment buildings.






And this brings it all into perspective. No matter how much fun you are having, reality sets in and you realize ... we all have laundry to do!