Reflections on the Trip of a Lifetime: Day 13 Assos, Alexander Troas, Troy

Contents

Assos, Alexander Troas, Troy

IMG_8103Today we visited three sites, and all were impressive. It was another big day for all of us. He didn’t let on, but I reckon it must have been a long day for Bariş, too. He did a fantastic job!


 

On this map, Assos is the southernmost site, then we came north to Troas, then further north to Troy.

Center map
Get Directions

Assos

Assos is mentioned in Acts 20. Paul sailed from here to Mitylene, Chios, then on to Miletus, which is just beyond Ephesus. Luke and his companions arrived at Assos and met Paul there, having come from Troas.

We went ahead to the ship and set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul on board there; for he had made this arrangement, intending to go by land himself. When he met us in Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene. We sailed from there, and on the following day we arrived opposite Chios. The next day we touched at Samos, and the day after that we came to Miletus. For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia; he was eager to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.

– Acts 20:13-16

These were the points on Paul’s voyage. Remember that you can zoom the map if you like.

Center map
Get Directions

We went up to the acropolis, where we saw the remains of the Temple of Athena, which was impressive, but we hardly spent any time admiring it because the view was so spectacular! The island of Lesbos is immediately across the water from Assos, and the whole landscape was completely spellbinding.

IMG_8120The town which now exists on the side of the very steep hill, was quaint and appealing. We had lunch there, of barbecued sea bass. It was exquisite! Some of the group were nervous about eating fish, for fear of bones, so we shared techniques for avoiding the problem. This opened up a whole culinary category for a couple of people, and their first foray into fish was a real treat.


 

Alexander Troas

IMG_8130It seemed, as we pulled in, that all we were going to see here was the little harbour where Paul and his companions set sail from. But there was much, much more!


 

We went up the hill behind, and explored an excavation site.

IMG_8139The Turkish site manager didn’t speak much English, but managed to show us that this frieze was depicting the shape of the leaves of a local tree. He picked one up and placed it next to the frieze to show us.


 

1528703_10202792194864173_1241018483_nMeanwhile, Bariş was being a very good sport, posing for a photograph with this canon ball… being a tour guide takes a special kind of person.


We then went further up the hill, to a site which is now beginning to be excavated. These arches are standing despite numerous earthquakes over the centuries, but soon they will get reinforced with scaffolding for safety so we were told to get our pictures now!

This building is a bath complex.

Troy

IMG_8172There is nothing about this horse that commends it as being anything like the legendary Trojan Horse, except perhaps that it is, after all, a big wooden horse that people can fit inside. If something like this had turned up outside the gates of Troy, it most certainly would have been burned down, not brought inside!

The real Trojan Horse (if there ever was one), would only have needed to be about the size of a real horse, or a little bigger – big enough to fit one or two men inside, who would open the gates of the city after dark. This one’s for the tourists…

Bariş had asked us to lower our expectations of the site before we arrived, but I found it fascinating. It’s true that we had seen lots of sites by this stage, and this one was not really much different, but it still held lots of fascination value, and a couple of “wow”s.

IMG_8202The city has been rebuilt many times throughout its many thousands of years, through many civilisations rising and falling. The archaeologists talk about 9 “Troys”, which are the nine identifiable stages in history that can be discerned in their digs. In this picture there are labels on various blocks and other features, that have been identified as III, IV, IX, etc. I found that fascinating.


IMG_8205The ramp to the city is in remarkable condition.


IMG_8207This is what it would have looked like in the day.


IMG_8214Insofar as Troy was much like other sites, it served to underscore what our Greek guide had told us way back in Athens: Every Greco-Roman city had these certain features: Agora, Odeon, Baths, Stoa, Temple, Acropolis, and so forth.

This is the Odeon. Out the front, a stoa. Directly opposite (not in view here), baths.


 

Engagement with the Text

The text for the day was Acts 16, with a focus on verses 6-10

 They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. When they had come opposite Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them; so, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.

– Acts 16:6-10

It was marvellous to put real, concrete places to these names. The New Testament locations in Turkey will never again be simply a fog of labels to me. The whole trip has provided me with an added dimension of appreciation for these narratives.


Other posts in this series:

Reflections on the Trip of a Lifetime: Day 0 Anticipation

Posted on Jan 10th, 2014 - By Kevin Bennett - 0 Comments

Expectations These are my thoughts as I pack for a Study Tour of Greece and Turkey with my Bible College: Intellectually My thinking process…

Continue Reading

Reflections on the Trip of a Lifetime: Day 1-2 Brisbane – Sydney – Abu Dhabi – Athens

Posted on Jan 11th, 2014 - By Kevin Bennett - 2 Comments

Brisbane - Sydney - Abu Dhabi - Athens Day 1 is mostly travel. In fact, it's hard to define what, precisely, is a "day" when you cross so many time…

Continue Reading

Reflections on the Trip of a Lifetime: Day 3 Corinth and Athens

Posted on Jan 12th, 2014 - By Kevin Bennett - 0 Comments

Corinth and Athens We drove down the coast to Corinth in the morning, and returned to Athens after lunch to see the Parthenon and…

Continue Reading

Reflections on the Trip of a Lifetime: Day 4 The Oracle of Delphi

Posted on Jan 13th, 2014 - By Kevin Bennett - 0 Comments

The Oracle of Delphi We headed out from Athens, and in a two hour trip we saw an amazing landscape change from cityscape, to countryside, to…

Continue Reading

Reflections on the Trip of a Lifetime: Day 5 Athens – Istanbul – Cappadocia

Posted on Jan 14th, 2014 - By Kevin Bennett - 0 Comments

Athens - Istanbul - Cappadocia Just as we started to get used to Athens, we were off into the great unknown territory of Turkey. Unknown, that is,…

Continue Reading

Reflections on the Trip of a Lifetime: Day 6 Kaymakli, Sultanhani Caravanserai, Konya

Posted on Jan 15th, 2014 - By Kevin Bennett - 0 Comments

Kaymakli, Sultanhani Caravanserai, Konya For many in the group, the day began with a hot air balloon ride! They tell me it was amazing, and…

Continue Reading

Reflections on the Trip of a Lifetime: Day 7 Mevlana Museum, Pisidian Antioch

Posted on Jan 16th, 2014 - By Kevin Bennett - 0 Comments

Mevlana Museum, Pisidian Antioch Beforehand, I would have expected Mevlana Museum to be irrelevant, and Pisidian Antioch to be somewhat interesting.…

Continue Reading

Reflections on the Trip of a Lifetime: Day 8 Hierapolis, Pamukkale Pools, Colossae, Laodicea

Posted on Jan 17th, 2014 - By Kevin Bennett - 0 Comments

Hierapolis, Pamukkale Pools, Colossae, Laodicea Oh my goodness, what a day!   Hierapolis Hierapolis is mentioned in the Bible only…

Continue Reading

Reflections on the Trip of a Lifetime: Day 9 Philadelphia, Sardis, Kusadasi

Posted on Jan 18th, 2014 - By Kevin Bennett - 0 Comments

Philadelphia, Sardis, Kusadasi Happy birthday to me! January 18th is my birthday, and someone on tour happened to ask, just a couple of…

Continue Reading

Reflections on the Trip of a Lifetime: Day 10 Ephesus

Posted on Jan 19th, 2014 - By Kevin Bennett - 0 Comments

  Ephesus Just when you think you've got no more "wow", there's Ephesus... The whole site is like a visual feast. It reminded me of those…

Continue Reading

Reflections on the Trip of a Lifetime: Day 11 Patmos

Posted on Jan 20th, 2014 - By Kevin Bennett - 2 Comments

Patmos We had an early start, so that we had time for the four hour boat ride to Patmos from Kusadasi... and four hours back again! We passed…

Continue Reading

Reflections on the Trip of a Lifetime: Day 12 Smyrna, Thyateria, Pergamon

Posted on Jan 21st, 2014 - By Kevin Bennett - 0 Comments

Smyrna (Izmir), Thyateria, Pergamon (Bergama) It's a big day when you visit three sites. On top of that, two out of these particular three were…

Continue Reading

Reflections on the Trip of a Lifetime: Day 13 Assos, Alexander Troas, Troy

Posted on Jan 22nd, 2014 - By Kevin Bennett - 4 Comments

Assos, Alexander Troas, Troy Today we visited three sites, and all were impressive. It was another big day for all of us. He didn't let on, but I…

Continue Reading

Reflections on the Trip of a Lifetime: Day 14 Gallipoli

Posted on Jan 23rd, 2014 - By Kevin Bennett - 4 Comments

Gallipoli Without any hesitation I can state that this was the most moving and emotional day of the tour. Gallipoli is special. Here it…

Continue Reading

Reflections on the Trip of a Lifetime: Day 15 (and 16) Istanbul

Posted on Jan 25th, 2014 - By Kevin Bennett - 0 Comments

 Istanbul This is quite a town! It has twice the population of the largest city in Australia. The road rules seem to be taken as no more than a…

Continue Reading

Reflections on the Trip of a Lifetime: In Review

Posted on Mar 31st, 2015 - By Kevin Bennett - 0 Comments

The Greece and Turkey Trip in Review After we returned, I wrote a little summary of the Study Tour for my Bible College's magazine, Summa Supremo. I…

Continue Reading


 

facebook comments:

Post Tagged with  

4 Responses so far.

  1. Luca Croce says:

    Press on with these bro. They’ve been a great read.

  2. Thanks for that. I’m enjoying it! It’s a lot of work, but I think it’s really worth it.

  3. Luca Croce says:

    It’s so hard for me! I’ve just been straight back into ministry. Not complaining, I love it. But you know, priorities.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.