Ephesus, Priene, and some Churchy Churches

Another post about Turkey...shocking! 

Thursday of our trip, we woke up to a lovely Aqua Fantasy breakfast buffet.  Or in my case...I hurriedly ran to the buffet, sneakily stuffed food into my bag, and ran to hop on the bus.  Mornings are not my strong point.  I enjoy sleep a little too much!

The first stop of the day was Ephesus! Oh man, I loved Ephesus! Ephesus was the coolest because it is ancient ruins, but so much has been excavated, so it was really easy to imagine the city that was there.

This was right outside Ephesus, but it cracked me up. At least they are honest! hahaha

A lot of the sites that we see I start to feel like Donkey (from Shrek), "I like that boulder, that is a nice boulder." I feel like, "I like that ruin, that is a nice ruin." "I like that column, that is a nice column." It starts to blend together, and I feel like I have to lean my head and squint a little to imagine what used to be there. Ephesus was cool because you could see so much of what used to be there! 

I thought this was a pretty cool shot. 

Yes. Toilets.

The Library of Celsus.

Another one of my favorite aspects of Ephesus was that Paul also went to Ephesus as part of his mission.  It was the coolest thing reading Acts 19, while standing in Ephesus. The best part was that people were assigned roles, and this chapter was acted out, and it was amazing. It completely brought the scriptures to life. There was some chanting of, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians." And when they, "rushed with one accord into the theatre," you better believe we did the same. So great! It was definitely one of my favorite aspects of the trip.

Karen and I pointing to the picture of Ephesus in the Bible. Huge theater in the background!

Something that was so interesting to see, was that in this chapter Paul speaks of their worship to false gods, like Diana.  Walking around Ephesus, it was so easy to see how people of this time struggled with false idolatry.  There were multiple frescos of gods, and we saw multiple temples. It's no wonder the people were so confused!! Ephesus had one of these temples...the Temple to Artemis. 

On the same grounds of Ephesus was the Church of Mary.

I love the little red flowers.

Hey, look. It's a baptismal font. That's neat.

Ok. That was a lot of Ephesus pictures. But I'm sure it is not hard to see why Ephesus was one of my favorite spots. I need to track down that video of our little performance.

This day, we also went to a Priene. Priene was pretty, but after going to Ephesus it wasn't quite as grandeur. But still great! Priene was one of the locations of the Temple to Athena.

We love jumping pictures!

Camila. Love her! Our sassy Colombian.

We were all pretty warn out by this point, but we had one more stop of the day. The Church of St. John. "Apparently" this is where John was buried...but in the church...we tend to think otherwise. I'm sure if you thought that John had died...it would be a pretty cool sight though. It still was a pretty church.

We are on the antiquities...don't tell Bro. Jackson! 

It was another great day in Turkey. We got back with enough time to jump into the pool at Aqua Fantasy (I still can't get over that hotel name). It wasn't quite as warm as hoped, but it was fun getting in the pool. Then, spending the night walking along the beach (that sounds romantic, but it was definitely with all girls), and sharing stories on the pier!

Another great day amidst the ruins!

Here come the ruins!

The Turkey trip continues! So much to write and so much to remember! I just need to hurry and catch up so that I can talk about my adventures that are currently happening! I will get caught up...just you stay tuned!

Wednesday was our biggest bus day! So lots of time was spent taking naps and playing games. The cutest part of the bus ride was that at some point in the day, someone had heard our Old Testament teacher (Bro. Harper) talk about marriage and the rest of us wanted to hear what he had to say. He told us the story of him and his wife, and it was seriously THE CUTEST story. It wasn't necessarily a spectacular story, but just the way he talked about his wife and his thoughts when he first met her were the cutest. It probably helps that he is a historian, so he is good at telling stories. He told us his thoughts on marriage (which isn't an uncommon conversation in the YSA world), but we loved it, we all love hearing his thoughts on life and the gospel. It is neat to have that type of relationship with a teacher, you definitely gain a greater bond with the teachers here than you normally do at BYU. We pretty much told everyone in the other class that they need to hear the story when they have him for New Testament. (We switch teachers half way through.)

Our first stop for the day was Assos. Assos was beautiful and was the cutest little town. Assos was the first of many places that we went where there used to stand a temple. It was also one of the places that Paul went on...I believe his second mission, but don't quote me on that. It was neat to start the more spiritual places of our Turkey trip. I love that this study abroad program allows you to go to places and then open up your scriptures and read about the place. I love gaining greater light and understanding of the scriptures. Assos was the first of MANY places to have the beautiful columns. 

You can't see our faces very well...but look at that beautiful backdrop! Gorgeous!

As we were sitting reading the scriptures and Bro. Harper was talking to us, the other class started singing a song. Well, you have to understand that the other Old Testament teacher, Bro. Huntsman, sings in the Mormon Tablernacle Choir...so he loves to sing...and he loves to sing loud. So, in the background it sounded as though Bro. Huntsman was just singing to his class (when reality they were all singing). So...as Bro. Harper was speaking to us he said, "and now I will sing for you." We all just started busting up laughing. He was like, "I'm offended that you are laughing. I'm never going to sing for you now." It was great! It is so funny to see the contrast of the two religion teachers...they are so different. They are both powerful teachers...but Bro. Harper is more of an introvert and Bro. Huntsman is definitely an extrovert. They are both great, but in completely different ways.

Look at them clouds. Ear buds in...we love listening.

Assos was also the location that I partook of my first Magnum bar. It was basically life changing. I got a Double Chocolate one. Oh. My. Gosh! It was seriously heavenly. So delicious. It was a bad discovery...hello weight gain! hahaha. 

So much excitement in that face! So much deliciousness in that treat!

We boarded the bus and continued on. The next stop was Pergamum. Pergamum was another cool place with ruins...pillars from a temple...you get the idea. It also had a large, steep auditorium and a library. Pergamum was the location that there was the Altar of Zeus, but the Altar of Zeus has been moved to a museum somewhere else...so we just saw where it was.

Super windy day! I was definitely regretting the flowy skirt!

Super steep theater!

I love the arches!

I guess this is where the Altar of Zeus was. 

Those were our only two stops of the day. Like I said, it was a big bus day. But no worries...the day ended with us arriving at our hotel for two days...Aqua Fantasy. Ya, our hotel was called Aqua Fantasy. Isn't that funny? I'm not quite sure how to explain this hotel. The name for it's hotel is mainly because of the fact that it has a water park (which we never got to use). It was a pretty big hotel! The meals were kind of like a cruise...but not quite a delicious as a cruise. There were a couple of places that you could eat and it was like big buffet style. It was kind of crazy! There were so many people and you had to search around for what you wanted to eat, and sometimes wait in line for some foods. There were many desserts...but we came to see pretty fast that looks can be deceiving. Most of the desserts in Turkey looked good...but did not taste that amazing.

Aqua Fantasy was also along the beach! So, lots of time was spent just chilling on the piers, and exploring the hotel. There were pools...but they closed at like 7. I badly wanted a spa to sit in...but no such luck! Neither of the hotels had one...it must not be the thing around here. I don't know! The hotel had like karaoke and dancing...but they were mostly at bars. There was some little kid performance that we passed by. It was a happening hotel! We mostly just enjoyed sitting on the pier and getting to know each other better!

I was a fun day! A good balance of relaxing on the bus and visiting sites! Visiting sites ALL DAY tires me out...so I enjoy the balance.

More ruins to come...with one of my favorites...Ephesus!

Gallipoli, Troy, Dance Party...more Turkey adventures!

(weird font sizes and spacing again...oh well, I'm over it.)


I still have a lot of Turkey adventures to go! So...here goes another day of exploration!


Tuesday we were on the bus and off for a new city. Welcome to a week of living out of a suitcase and spending no more than two nights at each hotel. 

The morning was mostly spent on the bus. We spent a little time sleeping, but the “bus committee” was cute and organized little games that we played throughout the day. We played the picture-sentence game (I really don’t remember what it is actually called). We had another game where they played 15 seconds of 20 different songs and we had to write down the name of the song and the artist. We had Ann Marie on our team, so we were really good. We had to have a tie breaker with another team...and I won it for us. “Summer Nights” by Rascal Flats. I love me some country! Our amazing prize was that we got to go to the front of the line at bathroom stops...ya, you’re really jealous right now. With this many girls, the lines for the bathroom are always long...so the prize is funny, but semi-legit. But we never ended up using it. Plus, it’s really not that big of a deal to wait in a bathroom line. At one point in the day we even made up a little “flash mob” dance. It was pretty entertaining. Our goal was to whip it out as soon as we passed the other classes bus...but as soon as we actually did pass the other bus, we passed them so fast that it didn’t quite work out. It was actually kind of humorous how hard we tried for it to work, and how fast we were past the bus...opportunity gone. 

The bus buddies!

The first real stop for the day (other than a few bathroom stops) was Gallipoli. In World War I, the British tried to capture Istanbul at the Gallipoli peninsula. The battle lasted about eight months with many casualties on both sides, and eventually the Allies withdrew. The site is a memorial made by the Turks, to the British that had sacrificed their lives on Turkish land. It is a neat place, and probably the most gorgeous cemetery (the bodies aren’t actually there, but there are headstones for specific people). It is right along the Aegean Sea, and it is covered with flowers. It was neat to stop and reflect on those that had lost their lives, and to think of each of those people as actual people with families and people that loved them. It was also neat to see some of the actual bunkers that the Turks would have hid out it. I could not imagine living in one of those! So tiny and claustrophobic. Why can’t we all just get along? :)

We hurriedly left Gallipoli, and our whole bus drove onto the charter that took us to the other side of Turkey...I believe it took us from the Europe side to the Asia side. For some reason, it was kind of a funny experience to me. But we did it leaving and we did it going back into Istanbul...otherwise you would have to go all the way up and around the country.

After some more driving...we arrived in Troy. Troy had some cool ruins, a site that “Achilles killed Hector,” but the most memorable part was climbing into the large Wooden Horse that I guess was used in the movie Troy. I’m not really sure. But it was fun! 

Sometimes Pam and I like to be twins. We both own, both of those dresses. Woo Target!

Just being Achilles real quick

If you squint your eyes...I am the second from the bottom right.

After Troy we were off to our hotel for the night. Don’t even worry...our hotel was on the beach! It was way fun! We had some time before dinner so a lot of people swam (it wasn’t super warm, but I think most people wanted to swim, just because we could), we walked along the little pier, and just chilled at the hotel. We ate dinner at the buffet at the hotel (I think these hotels had all-inclusive meals...because we ate a lot of meals at our hotels).

Just a little modeling.

Some aspects of this trip just made me want to go on a relaxing, warm vacation. Probably because it is that time of year...and being a tourist is more tiring. We were at some nicer, beach hotels...but it wasn’t super warm...and we didn’t have that much time to just lay out in the sun. I understand why my parents always go on tropical vacations. More relaxing...and warm! Hey parents...Hawaii in August? hahaha.

The most exciting part of the night was when it go dark the hotel set up a bonfire for us...and let us have a dance party! (It was a pretty small hotel). So, we spent hours dancing...it was the most epic dance party. Dancing...on the beach...with a bonfire...in Turkey. Ya, it was definitely way fun and unforgettable. I was so surprised that the hotel allowed that, but they loved it. One kid in our group kept getting us to follow him, so we would all just follow his dance moves, and the hotel staff loved it! They even recorded us and would ask us to do it again! 

It was a fun night! Definitely the best night in Turkey! 

Ode to Amy.

Today is Amy's birthday.

Amy got lucky and is getting her own post instead of a shout out or shared post. Lucky, lucky her. 

Amy is...25? Ya, that sounds right. Man, I'm losing track! Girl, you're getting old! Our family is getting old...how did that happen? Three of us are in our 20's now. What the heck?!

Oh man. Like all of my family...I could go on and on about Amy.

Amy is the best. I have always looked up to her. Probably more than she even realizes.

She just has the whole package. She is so gorgeous. She is spunky and fun to be around. She is always ready to do something fun. She is smart and has always done well in school. She is determined and motivated...she just keeps whipping out more school. She is confident. She is athletic...hello marathons. She is a rock in the gospel.

She is a peacemaker. She has always been the one to stop contention and drama. She was/is patient with us as we have gone through our dramatic teenage years.

She is the cutest mom and wife...they have the cutest little family (too much use of the word "cute" but you get the idea).

Basically I just love her...A LOT. 

Happy Birthday Ames! 

Gorgeous bride. Attractive couple. Best family!

This picture just cracks me up and had to be posted. The chunky legs, the cry for help, Amy's smirk,  Kara's face...too good! 

Just Ames and I.

I'm home...at the JC.

Sunday we got back from spending a week in Turkey. Yep. I just spent the last week in Turkey. Isn't that kind of weird? I don't think I ever grew up thinking..."hey, I hope to travel to Turkey some day." 

Nope. That thought never crossed my mind.

I think I remember when I was younger hearing that Turkey was the name of a country...and I thought it was so funny that there was a country named after a food. 

But let me tell you...I just spent a week in Turkey...and I did not see a single Turkey. And Turkey is not a common dish. So, all of my childhood logic of the country Turkey being associated with the animal Turkey has been squandered. 

But man...it was well worth the trip. Before going to Turkey...I was excited, but I had no idea what to expect. Now I am certain that Turkey is a hidden gem. I loved it! 

My week consisted of lots of ruins and mosques. We went to Ephesus (Acts 19: Paul went to Ephesus on one of his missions), the Hagia Sophia (the most incredible Mosque), Gallipoli, Assos (Paul's journey), Pergamum, Priene, Nicea (we went to the locations of the 1st and 7th Nicean Councils), the Blue Mosque...and more.

If those names don't all ring a bell...then you are in the same boat that I was in before going to Turkey.

I am overwhelmed by all that I want to say...and to me this is compensation for being awful at journaling..so there are many Turkey posts on their way! Get ready! I won't be offended if you skim through and look at the pictures...because let me tell you, this is a longin'.

Here we go...


(for the life of me...I can't figure out why the fonts and spacing are so weird...they look normal when I edit them...it's really bothering me...but I'm overlooking it for the sake of this blog post. Blogger is frustrating sometimes!)


Our first day was spent in Istanbul!! (Saying Istanbul makes me want to break into the “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” song...this song was frequently played on bus rides, don’t you worry.) 

We arrived in Istanbul Sunday night and we were probably way too giddy to be there. Everyone was making me laugh, so that was probably a sign that I was tired. We also have some pretty funny people in our group that seriously just crack me up.

We are in Turkey. So we are being Turkeys. Obviously.

We are real excited.

We boarded the bus (that would soon become all too familiar to us), and headed to a place for dinner. We learned really fast, that dinner was not just one plate of food...but a five course meal...almost every time. Dinner consisted of Bread, Lentil Soup, Salad, Dinner (generally a meat and rice combo), and then dessert. I think many of us were not expecting all the food that was to come, so some people thoroughly binged on soup and bread and when the real meal came around, they were a little too full to eat.


Right after dinner, we headed for the hotel, because it was already like 10 o’clock. Like I said, we were a little giddy. So, as my roommate and I entered our room, we could not, for the life of us, figure out how to get the lights on. We peaked out into the hall, as various other kids were having the same problem. I guess we are kind of pathetic because one of the members of the hotel staff came around to help us. Well, we are pretty dumb, because we were just supposed to stick our key into the slot next to the light switches. Granted, it was dark, and we didn’t realize that was a key slot. Ok, now we understand...but the dumbness did not end. We thought you just stuck in the key to turn the lights on, but then we would pull the key out. Well, as you might imagine, within the minutes, the lights were out again, allowing us to start cracking up that we couldn’t figure out the lights. This happened a couple of times, each time leaving us in hysterics...tears were probably rolling down my face. Finally, we realized that you have to leave the key in the slot. Imagine that. Why had this not occurred to us? I have no idea. But it sure did provide many laughs. We found that our hotel rooms tended to provide laughs throughout the week. Often times the laughs were brought about when shower time came around. 

This brought way too much laughter for our own good. 

The only picture I took of one of our rooms. I thought it was funny that a lot of the rooms had two twin beds,  I guess they don't encourage romantic get aways for people.

Anyways...the next morning was a full day in Istanbul. (Saying Istanbul makes me want to break into the “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” song...this song was frequently played on bus rides, don’t you worry.) The day was started at a Mosque...and sadly, I cannot think of the name of it...so for now...it was just a Mosque. A pretty mosque. It has been neat to go to several Mosques, and gain a greater appreciation for Islam.

I thought this was a fun shot. I especially like the peek-a-boo heads of Blake and Jon.

We then ventured to the Grand Bazaar. It sure was Grand...and Bazaar. Basically it was just a great big market. It was more wide open then the markets in the Old City. The Old City is super crowded, but this was large and wide. We were given very specific instruction as to where we would meet and at what time. (Apparently the year before a couple of girls got lost in the Grand Bazaar and put the group like an hour behind...ya, it’s that big.) Then, we were let loose. I didn’t end up getting anything, but it was fun to look around. The Turks really love their soccer, and the night before was a big win for one of the teams. So, there were lots of people running through the Bazaar with a huge team flag, dancing and singing. It was great! They sure do love their soccer! 

I was tempted to buy some of those round toe flats...but they were not cheap.

We then were off on a boat ride along the Dardanelles, and we saw all of Istanbul from the waters. It was quite windy and cold. I wasn’t very smart and I didn’t have my little jacket that day, so my scarf that had brought for the Mosque became my best friend. Istanbul is cool, because part of it is in Europe and the rest is in Asia. Most of Turkey is part of Asia, but a little bit of it is part of Europe. So, along the Straits of Dardanelles, we had Europe on one side and Asia on the other. Throughout the day we ventured to both sides...so I can now say that I have been to Europe. Bam! Also, I live in Asia, which is kind of weird, because most people forget that the Middle East is part of Asia. I forget that I am in Asia. 

Next on the agenda was the Topkapi Palace. This palace was the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for approximately 400 years. The grounds for the Palace were very pretty. The palace mostly consisted of rooms that you could go in, to see jewelry, clothing, and various objects that the Sultans owned.  All of the jewelry and items that were displayed were gorgeous. In one room their was the largest diamond that I have ever beheld, and will ever behold in my entire life. It was huge!! There was also a golden baby cradle...I’m sure it is completely necessary to sleep in a cradle of gold. 

In another room...there was the staff of Moses...yep, you heard it. I beheld the staff of Moses, and the head dress of Joseph of Egypt...ha!! Like I actually believe that. But whatever. They also had like a hair from Muhammad and random other stuff. I would like to know where they claimed to have gotten this stuff. 

It was fun to go to. It was mostly like a museum. But I enjoyed it! 

This was a very filled day...so next on the list...was the Basilica Cistern. I really liked the Cistern. They have it lit really pretty. It is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city. It has the capacity to hold 80,000 cubic meters of water, and it has 336 marble columns...so ya, it’s large. It also has some Medusa heads in it...but no worries, I looked at her eyes and didn't turn into stone. Dodged that bullet.

The last stop for the day was the Hippodrome of Constantinople. What the heck is a hippodrome? I feel the need to preface everything that I saw, because I know that I would have no idea what a hippodrome is, so I hope everything sounds cooler when I give you a little background...if it bores you...then continue on to the pictures...I won’t be offended. I probably say way more than anyone that reads this cares to know...but mostly I do it for my own benefit. 

A hippodrome was a Greek stadium for horse racing and chariot racing. This hippodrome is no longer there, but the general area is still there. In the center of this hippodrome are monuments that were once in the center part of the hippodrome, they were brought from all over the world for enjoyment. These include a monument that was brought over from Egypt (our little taste of Egypt, since we don’t actually get to go to Egypt), and a Serpent Column (which was brought from the Temple of Apollo). 

Then, we were off to dinner where we were given our first taste of Baklava for dessert. Most of the desserts in Turkey were very deceiving. They usually appeared to be good, but ended up not being that great...but Baklava was not one of those. Baklava was delicious. 

Please disregard the hunchback...it was merely my J-Pack (water bottle carrier).

That was our first...long...day in Istanbul. It was definitely our longest day, because we didn’t spend any time in the bus...while the rest of the week was split between bus rides and stops. We were all quite a bit worn out, and ready for a day of traveling. But it was a good day! I was probably way too excited to crash in my bed that night! 

(Believe it or not this post just covered Sunday night to Monday...so more posts to come! Don't you even fret! I probably would whip them all out now...but I really need to be responsible and do homework!)