2010 - Turkey - Day 5 - Pergamum, Turkey

History of Turks—1071 AD was taken from the Byzantine Empire by the Turks from Mongolia. After 200 years, it became the Ottoman Empire until World War 1. Today was a long travel day. Total miles were 300 miles traveled by bus. We left our hotel at 8:00 am. and drove south along the coast with our final destination being Kusadasi. At 10:00 am. we had a quick bathroom break, and at noon we stopped for lunch at a little town nearby Pergamum. We sat in the restaurant with our group and ate our sandwiches. The owner of the restaurant sang to us, which was nice. There was also a little shop next to the restaurant and I bought a bag for church, and a really pretty glass blue flower wall hanging. Just a few minutes down the road we saw the hilltop where the acropolis of Pergamum is. It was a big city and the “capital” where the ruler and temples were on the hilltop. This city is mentioned in the Old Testament, being a wicked city, and our guide said the first Christian martyr was killed in this city, by being cooked alive in a big bronze statue of a bull. I think he said his name was Antioch. There is not a lot left, just a few foundations to the city walls and towers and buildings. But it was all original, not reconstructed. It’s always cool to see stones and walls built thousands of years ago. We spent about an hour walking through the Acropolis. We had 30 minutes afterward to look at the vendors’ items and use the bathroom. I didn’t want anything, so I found a spot with a nice view away from most of the crowds. There were a few cats there that I took pictures of. The cats here are pretty friendly, but skinny and some are skittish. I watched them trying to catch bugs to eat, and even licking bugs off the front of cars. I wish I had brought cat food, like some other people on our trip did. I was able to coax one cat over and pet him, and he turned out to be such a love. He was cuddling in my lap and rubbing his head again my arms. I would have taken him home in a heartbeat. We then drove another 2 hours continuing south and had another quick break. We arrived at our hotel around 7:00 pm. It is a right on the coast, in a beautiful area. We had a buffet dinner at 7:30, and I called my family that evening.