Travelling Pioneers

After going to Cappadocia many times, we have found that the best time of day to see Cappadocia in Turkey is at sunrise when the balloons are just rising. The trick is that the wind must be less than 7mph for this to happen. The best time of day is about 30 minutes before sunrise while it is still dark and the balloons are just firing up. Their plan is to take the tourists up so that they can watch the sun rise over Cappadocia. The Best Time of Day and Place The truth is that you don’t need to spend $300 or more to go up in a balloon yourself. There is a nice high cliff here at the edge of the city where you can watch them from the comfort of gold old terra firma. We recently went, and didn’t even need to be on that cliff. See the video below for the view from the patio of the hotel down in the valley where they launch. The time is just before sunrise when the balloons are starting to fire up. The Top Reasons to Visit Early in the Morning When it comes to seeing the fairy tale landsc

A little off the highway in the Taurus mountains of Turkey we found a lesser known known gem with a connection to the Bible called the Ivriz Rock Memorial. It is located here according to Google Maps, but this is a more precise location. After doing some research, it was surprising to learn that there is a connection to the Bible. This connection is what I want to share. The key to seeing it’s connection is to first of all understand the writing on the relief itself.  What the Rock Relief Shows On the left we see a god named Tarhunas. He has a horned helmet which was a symbol of divinity. He is holding some stocks of wheat in his left hand and grape clusters in the other. Just below his left arm we see a sickle. All of this indicates fertility and prosperity. To the right we see a person of smaller size in relation to this god, indicating inferiority. This is King Warpalawa. Notice that he is standing on a platform and is raising his hands. This is a gesture of worship. The location

Mount Ararat is probably one of the most remote places you can visit in Eastern Turkey. When visiting this place, we used the city of Doğubeyazıt as our home base since it has nice hotels and restaurants.  After being in Turkey for 5 years, I have to say that this area not only has significant sites for believers in the Bible, but some of the oldest history. The bonus is that Doğubeyazıt has delicious food and some cool, quirky sites to visit as well.  Here I want to share with you things that you MUST know and see if you can make it this far into eastern Turkey with the goal of visiting Mount Ararat. Interestingly, Jehovah started life in this area twice! Once in the Garden of Eden and second from Mount Ararat. I wrote another blog about our visit to the nearby possible location of the Garden of Eden here . Mount Ararat sits on the borders of Turkey, Iran and Armenia. It is located just North East of Lake Van, Turkey. Just to borrow a map from the old green Bible, here is it’s approx

To begin with, I would like to start with a short disclaimer about the Garden of Eden… No one really knows where the exact location of the Garden of Eden was. The book Insight on the Scriptures says “it’s location is lost to man except for the divine record of its existence.” But it’s interesting that it also says this, “The traditional location for the garden of Eden has long been suggested to have been a mountainous area some 225 km (140 mi) SW of Mount Ararat and a few kilometers S of Lake Van, in the eastern part of modern Turkey.” Insight on the Scriptures – 1, p.677   This explains why the Garden of Eden is marked where it is on the map above. Of course this is an older Bible version and there is a question mark beside it’s location. But it arouses curiousity. Why was this place chosen? So why is this location suggested? Again, the book of Genesis and the Insight book give a clue. Here it is: Genesis 2:11 – Now there was a river flowing out of Eden to water the garden, and from

This is the city where the name “Christians” came from. It is a city rich with history and I would like to present to you the 3 best things to see in Antakya to really experience it. Most Bible readers refer to it as Syrian Antioch. We were just 5 miles from the Syrian border, so we were a little nervous. However there was really nothing to worry about. There are amazing things to see here both new and old and list all of them below. Enjoy. 1. The Church of St Peter (Saint Pierre Kilisesi) Where is it located? This “church” is actually a cave. It is located here. It was carved into the mountain of Haç ( translation: ‘Mountain of the Cross’). Much like the early Christian history of Cappadocia, Christians met in caves. As Christendom does with most Christian sites, they built a church on it. A little disappointing, but expected. To really see the cave, you must go inside the church. Was this really where the 1st century Christians met? There is no exact way to know. The assumption is b

Cappadocia is the most surreal sight you will see in Turkey. But even more interesting is it’s very early Christian history. This was a pivotal place where Christianity accepted the trinity doctrine and became part of the political world. Something Jesus had warned about. I want to share this with you how this region, buzzing with true Christians in the first century, witnessed the fall of Christianity in Cappadocia. It started with the rise of the trinity doctrine, the melding of the political world and Christianity, and the worship of imagery. I present it here in a timeline. Enjoy. 700 BC Jews in Cappadocia For the first time in the Bible we read about this region as the Land of Tubal at Isaiah 66:19. Many historians believe this refers the region of Cappadocia * . An early Jewish establishment would form the base of Jewish Christians that were to emerge in the first century. Here is a map showing the likely location of Tubal as known to the Hebrew nation of Israel. 33 CE Christian

Aizanoi (or Aezani) is an ancient Greek city in Turkey with a few of interesting tidbits of history. It is located here . We visited this city on our way back to our home in Konya . I want to share with you a couple must-see items that make it a great stop. The Penkalas Bridge of Aizanoi Of all the restorations made to this city, this one has been given the most attention. And that restoration comes with an interesting story. According to an incription the bridge was built by the Roman merchant Apuleius Eurykles * . He built it in the second century after surviving a nearth death experience at sea. His legacy had an effect on a Turkish businessman who survived a similar incident at sea in recent times. So the businessman decided to restore the bridge out of his own pocket * . He somehow felt a connection to this bridge-builder. Here is the result: Aizanoi bridge built by Apuleius Eurykles Thousands of years of wagon wheels have worn into the rock. Modern inscription at the base of the