May 16 Antalya, Perga, Museum

It has been another amazing day, but we have a very early wake up call, so this will be short.  We visited the historic ruins of ancient Pamphylia: Antalya (biblical Attalia, Acts 14:25) and Perge. Attalia served as the port of entry to the interior of Asia. It is likely that Paul landed here and then traveled to Perga (Perge today) From here, Paul sailed back to Antioch (Acts 14:25). As our bus approached the site of Perge, we passed the ruins of an amphitheater and stadium, but this was just to tease us.  Before long we were wandering through impressive Hellenistic and Roman ruins.  There are incredible colonnaded streets, elaborate Roman baths, fountains flowing into channels of water that served to cool the streets as well as adding to the beauty.  We later visited the Archaeological Museum that had many fully intact statues and sarcophagi found during excavations.  We visited the harbor area and can only dream of what it was like in those days. I have so much more to tell, but I need some sleep.  I will leave you with these pictures for now.  

Ruins at Perga

1st Century Roman baths at Perga

Roman street at Perga

Fountain below acropolis with waterfall

Statue found at Perga

Harbor at Attalia