The structure of Muslims in society (about 95+ percent of people consider themselves Muslim):
1) 5-10% are devout, orthodox Muslims who never miss a prayer for any reason, preach the religion to others, the women typically cover all bits of skin on their bodies, only read religious texts, and almost never socialize with members of the opposite sex
2) 15-20% are devout but not orthodox, so they attend all prayers everyday, but will miss prayers if they are working, etc. However, they wouldn't necessarily preach their religion to others, the women would likely just cover their hair and bodies, but not with a full veil. All in all, a bit more liberal.
3) 35-40% are even more secular, not necessarily visiting a mosque very often (once a week maybe), they might not dress in the traditional Muslim way, and are more likely to watch western television and other mediums. However, these people are still accected into the Muslim community, since they may still believe in the main cornerstones of Muslim society (see below for more!)
4) 20% still identify themselves as Muslims, but don't feel accepted in the Muslim culture, since they are barely recognizable as Muslims based on outside appearance. These people often do not believe the practices of covering up, polygamous relationships, and intense relgious activity are ancient practices that don't have tact anymore, so they feel shunned in a way.
There are five main beliefs, or pillars, if Islam:
1) praying five times daily, usually at these times: sunrise, noon, afternoon, sunset, and evening. All of these must be done in the direction of Mecca.
2) Fasting during the month of Ramadan. From sunrise to sunset, Muslims are forbidden from eating or drinking anything (unless they must for medical reasons) as a means of retracting within yourself to become closer to God and become one with the faith. To compensate, some families prepare food and beverages before sunrise and after sunset for sustainance and celebration of the event.
3) If one is economically and physically capable, they must make a pilgrimagw, called a hajj, to Mecca to visit the Kaba, an ancient shrine to Mohammed and his travels, and the participate in a ceremonial walk around it, called the circoambulation ceremony.
4) Almsgiving to the poor: during Mohammed's time, he was known for giving anything he had to the needy (as he was very poor during his childhood).
5) Allah is the only God, and Mohammed is his prophet, the last of all the monotheistic religions.
Even though women appear in the modern day to have few rights in society, Islamic law says otherwise:
-When a girl's father dies, she has just as much of a right to the inheritance as her brothers.
-Although women are required to cover their ornaments, including their appealing qualities of their bodies, Christian and Jewish women were also required to do so. For example, Mother Mary is always shown with her hair covered with a light blue or white cloth.
-Women can testify in court as a witness, something that was unheard of in the world around 600 AD.
-Women had the right to divorce her husband, just as he had the right to divorce her, again never heard of in the ancient world.
These mountains are the Taurus Mountains, the range running along the southern half of the country. These mountains are all connected to the Himalayan Mountains, since they are all caused by the same tectonic forces.
All of these rundown homes were damaged in an earthquake more than 15 years ago, but were never repaired. These areas are all earthquake prone, but the only real damage that comes from these episodes is these more rundown, often illegal homes.
Nearly all of Turkey is made of marble and limestone. Local miners take advantage by hauling these rocks out if the quarries and are used as building material.
This is the modern entrance gate to the Roman city named Hieropolis, meaning "The Sacred City." It was originally built by the Greeks as a city where people could come seeking the health benefits of the warm, nutrient rich waters that run through here (you'll see what I mean). Later, the Romans took over the city, building up this city during their Imperial Period during the 1st through 5th centuries AD.
These walls were build by the Romans during the 2nd century AD. These were built so quickly they literally built the walls directly through a school gymnasium in an effort to fortify and protect the city from harm.
These are the remains of a Roman public bath built during the 1st century AD. It is now used as an archeological museum for the historic site.
This is the a photo from the base of the Theater in the city. This massive building is even more beautiful from the inside, believe me.
Told ya... There are four features of this theater that make it stand out apart from other Greek theaters:
1) If you zoom in to the stage, you can see some floral patterns on the tops of the pillars on the stage. These are called composite style pillars (Greeks typically had simple, square tops to their pillars).
2) The acoustics of this theater are marvelous. You can literally hear a coin drop on the stage from the back row.
3) The reliefs above the stage are almost excessively ornate, with the Roman god of theater, Dionesis looking into the crowd (the Romans loved to build very ornate and beautiful cities like this)
4). This theater was also closed in, probably with a wooded structure over the stage (since it isn't there anymore). Greek theaters were wide open.
This is a Roman fountain, called a nymphium, just inside the main gate of the city. The Romans believed what their water source was the most sacred of all, critical to their survival. So, they believed mythical nymphs protected the fountain and the water, thus protecting the residents.
Here's the latrine. That's right, the public toilet. Notice the water trough running through the middle here. This way the excrement could flow downhill through the city's sewer, away from the city limits.
Now imagine yourself, in a toga or dress, walking through the streets of this city toward the main gate with the fountains, gate, and mountains behind. What a sight!
The necropolis, or city of the dead, is the cemetary of the city's wealthiest and most influential citizens. There are three main types of burial plots. This is a house style with shelfs on the inside, storing treasures as a gift to their gods.
Another is called a tumerlous style, where the body is buried with its treasures beneath a mound of earth like this. This is bery similar to King Midas' grave, just on a smaller scale.
The last is just a standard sarchophogus style, with a marble cover or box where the body is laid to rest. Traditionally, Romans buried their dead with gold coins in their mouths in order to pay a mythical fine to cross a river prior to arriving in the afterlife. These practices have opened up these sights to grave robbers for several thousand years.
Just outside these city walls are these natural salt deposits. Actually, these white cliffs are deposits of a natural mineral called sodium bicarbonate, which is dissolved in the groundwater. In this area, there are cracks in the bedrock, so this sodium bicarbonate filled water flows onto the rock and evaporates, leaving these deposits on the cliffside. There is also another interesting story about the rock wall in the foreground. Again, these calcium deposits have developed along the cracks in the rock as before. This time though, the water evaporated while it was still in the crack, not spilling out all over. So, after millions of years, it builds up these amazing walls, each with a small water trough at the top. So cool!
And now for the HIGHLIGHTS!
I only have one for you today, but man was it hilarious. At the hotel, they offer a treatment called Doctor Fish, where these small fish eat all the dead skin off your feet and hands. When everyone stuck their feet in, we all laughed, giggled, and shouted like howler monkeys as the fish tickled like mad. It ended up feeling like putting your feet in bubbly water.
ECGT signing off again until a bit later!!!
Awesome day again. These pictures and commentary are awesome. Keep enjoying your time!
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