TUTKU NEWS First Edition of the Quarterly TUTKU NEWS May • June • July • August 2019 Marks the Location of the News in This Issue CONTRIBUTORS: DR
TUTKU NEWS First edition of the quarterly TUTKU NEWS may • june • july • august 2019 Marks the location of the news in this issue CONTRIBUTORS: DR. MARK WILSON • DR. MARK FAIRCHILD • DR. CARL RASMUSSEN
Dr. Mark Wilson, D.Litt. et Phil., Director, Asia Minor Research Center, Antalya, Turkey; Associate Professor Extraordinary of New Testament, Stellenbosch University www.sevenchurches.org
NICOPOLIS: CITY OF VICTORY A biblical site in Greece seldom visited is Nicopolis on the western coast. Paul probably stopped at its port on his way south from Illyricum (Dyrrachium) to Corinth on his third journey (Romans 15:19). He also spent the winter in Nicopolis where he was joined by Titus (Titus 3:12). Nicopolis is also extremely important for Roman history: here Octavian defeated Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium. Without his victory here, there would be no Caesar Augustus (Luke 2:1). On my recent BAS tour we left Thessaloniki in the morning, stopped in Berea, and then used the new Via Egnatia motorway through the mountains to outside Ioannina where we stopped for lunch. On the drive southward we stopped at the well-preserved aqueducts at Hagios Georgios which ran 50 kilometers to supply Nicopolis with water. Our first stop was at the theater and stadium; we then continued up to Octavian’s victory monument. Afterward we drove to the archaeological museum two kilometers south of the site. The group used the restrooms there and got a helpful orientation to the Nicopolis and the Battle of Actium through its well-presented displays in English. We then visited the site first entering through the Byzantine wall to the restored odeum. After returning to the bus, we then reentered at the main gate to see the basilica church and large peristyle house with mosaics along the cardo and decumanus streets. The waterways involved in the sea battle of Actium are also interesting to see. This can be done from the northern side of the peninsula, or as we did the next morning, we drove through the tunnel and stopped at the marina on the south side of the strait where Antony had his camp. Here we got good pictures of the channel as well as the Ambracian Gulf. Preveza has a number of hotels for various budgets, and it is a lovely coastal city that your group will enjoy. The road south from Preveza is presently slow and beautiful as it curves eastward along the south side of the gulf. At Amfilochia we connected with the new toll road will be extended to Preveza soon. We continued to Delphi where we toured the rest of the day. Visiting Nicopolis can also be reversed coming from Corinth or Delphi, then continuing to Berea and Thessaloniki. Nicopolis is among my top biblical sites in Greece. The excavator of Nicopolis, Konstaninos Zachos, has made his archaeological guide (www.academia.edu/22578684/An_archaeological_guide_to_Nicopolis) as well as other publications on the city available at no charge.
PAUL’S PASSAGE THROUGH THE STRAIT OF EURIPUS From Delphi to Athens the toll road provides an exit to ancient Chalkis, modern Chalkida on the island of Euboea, modern Evia. The detour takes only an hour and connects with Paul’s probable route by ship on the second journey after he left Berea on his way to Athens (Acts 17:14–15). Because the waters off the eastern shore of Euboea, Greece’s second largest island, are so treacherous, ships usually took the inside passage through the Strait of Euripus. The waters here are one of the maritime wonders of the world. Its strong tidal currents change direction four times each day making passage challenging. We drove first to the old bridge and crossed to the island where the bus was able to park. There is a sign in English near the bridge explaining the natural phenomenon related to the strait. We easily exited Chalkida on the new bridge to continue our trip to Athens. There is an archaeological museum in Chalkida if there is time and interest. Dr. Mark Fairchild, Ph.D. Luke J. Peters Professor of Biblical Studies Chair, Department of Bible and Religion, Huntington University
Avdancık Bayat Beyşehir Gölü BEYŞEHİR (Karalis Lake) (Mistea) A WATCHTOWER IN THE MOUNTAINS OF HOMONADA (Claudiocaesarea) Bektemli HOMONADA MAP Fasıllar Prepared by D687 Çiçekler D695 Karadiken Bademli Ağılönü
Tepecik Gökçimen Yukarı Esence
D695 High in the Taurus Mountains east of Lycia and west of Isauria lay D687 Esence
Şamlar Bayavşar Üstünler Irmaklı
D687 the ruins of the Homonadeis Kingdom. Pliny claimed that there were Kızılca D696
D695 Üzümlü Yeşildağ Gevrekli
D687 Adaköy Kavak Akçalar Amblada D695 forty-four fortified cities in the kingdom. Little is known of the people Kayabaşı Asar Tepe D696 D687 Tepearası Yenice Çiftlik Boyalı Akçabelen Huğlu Durak D695 Karabulak of Homonada, but from what we gather, they were isolated from Gencek Taraşcı D696 42-51 Kocakoru Ormanı Gökçehöyük Aşağı Kayalar Tabiat Parkı D696 Yukarı Kayalar Taşlıpınar Uğurlu SEYDİŞEHİR D695 Pınarbaşı Zekeriya the rest of the Hellenistic world and distrusted outsiders. They were D687
Derebucak 07-11 Taşağıl
D687 Çamlık Caves Gölcük Dalyman 07-11 Yolu D695 Ancient Road Çamlık described as rugged mountain men and women who built strongholds in Ancient Road Ancient Road D695 07-11 Meteor Crater Ancient City Bademli D687 strategic places and valued their independence. As the Romans pressed Tityassos Mountain views Madenli Süleymaniye Watchtower H Değirmenlik Soyler 07-11 O Ancient Road
M further to the east and penetrated further into the Anatolian interior, D687
Kuyucak 07-11 Salihler O Susuzşahap
N D687 Watchtower Ceceler Watchtower warfare with the people of Homonada was unavoidable. The Romans Cevizli A Gümüşdamla (Kagrai) Göçeri Çınardibi Ancient Watchtower Road 07-11 D Karakışla Çukurviran Günyaka Emerya E
07-06 07-11 forged ahead building roads as they progressed (many of which are still Maşat D695 Üzümdere I Başlar Byzantine D695 Yarpuz Caves D695 Zomana 07-06 Melas River S Bridge İbradi Tol Han evident today) and the people of Homonada were wiped out. Outside Melas Valley 07-06 Akşahap Ormana D695 (Erymnos) Düzlen Mh. 07-06
Altınbeşik Mağarası Bucakkışla Milli Parkı AKSEKİ Dutluca Ürünlü of a few brief literary references, nothing more is known of this lost 07-10 Çimiköy Emiraşıklar Ancient Road Menteşbey (Kotenna) Minareli Sarıhaliller Sarıhacılar Hüsamettinköy Ancient Road Belenalan
Sırtköy D695 Bucakalan Çanakpınar Tayıp Belenilvat kingdom. However, there are several remains hidden in the mountains Cendeve Sinanhoca Dikmen Alaçeşme D695 Demirçat Geriş Ancient Road Yaylaalan Aşağı Işıklar Cemerler Sadıklar Sevinç Salur 07-08 and upland forests. This past summer (2018) I spent twelve days hiking D695 Tilkiler Erenkaya Naras Oymapınar Kepez Baraj Gölü Mahmutlu Baraj Hocaköy Gölü Güneykaya Kepezbeleni D695 07-08 Taşlıca Güzelyalı Güzelsu Pınar the wilderness exploring ancient Homonada. Among the findings were Yukarı Işıklar Oymapınar Çukurköy Murtiçi Çaltılıçukur Evrenleryavşı Ancient Road Değirmenli Ömergölü D695 Bucakşeyhler Yeniköy Sarp Canyon Dolbazlar Gebece Dikmen several ancient roads, watchtowers and ruins. Sülek Ahmetler Hocalı D695 Çiçekoluk Sarılar Kırten Güçlüköy Ulukapı Çayyazı Karakuzu Erengeriş Serinkaya 07-29 D400 Aşağı Işıklar Çeltikçi Yalı Demirciler D695 MANAVGAT D695 07-29 D400 Aksaz Gençler Kalecik Kemer 07-29 Selimiye Sorgun Side Uzunkale D695 Çamlıtepe Mark Fairchild D400 Taşkesiği Güneycik Huntington University
UPDATED CORINTH GUIDEBOOK An updated guidebook for Corinth has recently been published: Ancient Corinth: Site Guide (7th ed.) edited by Guy D. R. Sanders et al. (http://www.ascsa.edu.gr/index.php/publications/book/?i=9780876616611). This is the first official guidebook to the site of ancient Corinth published by the American School of Classical Studies in Athens in over 50 years. It is fully updated with the most current information, color photos, maps, and plans. It is an indispensable resource for visitors to the site. The guide begins with a history of Corinth and its excavations and then presents two tours. Short bibliographic notes for many entries lead the reader to fuller descriptions of monuments, objects, and concepts. A glossary is also provided.
Dr. Carl Rasmussen, Ph.D, Emeritus Professor of Old Testament, Bethel University
HOLY LAND PHOTOS Over the past 15 years I have been providing images, each with informative commentary, on places and topics related to the Eastern Mediterranean on my web site www.HolyLandPhotos.org. At the current time we have 518 sites and 5,420+ photos of places in Israel, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Malta, Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon. These are freely available to you for viewing and downloading. The images not only include places mentioned in the Bible, but also Classical sites and a variety of religious places (Churches, Synagogues, and Mosques). I am guessing that many of the readers of this Newsletter have visited one or more of the above countries and have, or will, organize and lead tours to them. As you share insights that you have learned on your various trips, you probably illustrate your comments with images that you have taken of various places. But in some instances you may only have images that were taken on rainy days or in which key points are obscured by tourists. If this is the case, you are invited to check out www.HolyLandPhotos.org to compare our images. Because we have visited most sites on multiple occasions, in Israel for example say 100+ occasions, we usually have some excellent photos of almost every place you can think of. In addition, we have provided informative, but brief commentary on each image. Many people have found these comments useful for a quick review of, or introduction to, each image or site. If you prepare more formal presentations, it is quite easy to download images that you can immediately import into your PowerPoint Presentations. Just click on the “Max Size Available” link on the right side of each image page, and the PowerPoint ready image will be downloaded to your computer. But also please note, for publication purposes we do charge a modest fee, and publishers can contact us directly at [email protected]. For web usage, please cite the source as www.HolyLandPhotos.org. And contact us if you wish to use more than 5 images for this purpose. All the best, Carl Rasmussen, Ph.D.
www.tutkutours.com • [email protected] SCOTLAND
GERMANY RUSSIA IRELAND ENGLAND CZECH DIS O NTED AM T I S REPUBLIC AUSTRIA ROMANIA SWITZERLAND GEORGIA FRANCE BULGARIA ARMENIA O A T MACEDONIA ITALY ALBANIA TURKEY