Smyrna (Izmir)
This wealthy, powerful city has been continuously inhabited for centuries. It competed with Ephesus and Pergamon for regional influence. Remants of ancient Smyrna lie throughout modern Izmir. Its historically important agora is one of the most intact structures of ancient Ionia.
Christianity probably grew with baptisms from among Smyrna's once-large Jewish population. The Bible says Jews slandered local Christians, spurring Roman persecution. (Acts 14:2, 19; Acts 17:13)
BLP: Smyrna was the second city to receive a letter from the apostle John in the book of Revelation. Acts 19:10 suggests that the church there was founded during Paul’s third missionary journey.
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Bible:
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Travel:
- Turkey & Greece 2019
- Tue 3/5
- 3:15 AM - Check out of hotel, transfer to Istanbul airport
- 4:00 — Arrival and Check-in
- 6:10 — Flight to Izmir departs
- 7:20 — Arrival in Izmir (Smyrna)
- 8:00 — Leave on bus
- 8:20 — Tour Agora of Smyrna (Izmir)
- On site textual lesson Reading: Rev. 2:8-11
- 9:45 — Depart for Sardis (in Manisa Province near Sart)
- Tue-Thu we made a loop through Asia Minor before returning here
- Thu 3/7
- 4:00 — Depart Ephesus for Izmir
- 5:00 — Check in to hotel; Dinner and overnight stay. (B&D). Kaya Prestige hotel.
- Fri 3/8
- 6:30 — Breakfast
- 7:00 — Depart hotel in Izmir for Thyatira, Pergamum, Canakkale
- Tue 3/5
- Turkey & Greece 2019
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Resources:
Agora of Smyrna
Smyrna was the second city to receive a letter from the apostle John in the book of Revelation. Acts 19:10 suggests that the church there was founded during Paul’s third missionary journey.
Wikipedia: The Agora of Smyrna, alternatively known as the Agora of Izmir, is an ancient Roman agora located in present day Izmir, Turkey. Originally built by the Greeks in the 4th century BC, the agora was ruined by an earthquake in 178 AD. Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius ordered its reconstruction. Excavations started in 1933.
Asia, Smyrna vied with Ephesus and Pergamum for the title “First City of Asia.” A Christian church and a bishopric existed here from earliest times, probably originating in the considerable Jewish colony.
The word "agora" means gathering place, and it was used as a meeting place during the Greek and Roman times. Today it is an open-air museum where you can find many marble statues and columns. In Hebrew Smyrna means Myrrh.
Why was Smyrna destroyed? The Great Fire of Smyrna started on September 13, 1922, after the Turkish armed forces entered Smyrna, a deliberate act by the Turkish government to destroy or expel the Greeks and any other Christian population.
More to come...
