Pisteuomen - πιστευομεν - T. Michael W. Halcomb

Continuing my series "Images of Antiquity," I offer here some photos and thoughts on sights near Pamukkale & Pergamum, both in Turkey. You may copy, save, use and distribute these pictures in their present format. Please do not manipulate or change them. Thanks and enjoy! Pamukkale The picture to the left is of a theater in Pamukkale. Actually, the theater is located in a city that was known as Hierapolis. This is one of the most restored and therefore detailed theaters that exists today. You can see the decorations at the back of the stage and the various entrances onto the stage. The musicians would sit in the semi-circle in front of the stage or sometimes beneath the stage. Located just behind the stage (you cannot really see it here, is a temple of Apollo). Hierapolis means "Holy City" in Greek. It was known for it hot springs and is located not far from the ancient cities of Colossae and Laodicea. When one visits Hierapolis today, they have to first go thr...

Yesterday, I posted a new banner for the Pisteuomen blog. The photo (taken by my wife or myself a few months ago) appears, at first glance, to be the shore of a beach or a snow-covered hill. However, it is actually a large mountain; the surface of it only resembles waves or snow. Pamukkale / Hierapolis ("Holy City") is located in Turkey near the ancient Biblical sites of Laodicea and Colossae. Leading up to Hierapolis is actually a location referred to as Nekropolis ("City of the Dead" which I may do a post on soon) that contains a great number of ancient tombs; it is quite fascinating to see. Pamukkale,though, is known in large part for its hot water springs. In fact, the hotel we stayed in at Pamukkale had its own hot water spring swimming pool (the water was quite brown and very, very hot, 89.6 *F). Anyways, back to the mountain. On the face of the mountain's surface there are a lot of calcium deposits that hold water; they look like puddles or small pools. I...