Airplanes, Naps and Magnum Bars

UGH! We made it to Istanbul. We began our journey with a 4 a.m. wake up call in Nashville, TN. Took off from Nashville at 7 am and flew to JFK; waited seven hours in JFK (got ice cream at 3 pm), flew to Munich, Germany, waited a couple of hours there (ate some wiener schnitzel and Magnum Bars), and then took off to Istanbul to land here at 3:00 in the afternoon, Turkey time. All together we were in a plan or at an airport for over 24 hours. You can tell by the pictures how excited we were soon after arriving at JFK and eating lunch and the contrast of how tired we were soon before boarding the plane for the final leg to Istanbul.

To the casual observer it was an uneventful day, but to the well-traveled, it was a really uneventful day. The most excitement I felt all day was flying the two hour flight from Munich to Istanbul, because I ended up in an "exit" row, which for a guy who is 6'2", the extra leg room space feels like acres of land in an airplane. The flight from JFK to Munich was just over 7 hours long. What made the flight bearable was the monitors on the back of each seat, and the availability of about eight movies, all in English. I passed part of the time watching edited versions of "Dan in Real Life" and "The Bucket List." I can't recommend the unedited versions, but both movies were very enjoyable. I slept a little on the plane and read the tour manual provided by Mr. Jenkins.

I would like to make a few observations about the trip that tie closely to the tour we will begin tomorrow. The world has reached a point, where international travel has become relatively easy for the English speaking individual. Most service and security people in the airports speak English; signs, everywhere, carry not only the language of the native tongue, but also English. Travel is relatively safe and very efficient, comparative to 2000 years ago or even 50 years ago. It reminds me, very much, of the days of Paul and John. The Roman roads allowed for the most efficient travel the world had seen up until that day, Greek was a dominant language, allowing for conversation with just about anyone, no matter where you went. The Pax Romana (Roman Peace) allowed for relative safety in travel and being a Roman

citizen, like Paul, provided a privileged status, often felt by the American traveler.
What we have is not so different than the days of Paul, and neither is our responsibility as children of God, to take advantage of these benefits and share the good news of life with the world.

We really have it better, because Paul didn't have Magnum Bars.

Tomorrow, we tour Istanbul, which at one time was called Constantinople and prior to that called Byzantium. The existence of this city goes back to about the 7th century B.C., according to archaeologists. In 330 A.D. Constantine moved the capital of Rome here and called in Constantinople. You may recall that Constantine also made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire, but remember by then the many biblical doctrines and church organization had been corrupted. In 1204 A.D., the city was sacked during the Crusades and then in 1453 A.D. the city was taken over by the Ottoman Empire and named Istanbul.

Istanbul is the only city that is divided between two countries, Europe and Asia. It is divided by the Bosphorous Strait, a water way that connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara. If I understood our guide correctly, it's population is about 15 million, which makes it one of the most populated cities in the world. The parts that I have seen so far have been beautiful, especially among the coast of the Marmara Sea. The weather was beautiful, with temperatures being in the mid-60s and nothing but blue skies when we got here at about 3:00 p.m. The city is predominantly Muslim, as well as the country, but they have a secular government. At about 9:15 last night we heard the Muslim call to prayer which is declared through out the city on a speaker system. We feel very safe here. Crime rates are very low, mainly due to the fact that crimes are often punished public and involve the removal of body parts.

Our tour tomorrow will include a visit to the Archaeological Museum, which contains many Greek and Roman artifacts, and the Grand Bazaar, every shopper's dream. The Bazaar houses over 4000 little shops and has been in existence since the 1400s - The granddaddy of outlet shopping. I'm just glad Barbara Jo is back in the states. Who knows how much damage she could do.

Well, that is all for now.