Hierapolis

The ancient Greco-Roman and Byzantine city of Hierapolis was built on top of the white "castle".
It wasn't far from the hot springs of Pamukale.  Some of our group decided to hike up the hill; others of us took a shuttle to the ruins.

In the first century it was part of the tri-city area of Laodicea, Colossae, and Hierapolis.  This connection between the cities lies behind Paul’s reference to Hierapolis and Laodicea in his epistle to the Colossians (Col 4:13).  

The people from the nearby town of Laodicea would come to this area and use the temple of Apollo, at the center of Hierapolis.

Hierapolis became a healing centre where doctors used the thermal springs as a treatment for their patients. 

Through Paul's influence, a church was founded here while he was at Ephesus.

 The tomb of Phillip -

"The apostle Philip spent the last years of his life here.  The town's Martyrium was alleged to have been built upon the spot where he was crucified in AD 80. His daughters were also said to have acted as prophetesses in the region."

A Byzantine church was built over the site where Phillip is said to have been martyred.

 An overhead picture shows the octagonal room.

 Christian symbols on the arches.

Cemetery - many wealthy of the city buried here.

The menorah shows that many Jewish people had assimilated into the wealthy establishment.
The Jewish population in the area was possibly as high as 52,000 in 62AD!

"In 133 BC, when Attalus III died, he bequeathed his kingdom to Rome. Hierapolis thus became part of the Roman province of Asia. In AD 17, during the rule of the emperor Tiberius, a major earthquake destroyed the city."

Neither hot nor cold

To the church in Laodicea write:  I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!  So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.  Rev. 3:15,16

We went to a hill that once delivered cold water from the mountains down to the ancient city of Laodicea.

Rather fascinating that the Romans knew how to pipe water like this so long ago!

The aqueducts that took that cold water into the city.

In the far distance, you can see white - the salt deposits of Pamukale, where the hot water from the springs came down to Laodicea.  Laodicea lies in the middle in the valley.

There were pipes for cold water and pipes for the hot.  The Romans were quite the engineers!

Our bus drove us there next - Pamukkale

"Pamukkale, meaning "cotton castle" in Turkish, is a natural site in Denizli Province in southwestern Turkey. The city contains hot springs and travertines, terraces of carbonate minerals left by the flowing water. It is located in Turkey's Inner Aegean region, in the River Menderes valley, which has a temperate climate for most of the year.  Tourism is and has been a major industry. People have bathed in its pools for thousands of years." (above photo not mine)  

There is a park here and many Turkish tourists come here.

Hot water is good.  Cold water is good.  But mix them together and you would get luke warm.
(My coffee turned luke on me while I've been writing this.  I'll need to nuke it to continue drinking it.  I like my coffee hot!)

Our bus was able to by-pass those crowds of people climbing to the springs

Wearing shoes in the water is prohibited to protect the deposits. 
I didn't know that and was told to take my shoes off.

I wished I would have had my swimming suit on!  I would have loved to have gone lower and bathed there!

The church today is under pressure to assimilate into the culture, just as the Laodiceans had.
To compromise how Christ tells us how to live.  Neither hot nor cold.  Simply lukewarm.
Are we living for Him, or living like the world tells us to live?  To be PC.  Fit in.

Revelations was written not to satisfy our curiosity about the future, but to help us live well in the present age.  Exhorting us to be faithful even if it meant persecution.

More on Laodicea to come.