Signal Crest UMC, Biblical Backgrounds 4.3.16

Signal Crest United MethodistChurch

The Rev. Dale Wyrick

10 Day Biblical Backgrounds, Christian Origins and Cultural Dimensions of Modern Turkey

With 4 Day elective to Paul’s Journeys in Greece

4—13 March2016

Syllabus

Draft Itinerary

10 Days in Turkey with an Elective

To Athens and the PeloponnesianPeninsula

Objectives:

To survey the historical, cultural, social and geographical settings of the Bible and Christian origins in Turkey
To explore the traditions of Mary, Paul & John in Turkey
To become acquainted with the distinctiveness of Islam in modern Turkey and its role in the modern state.
To explore Mysticism and other points of contact in Islam & Christianity
To enjoy the romance and beauty of Anatolia and the Aegean coast of Turkey
To develop personal spirituality & group spirituality

Selected bibliography:

Balch, David L. and John E. Stambaugh. The New Testament in its Social Environment. Philadelphia: the Westminster Press, 1986.

Frank, Kenneth and Adil Ozdemir. Visible Islam in Modern Turkey.New York, St. Martin’s Press, 2000.

Freely, John. The AegeanCoast of Turkey.Istanbul: Redhouse Press, 1996.

Fromkin, David. A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East.New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1989.

Hemer, Colin. The Letters of the Seven Churches of Asia in their Local Settings.Sheffield, UK: JSOT Press, 1986.

Horsley, Richard A. Paul and Empire. Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press, 1997.

______. Paul and Politics. Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press, 2000.

Kinross, Lord. Ataturk: A Biography of Mustafa Kemal, Father of Modern Turkey.New York: Morrow Quill, 1992.

______. The Ottoman Centuries, the Rise and Fall of the Turkish Empire.New York: Morrow Quill, 1977.

Koester, Helmut. Ephesos, Metropolis of Asia: an Interdisciplinary Approach to Its Archaeology, Religion, and Culture.Cambridge, Mass.: HarvardDivinitySchool, 2004.

______. Paul and His World: Interpreting the New Testament in Its Context.Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2007.

Meeks, Wayne A. The First Urban Christians: The Social World of the Apostle Paul.New Haven: YaleUniversity Press, 1983.

Miano, Peter J. The Word of God and the World of the Bible: an Introduction to the Cultural Backgrounds of the New Testament.London: Melisende, 2001.

Pamuk, Orhan. My Name Is Red.

______. Snow. Vintage, 2005.Vintage, 2002.

Pope, Hugh and Nicole. Turkey Unveiled.Woodstock, NY: The Overlook Press, 1998.

Sanders, E.P. Paul.Oxford: OxfordUniversity Press, 1991.

Settle, Mary Lee. Turkish Reflections.New York: Simon and Schuster,1991.

Itinerary

Day 1Depart U.S.A.

4.3, F

Day 2Arrive Istanbul

5.3, SaPM Field trip: Touring as time permits, Byzantine walls, ChoraChurch (time permitting), transfer to hotel, orientation, introductions

(dinner on your own), overnight in Istanbul

Day 3Theme: From HouseChurch to ImperialChurch

6.3, SuField trip: Sultanahmet, the Hippodrome, the Cistern (Yerebatan Sarayi), HagiaSophiaMuseum, Spice Bazaar, Grand Bazaar (time permitting)

PM Forum: meetings with NGO’s and missionaries

(dinner on your own), overnight in Istanbul

Day 4Theme: Islam and Ottomon Civilization

7.3, MField trip: Sultanahmet, Blue Mosque, TopkapiPalace (treasury optional)

PM Forum: meetings with indigenous Muslims (Nurju)

(dinner on your own), overnight in Istanbul

Day 5Theme: Classical Backgrounds of the New Testament

8.3, TuField trip: transfer to airport, Pergamum (Rev. 2:12), visit Asclepion

(dinner included at the hotel), overnight in Bergama

Day 6Theme:The Book of Revelation

9.3, WField Trip: Pergamum (Rev. 2:12), Acropolis, the Red Hall, Museum

PM Forum: Models of Mission and The Ingredients of Effective Mission

(dinner on your own), overnight in Kusadasi

Day 7Theme: The Divine Feminine in the Hellenistic Age

10.3, ThField trip: Aphrodisias(dinner on your own), overnight in Kusadasi

Day 8Theme: John & Paul

11.3, FField trip: Ephesus (Selcuk), Pollio Aqueduct, Issa Bey Mosque, Selcuk Museum, Basilica of St. John, Aretemsian, Behlevi Mausoleum (timer permitting) PM forum: TBA(dinner on your own), overnight in Kusadasi

Day 9Theme: Empire and the Early Churches

12.3, SaField trip: Ephesus, visit the Church of the Virgin Mary, theatre, library of

Celsus, agora, Arcadia Street, Curetes Street, State Agora

PM forum: TBA(dinner on your own), overnight in Kusadasi

Day 10Transfer to AdnanMenderesAirport, return to USA

13.3, Su

Elective: 4 Day Paul’s Journeys in Greece (4 days $1,458, minimum 10 people)

Day 10transfer to AdnanMenderesAirport for your flight to Athens.

13.3, SuUpon arrival, you will be met and escorted on a tour of Cape Sounion before reaching your hotel in Tolo, a seaside resort on the Gulf of Argolis on the Peloponnesian Peninsula.(dinner on your own), overnight in Tolo

Day 11Enjoy a full day tour of Corinth, where the Apostle Paul lived and worked

14.3, Mfor several years. The excursion also takes you to the citadel, Acro-Corinth, and Epidavros the ancient center of the healing God Asclepius. Before returning to your hotel, we will visit Nafplio, a charming fishing village where the long struggle for Greek Independence began.

(dinner on your own), overnight in Tolo

Day 12We return to Athens, enjoy a driving tour and then tour the Acropolis, the

15.3, TuAthenian Agora, the Areopagus, and the NationalMuseum of Athens

(dinner on your own), overnight in Athens

Day 13This is a Free Day for you to spend at leisure or opt for a one day, three

16.3, Wisland cruise to Hydra, Poros and Aegina(dinner on your own), overnight in Athens

Day 14Transfer to VenezelosAirport and return to USA

17.3, Th

**Itinerary is subject to change due to local circumstances

**Meetings with local people (PM fora) are subject to change. Appropriate substitutions may be necessary.