From Instanbul to Bolu where we stayed over for a nite. Before proceeding to Ankara the next day!
Ankara Museum!
Ankara - Turkey new capital city since 1923.
This Artartuk Museum is huge - very much like those monuments in Washington DC, USA. Herein lies the body of their beloved hero Artartuk.
One of the most interesting part was that shortly after we left this place, we experienced hailstones suddenly falling on the vehicles! Tok TOk Tok!! So unpredictable was the weather!
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Another interesting thing about Turkey - they produce lots of salt! This is one of the salt lakes on the way after Ankara. Very shallow lake. Purely used to harvest salt in season by the government state bodies.
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Arrived at Konya after a fairly long travel from Bolu in the morning.
Only to be informed that the Hot Air Balloon was not 'flying' the next day which was scheduled owing to bad weather condition.
So part of the group decided to go for the jeep safari in Cappadocia as replacement first while the hot air was postponed to the following day.
Red Valley
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After our Jeep safari, the rest joined us for the afternoon tours to gem factory, carpet factory, Pigeon valley, Underground city, Gerome churches.
Remembering Rev 21.....the foundation of the walls of the city (the future)..made of precious stones!
The New Jerusalem
9 Then came xone of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of ythe seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you zthe Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And ahe carried me away in the Spirit to ba great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 chaving the glory of God, dits radiance elike a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall, fwith twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— 13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve gfoundations, and hon them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 And the one who spoke with me ihad a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. 16 The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia.4 Its length and width and height are equal. 17 He also measured its wall, 144 cubits5 by jhuman measurement, which is also kan angel’s measurement. 18 The wall was built of ljasper, while the city was pure gold, like lclear glass. 19 mThe foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and nthe street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
22 And oI saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city phas no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for qthe glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light rwill the nations walk, and the kings of the earth swill bring their glory into it, 25 and tits gates will never be shut by day—and uthere will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But vnothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s wbook of life.
