Turkey is a big country. When traveling around Israel, things are fairly close together. Today was another example of long drives between few sites, which included some locations from the apostle Paul’s first missionary tour (see Acts 14).
We left Adana, heading back through the Cilician gates, then hooking a left to the west to reach ancient Derbe. Excavation began at Derbe just last year. From our drive, it seems it was a remote town. To get there, we drove through a small village of a few hundred people. We got out to take a few pictures of the thatched roofs, mud-brick homes, outdoor ovens, and other we’re-not-in-Michigan-anymore sights. The people were very welcoming.
Not too far from Derbe is the city of Karaman, which has a small archaeology museum we briefly visited. Of most interest was a stone mentioning Derbe by name (hence identifying the tell with it).
Back on the bus, we drove to Lystra. This tell has never been excavated. Paul’s disciple Timothy hailed from there.
We finished our day by driving a little north to Konya (ancient Iconium), where we’re staying tonight. It was a long day of driving.
On a side note, you may have heard the news that there was an explosion in a mine in western Turkey with hundreds dead. Please pray for those affected by this disaster. All the flags around here are at half-mast.