This is the trip of a lifetime: Day 8! April 17 Smyrna, Sardis, Philadelphia, Thyatira

We spent this day in the bus mainly- but we had a later start which was sooo nice! We got to take our time in the morning a little bit :)
The stops we made were almost just to say we had made them- we went further north and inland than the other big touristy spots, so the people around the sites got suuuper excited to see us :) we went to Smyrna first which is a little gated off park right in the middle of Izmir- they built their main parking garage on top of the rest of the unexcavated stuff at this site- which seems crazy to me! But it was fun seeing the ancient pillars next to a high rise :) our second stop was Sardis- and the only spot on that city was an old church- it also got really really hot there. Really hot. And of course I chose that day to wear all black :) but we drank ALOT of water! Our next stop was (after an hour of driving) Philadelphia- it had two parts to the site- a temple and another spot (my memory is really failing me about this day sorry) but it really seemed like a jungle the whole area we were in! Totally different landscape than what we've been used to. After Philadelphia we ate lunch at a little restaurant attached to a gas station, they had the most amazing food! I ate pita (or pide as they call it) with cheese and herbs stuffed inside and then baked- so so so good! We then drove for an hour and a half to get to thyartira which was right in the middle of a bustling downtown shopping center! Obviously they really weren't used to tourists because our bus got so many waves and stares. I befriended a couple ten yr old boys who posed for a picture :) some of the guys in a restaurant by the site were flirting with a few of us girls- the most interactive the Turkish people have been with us- it seems like usually they don't like tourists being around. We stayed in an old timey motel type of hotel- but it was updated really nicely, our rooms were some of the nicest yet! And we had a cool shower, so that makes everything better :) the meals weren't as good, but that was fine because I was still so full from lunch! Unfortunately, there was a mosque right outside our window, and we woke up to the 5 am call for prayer- one thing I just can't get used to. It's really unsettling and honestly kinda creepy, especially in the middle of the night when you're trying to sleep. Our room cooled off a lot before bed, so that made the night a lot more comfortable as well :)
Picture 1- the group!
Picture 2- my amazing lunch
Picture 3- poppies ate everywhere!
Picture 4- amazing views once again
Picture 5- the temple at Philadelphia
Picture 6- vineyards!
Picture 7- breakfast
Picture 8- huge wall tiles at the church in Sardis
Picture 9- our lunch spot
Picture 10- Sardis columns
Picture 11- the view from lunch
Picture 12-view from our hotel window
Picture 13- the beds !
Picture 14- again, more gorgeous mountains
Picture 15- floor mosaics in Sardis
Picture 16- a horse cart next to a high rise- oh the things you see in turkey!