Now a trip to Turkey is no surprise: Russian people are actively, hundreds of thousands, visit the "Turkish coast" .To bask in the sun, swim in the warm southern sea .And only very few people visit the sights of the country, monuments of a long time ago, Orthodox shrines .Yes, do not be surprised: there are many of them in the territory of Muslim Turkey! After all, once there was an Orthodox Byzantine empire, and its capital Constantinople (which our ancestors called Tsargrad) is the present Istanbul .Therefore, the people of the faith go to the Turkish lands for a definite purpose - to the pilgrimage .
In December 2009, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, a large group of pilgrims, more than 70 people from Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Tver, Rostov went on a pilgrimage to Turkey. The trip was timed to the day of the repose of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, and the main event of the pilgrimage was to be a service in the church of St. Nicholas in the ancient Worlds of Lycia.
In the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople was a city, as we would say, with a capital letter .He still retains his spiritual meaning .Church people sometimes call it in Greek: "Polis" .Surprisingly, it is precisely from this word that the modern name of Constantinople -Istambulus .It is believed that this word, incomprehensible and alien to the Orthodox ear, arose from the Greek expression "truth of the polynom," that is, "to the city" .Gradually, this Greek expression "naturalized" and acquired a different sound .As a new name keeps a reminder of the glorious history of the city of the Byzantine emperor Constantine, and modern Istanbul can not hide from the gazing eyes the traces of the glorious Tsargrad .
First pilgrims visited the monastery of St. George the Victorious and the residence of the Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew on the waterfront Fanar. Once there was the main lighthouse of the capital of the Byzantine Empire (it was from this name that the Russian word "lantern" arose). In the Patriarchal St. George's Church there are numerous sacred places: the pillar of the scourging of Jesus Christ, as well as the relics of St. Euthymius, the saints of St. Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom, the blessed queen Feofanii, as well as the miraculous icons of the Virgin.
Then the pilgrims visited the Vlaherna temple - the place of the Intercession of the Virgin and worshiped there the miraculous Vlaherna Icon of the Mother of God .Universal admiration was caused by the only Bulgarian-made church of the first martyr Stefan in the world .And in the monastery Life-giving source to the pilgrims told a beautiful legend about the local holy spring, in which beautiful light black fishes swim .Once a monk at a monastery fried fish .During this occupation, he was caught by the news of the capture of the city by the Turks .The monk did not believe and said: "Rather these fish come to life, than the city can fall" .Immediately the fish, with already fried one side, jumped from the frying pan and fell into the source .Since then, fish in the source have one side black, and the other - light .In the courtyard of the monastery - beautiful marble tombs of Constantinople Patriarchs .
The next day pilgrims visited the monastery of Hora (now - a museum), whose temple is famous for its magnificent Byzantine mosaics and frescos, and the famous St. Sophia .Often, people are confused by this name, and are puzzled, what are we talking about? Under Sophia is meant Jesus Christ - God's Power and God's Wisdom .Behind the external simplicity of the facade lies the beauty to which the ancient Greeks were so sensitive, calling the world the word "cosmos", which in Russian means "beauty" .Here you feel a special grandeur .It is no accident that Emperor Justinian exclaimed after the building of the temple: "I have surpassed you, Solomon! "Especially impressive is the speed of construction: the temple was erected in just five years, and this with the technologies of that time .Mosaics of the Cathedral - a special story .Although they are very few, the impression of meeting with them is difficult to express in words: today we can only approximately imagine how this temple was in all its glory .It was here that the first Russian pilgrim was baptized - the holy Grand Duchess Olga, and then the ambassadors of Saint Prince Vladimir .The pilgrims managed to get to the nearby church of the holy martyr Irina (now it is a concert hall) .Unfortunately, the mosaics and frescoes did not survive, but everyone was struck by the grandeur and harmony of the church arches, as well as the magnificent acoustics .
Next to St. Sophia there is a cistern - a huge underground water tank in case of an enemy siege. The building is quite common, but at the same time it's beautiful architecture. In the twilight - illuminated columns, many of which are real works of art, admiring and surprising at the same time. Especially a lot of tourists near those of them, where on the basis of the depicted female face of the Medusa gorgon.
In the evening of the second day pilgrims flew from Istanbul to Antalya .Twenty years ago this beautiful modern city was a provincial town with a small population of .It would seem, what kind of shrines are there? However, in the local museum, besides the archaeological finds made in the vicinity of the city, the relics of Saint Nicholas are stored .At one time they were taken from the World of Lycia by Italian merchants and taken to Bari, and in a new time the Turks demanded the return of the relics back to the city of Demre (Miri) .As a result, the Italians returned part of the relics of the great saint .And indeed, behind the glass of the museum showcase in a small moschnik are kept separate bones and the icon of the saint .
And here is the final destination of the trip - Demre .Here St. Nicholas, according to God's will, performed miracles thanks to which he became known and loved all over the world..Here he died + $ .The first temple, later destroyed by an earthquake, was erected in the 4th century, immediately after the death of the great saint .Then erected the basilica, which the Arabs destroyed in the 7th century .The modern, also crushed temple building dates back to the 8th century .Now the temple received the status of a museum, the tomb in which the relics of the saint stayed until their transfer to Bari .And again, as once, under the arches of the ancient temple, the words of Orthodox prayer sound .After the service the pilgrims made a meal in a restaurant located on the shore of the bay near the pier .It was in this way that the relics of the saint moved on the way to the ship, took them to Bari .The sun and the blue sky made the day especially festive .
Then the Russian travelers were taken to the ancient city of Ephesus. But before that they visited Patara, the birthplace of St. Nicholas. No one lives in the place of the remnants of the ancient settlement, only the sheep peacefully pinch the grass among the stone ruins. Remained the remains of the temple, other buildings, a large amphitheater. Just think: in those places the future saint once ran around as a little boy.
The road to Ephesus goes along the sea coast. The Mediterranean Sea replaces the Aegean Sea. Opens the most beautiful panorama of the Greek islands. Some of them are very close: they are visible to the naked eye.
| The Blue Mosque in Istanbul |
| In the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia |
| Ruins at Ephesus |
On the penultimate day of the trip, the pilgrims visited Ephesus, which was once the second city after Rome, both in size and in value .Its population reached a huge at that time figures in 200 000 residents .The main reason for its decline was that the sea retreated from this port city: now the ruins of Ephesus are at a distance of six kilometers from the coast - ancient streets, a huge theater for 25 000 people..In Ephesus two years lived the apostle Paul .And here are the ruins of the world's first temple dedicated to the Virgin + $ .And again, as in Demre, the words of Orthodox prayer sound .Then the group inspected the cave of the Seven Adolescents of Ephesus - Christian martyrs, who lived in the 3rd century .
And not far from Ephesus in the modern city of Selcuk there are the ruins of another ancient temple - the Apostle John the Theologian, who was built under the emperor Justinian over the alleged burial place of the saint .The temple also has no arches, columns and wall fragments are preserved .It is located on a hill, so that from there you can see the city .The pilgrims were shown the place of a pagan temple in honor of Artemis of Ephesus, considered one of the wonders of the world and completely destroyed .In the 19th century, British archaeologists found only one column of a huge once-built structure .It is believed that the stones from which the pagan temple was built were used to construct other buildings, including the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople .
The sea and sun made the southern coast of Turkey popular and attractive only twenty years ago - and in the long-term, historical perspective, one can not even say approximately how long this will last. Suddenly, the situation in the tourist market will change - and tourists will travel to other places. For pilgrims, all this conjuncture does not matter. And hundred, and two hundred, and a thousand years ago, believers revered St. Nicholas and tried to get to the places of his spiritual labors. So it will be in the future.
Archbishop Mark of Yegoryevsk, editor-in-chief of the magazine "Orthodox Pilgrim".
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