Iconium, Lystra and Derbe

We just got back from taking our Mississippi visitors to the airport for their trip home. We were so excited to have them here, especially since both of our house guests have long ties with Jared's dad. One taught him in high school and the other was a college classmate. Early Monday morning, Jared got to tag along with the team as they saw three of the stops Paul made on his first journey. The first stop was to modern day Iconium, now known as Konya. Here we visited St. Elena church built in 327AD by Constantine's mother. It is still in pretty good shape for being 1680 years old. After Konya, we headed to Lystra where Paul was run out of the city and stoned. There we explored caves where the early church likely met. Interestingly enough, these caves were also used as houses and in some cases still are today. From Lystra, we made the long trek to Derbe, realizing Paul had a rough journey after being nearly stoned to death. All that is left of Derbe is big mound in the middle of nowhere. All in all, it was a great trip and so neat to see places that have so much significance.