Another week in Izmir

For the second time since we arrived here, we have received concerned text messages and postings on Facebook – often the first way we get news, as the flat lacks TV or wi-fi. (We are touched by the concern many have shown us.) The attempted coup last Friday night seems not to have touched Izmir at all – but many church members are concerned about what happened, and its implications for the future direction of Turkish politics. We are poorly informed in the UK about the complexities of Turkey and its neighbours, and I won’t attempt a simplistic analysis. The dreadful attack in Nice on Bastille Day will have made more impact back home, though the death toll in Istanbul and Ankara was more than double that in Nice, and some of the victims seem to have been young conscripts drawn into conflict in the belief that it was a military exercise. One of Jo’s former pupils lives in Ankara near the parliament buildings and reported that she had spent a terrible night, with bombings and gunfire nearby. The country is certainly seriously divided, and there is no shortage of conspiracy theories.

We had a slightly depleted congregation on Sunday morning, but the worship went well. We are being helped by a young Turkish pianist from another church, who has offered to play for our services when he is free. During the week, we had eight people at the Tuesday afternoon Evening Prayer, and nine at the Wednesday Bible Study; the latter is interesting, in that five different first languages were represented, and prayers offered in three of these. In discussion afterwards, our Kenyan Christian bewailed the ‘staidness’ of the worship at St John’s, and the shortage of activities during the week.

We continue to use our free time to explore and experience life here. We managed to master the rail system sufficiently to get ourselves to Selҫuk, where we visited the splendid Ephesus museum. We also discovered the remains of the great Temple of Artemis (a solitary column in a swamp, complete with stork’s nest on top; the town has many such nests, especially on the top of the pillars of the Romano-Byzantine aqueducts.) We walked up to the great Ottoman citadel and the Byzantine Basilica of St John (the reputed site of the apostle’s grave). A helpful taxi driver took us to the House of the Virgin Mary, which was surprisingly quiet and peaceful, and in a splendid site up in the hills overlooking the Aegean.

Another afternoon’s walk round Izmir led us to St Polycarp’s church – the oldest in Izmir (c. 1625), a rather splendid baroque building, dedicated to Izmir’s patron saint, martyred in the stadium in 155. The church was originally built for the French community in the city, and is the now the home of the RC Bishop. We were pleased to see that St John’s church was listed in their leaflet. We curtailed our plans for Saturday, but disregarded Foreign Office advice to stay indoors following the attempted coup. Instead we walked through (a slightly quieter than usual) Izmir, to the Kültürpark (site of the former Armenian district destroyed in the 1922 fire), which is peaceful and green. We went to the city’s Art and History Museum – a collection of Greco-Roman statues, ceramics from the Stone Age onwards, coins and jewellery. It’s a fine museum, so it was rather bizarre that we were the only visitors that morning – but then Izmir doesn’t promote its treasures very well.

We are approaching the midpoint of our time here. We are struck by the helpfulness and courtesy of local people; we seldom have to stand on public transport (even when it is as crowded as the train from Selҫuk.) We are enjoying sharing in the life of the church, though numbers are on the low side, as some expatriates are away for the summer. We pray that they will not have to wait long for a new chaplain, as there is need for some clear vision for growth and development.

Prayer Points:

1.      For the people of Turkey, their government and politicians; for integrity, stability and peace.

2.      For security and justice in the aftermath of the attempted coup, and the government’s purging of the military, judicial and educational establishments.

3.      For the church to be able to get a clearer vision of its purpose and mission, and to develop the resources needed to achieve that.

4.      For us: for renewed energy, and a clear sense of what is needed from us for the second half of our time of ministry here.