The main event today was the city of Aphrodisias. This was a pilgrim city. People traveled great distances to visit because it emphasized the female god. As our guide pointed out, This area always had a female god. One of the earliest carvings from 5,000 years ago was of a female god, obviously emphasizing fertility. Since then the female god has had many names. Sometimes she emphasized love and beauty, sometimes motherhood and protection. But there was always a female god and it was always very important in the hierarchy of the pagan gods.

Aphrodisias was more than a typical Roman town. It had the second largest coliseum in the ancient world. All around he coliseum were stalls or stores. A covered walkway allowed visitors to walk between stalls in comfort.

You’ve seen plenty of pictures of Roman town ruins. I’ll leave you with this sunset scene from our hotel, overlooking the Aegean sea. I hope this finds everybody doing well.