Enough remains to let one

Enough remains to let one know that it was truly covered with marble. A part of the building is now a mosque, but. the greater part is in ruins. About 2 miles from Pergamum is the aiskelepeion. The worship of the god Aesculapius was brought from Epidaurus in Greece in the 4th century B.C. Here medicine was combined with religion. Galen prao ticed here. There was a theatre and library connected with it. There were ponds where the sick bathed and covered themselves with mud. The fountains were used by those who complained of stomach pains. In one of the temples the sick were healed through dreams and suggestion methods. They were told to sleep here in order to see in their dreams the god who would tell them the medicines necessary to heal their sickness. There is a pretty white marble slab with serpents upon it from which the caduceus or medical symbol comes. One of the most satisfying and exciting places was Philippi.. We had lunch there at a small roadside cafe where we washed our tired, dirty hands and faces at the pump. Prices are low in Turkey except in the large cities. Seven of us ate here for about two 'dollars. They had some old broker! columns and bases around the yard. There are a lot of ruins in Philippi. I stepped off the marketplace and it was over 100 yards long. There are a lot of pretty carvings including fish and birds. Then we crossed the highway we had been traveling which goes through the ruins. Philippi was destroyed by an earthquake, and it is evident as columns were broken into many pieces and all fell the same direction. There is a prison which may have been , the one where Paul and Silas iwere i m p r i s o n e d and sang ! praises to God at midnight when the earthquake occurred. (Acts 16:16) This called one to prayer. We decided that they sang Psalms as there was probably nothing else. A short jdistance away is the river.