Daniel C. Peterson's Blog, page 75

In the land of King Croesus

    Newly posted for your enjoyment on the website of the Interpreter Foundation:  Conference Talks: Cherubim and Seraphim: Iconography in the First Jerusalem Temple, presented by John Gee     Our first stop this morning was at Colossae, which is, now, little more than a tumulus or a tell that awaits excavation.  And this […]

John and Paul, but no George or Ringo

    I’ve failed to call your attention to an article of mine that recently appeared in Meridian Magazine.  So I’m going to call your attention to it right now.  This article recently appeared in Meridian Magazine:  “A New Film About Prophetic Succession After the Death of Joseph Smith, Now in Production.”   Our first […]

Mingling Homer and the New Testament

    We were up very early this morning to fly from Kayseri to Izmir.  Izmir is the ancient Smyrna, the traditional birthplace of the enormously important Greek poet Homer.  Kayseri is only one of several towns named Caesarea in the ancient world – think, for example, of Caesarea Maritima on the Mediterranean coast of […]

Kaymaklı and Göreme

    We held a sacrament service this morning at our hotel in Ürgüp.  It was very enjoyable.  Steve Densley conducted it, and Murat Çakır, who served as the district president here for quite a while (and who, for all I know, may still be the district president), was our speaker.  (More on that, perhaps, […]

Up in the Air

    Two new articles appeared yesterday on the website of the Interpreter Foundation.  I’m behind in calling attention to them, partly because I’m nine hours ahead of the time zone in which Interpreter is headquartered and partly because, well, I’m really busy.  Anyway, here they be: “Joseph Smith’s Education and Intellect as Described in […]

In Cappadocia

    We spent the night in Adana, a very old city that is mentioned not only in Homer but in the famous ancient Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh. I’ve never before been to Tarsus, so I’ve been looking forward to today. The city is located on the mouth of a river that empties into the […]

Newly-minted mosques, alas

    This morning, we went first to the Hagia Sophia (Ἁγία Σοφία)—also called, depending upon the language, Ayasufya and Santa Sophia and Sancta Sapientia and the Church of Holy Wisdom (or Divine Wisdom).  Sophia isn’t the name of a female saint; it is the Greek equivalent of English “wisdom.” After its completion in AD […]

On foot in a very ancient city

    After breakfast, we visited the ancient Hippodrome, where chariot races were held in Byzantine days, and where the infamous massacre took place during the great Nika Riot of AD 532 (about which I hope to say more in a future entry). Two monuments are (to me) particularly notable in the Hippodrome: The Serpent […]

Dolmabahçe Sarayı, Edirnekapı, Galata, and Cağaloğlu Hammamı

    From its conquest by the Ottomans in 1453 until the official end of the Ottoman Empire in 1922, Constantinople, renamed Istanbul, was their capital. The Ottoman Empire reach its zenith under Süleyman (or Suleiman) the Magnificent, who reigned from 1520 to 1566 (roughly overlapping with King Henry VIII of England, “Bloody Mary,” and […]

İstanbula hoş geldiniz!

    It’s good to be back in Istanbul, one of my very favorite cities.  One of my favorite places on Earth.  (We flew in just a few hours ago, via Amsterdam.)  I’m not sure how long it’s been since we were here last, but it could possibly have been as long as eight years.  […]