Aphrodisias, Laodicea, and Pammukale / Hierapolis

We headed east on the next day of our tour to visit Aphrodisias, Laodicea, and Pammukale / Hierapolis. I had not visited this sites before. Aphrodisias does not really have any biblical connections, but it is a magnificent site that is well worth the visit. HERE are the pics. (Only 24 total) The Tetrapylon (Monumental Gate) is certainly picturesque, and the stadium is one of the best preserved, capable of holding 30,000 people. (It was damaged in a earthquake in the 7th (?) century and one end was converted to a theater.) The Temple of Aphrodite was converted into a church. Due to construction and time, we weren't able to see the theater and buildings at the southern end of the city. Time spent in the museum was worth while, however. Reliefs from the Sebasteion are well-preserved and quite remarkable, chronicling the triumphs of the emperors.  

If you have multiple pictures of a single location, they can be joined into a multiple perspective picture using Photosynth. HERE is one I compiled of the Tetrapylon at Aphrodisias.

We next went on to Laodicea which has experienced tremendous archaeological renovations within the last few years, and work is in progress still. It is a rather impressive site, and we only got to see a portion of it. 9 miles to the east is the mound that is what's left of Colossae. 5 miles to the north is modern Pamukkale just below ancient Hierapolis. One of the drawbacks of traveling in January is that it gets dark rather early, and so we didn't have time to go through Hierapolis. I'll have to plan another trip back...

UPDATE: Thanks to a comment added, I've been looking for the reference to the church discovered in Laodicea. HERE is the article. As Todd Bolen notes, however, this 4th century building is not the "church" mentioned in Colossians 4:15-16 or Revelation 3:14-22.