Dean Christakos« Overcoming Inertia | Main | Stuff You Can't Make Up »
April 15, 2006
Pictures from the Church of St. Nicholas
So, the city of Demre in Turkey is milking the whole "we're the home of Santa Claus" thing for all it's worth, as can be seen from this statue in their main square:
In all seriousness, however, the city of Demre has the remains of the cathedral of St. Nicholas, as Demre was Myra, the where St. Nicholas was the bishop:
This is the church from which St. Nicholas's relics were stolen before being brought to Bari, in southern Italy, which I visited earlier.
Wow, this trip has been like tracing St. Nicholas's story in reverse. I started off in Amsterdam, where St. Nicholas is venerated as Sinterklaas during their public festival on December 5th (the eve of the Feast of St. Nicholas). Then I went to Bari where St. Nicholas's relics are interred and saw the local church and pilgrimage site. Now I'm in Myra, where St. Nicholas was originally from. I suppose the next step in tracing St. Nicholas's life in reverse would be to visit his birthplace of Patara, but tomorrow I'm off to see the ruins of Ephesus.
Posted by Dean at April 15, 2006 4:00 PM
Comments
Dean:
I learned from mom last night you had a blog and I am checking it out after work. It is fascinating. I am enjoying every minute of it. Have a blast the last week and talk to you some place in the USA
Love,
Mariann Kottas
Posted by: Maria Kottas at April 17, 2006 4:54 PM