The Life. Epic. In Turkey.

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May 2025

Nicea, Part 3: Christianity at a Turning Point
The Council of Nicea (325) created a creed that has encured 1,700 years. But the directives formed there, known as canons, provide fascinating insights…
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James Dittes
Close Reading: The Nicene Creed - a look back 1,700 years
A visit to Iznik, Turkey, gave me a chance to look back on the first, great Christian synod of 325 and reflect on my church today.
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James Dittes
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Travelogue: Iznik, Nicea and Christianity's Great Council
This year marks the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea, the first synod after the legalization of the faith by Constantine I, and the crafting…
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James Dittes
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Homerphilia: Young Dawn & her rose-red Fingers
Over the month of March, the skies east of Izmir offered Homeric sunrises as spring clouds played in sunshine bringing to mind Homer's immortal images.
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James Dittes

April 2025

March 2025

Aegean Tale: The Walls of Smyrna
Part 2 of a series on Old Smyrna: the town suffers during the Trojan War but later becomes a destination for Aeolian and Ionian colonists -- a curse on…
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James Dittes
Travelogue: Didim's Migration Museum preserves memories of Ethnic Exchange
One side of the 1923 Population Exchange between the Turkish Republic and Greece is displayed, but both sides are illuminated.
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James Dittes
Culture Clash: Moving and Eating
I'm American. "Grab and go" is a way of life for me. But it's pretty offensive here in Turkey, the land without drive-in windows.
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James Dittes

February 2025

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