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| ST. NICHOLAS |
Santa Clause, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle... whatever you
call the beloved symbol of Christmas, you probably imagine him
living in the North Pole, surrounded by elves and reindeer in
a winter wonderland. But did you know that the real St Nicholas
lived in a warm, sunny town on the Mediterranean Sea in what
is now Turkey?
History shows that St. Nicholas was born in the town of Patara
around 245 A.D. His father died when Nicholas was a young man,
leaving his son a great fortune. Instead of spending his fortune
on himself, Nicholas began anonymously giving away the money
to the needy, especially to children. Nicholas eventually become
Bishop of Myra (modern-day eoastel Demre in Turkey, at the southern
most tip of the Bey Daglari Mountains ), where he performed
several miracles, including saving sailors from drowning and
resurrecting three boys who had been killed by an evil butcher.
Today, St. Nicholas is known as the palron saint of children
, sailors, teachers, students and merchants. However, it is
most well-known of St. Nicholas' miracles that led to the legend
of Santa Claus.
A nobleman who lived with his three daughters had fallen on
hard times. The daughters had no chance of marriage as their
father could not pay their dowries. One night, St. Nichols,
hearing of the young girls' plight, threw a sack of gold though
a window of the nobleman's shabby castle, which was enough to
provide for one daughter's . But, on the third night, the window
was close. Ever resourcefulSt. Nicholas climbed onto the roof
and dropped the third sack of gold down the chimney. The next
morning the daughters found the gold in the stockings they had
hung to dry by the fireplace! Others in the town heard the story
and began hanging their empty stockings by the fireplace at
night hence the tradition of hanging stockings on Christmas
Eve, awaiting a visit from St. Nick.
In addition to the Church of the beloved St. Nicholas, there
is much to enjoy in Demre . Located in a fertile river delta,
it was known as Myra during Roman times (the name came from
the name of the valuable resin myrrh.) It is said that St. Poul
stopped here on his voyage to Rome. Though Myra had a long and
significant history as a religious, commercial and administrative
town, Arab raids in the 7 th century and the silting of the
harbor led to its decline.
Today, visitors can walk among the ruins of Myra, including
a striking honeycomb of rock-hewn Lycian tombs and a very well-
preserved Roman theater. The tombs are thought to have been
carved to resemble Lycian houses, wood beams and all! The area
also served as an important transshipmentpoint for grain on
the sea route to Rome the great granary built by the Emperor
Hadrian in 193 A.D. still stant and is , even today, an impressive
sight. Within easy distance are a number of departure points
for scenic yacht cruises, one of the most beautiful and affordable
ways to tour this beautiful section of Turkey's Mediterranean
coast. Travellers can also visit the ruins of the ancient city
of Olimpos, home of the legendary Chimaera, a spontaneous and
inextinguishable flame which blazes from the top of Mt. Olimpos.
It is easy to understand why the ancient Olympians worshipped
Hephaestos or Vulcan, the got of fire. Even today, scientists
are unable to fully explain the source and longevity of the
flame.
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Belge No : A - 4121 |
Adres : Talatpaşa Bulv. 49/C Alsancak
/ İzmir - TÜRKİYE
Tel : +90.232.464 64 85 (pbx)
Faks : +90.232.464 66 14
E-posta : info@birtour.com |
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