Going to Turkey, I was counting exclusively on a beach holiday: golden sand, blue sea, white steamer … I do not even know about any Orthodox shrines that are in this country of fragrant spices and oriental dances.
And suddenly the guide says that a few hours away at the mouth of the Andrak River, on the bank of which, according to legend, before leaving for Rome, the disciples of Christ, the apostles Paul and Luke, went out. The ancient city of Mira is also located here, one of the most significant cities of ancient Lycia - the land of the sun, which got its name from the word "myrrh" - the resin from which incense is made. But this is not the glory of this city. And the fact that in the fourth century AD, during the period of the so-called Byzantine times, in Mir served as Bishop Nicholas of Patara, known in the Orthodox world as Nicholas the Wonderworker or Nicholas the Pleasant, who patronized seafarers, dowries, children, strangers, or better to say to all those, who left their father's house. Being in the dense confidence that Nikolai the Pleasant is a fictional image, she was shocked to learn that he was a real person. Therefore, she was the first to sign up for a trip across half the country in the scorching heat.
Greco-Roman theater in Mir.
… The path was not short. The blue expanses of the Mediterranean Sea were replaced by plains incinerated by the heat with withered grass. Aqueducts, amphitheaters, the ruins of ancient palaces destroyed by time and earthquakes, and other evidence of an ancient civilization, worked out by the "slaves of Rome", floated before my eyes. It seemed that a little bit more and in a red-hot haze the troops of Alexander the Great were materializing, the traces of which are remembered by these stones and herbs. On the way to the city of Mira, we transfer to a ship that takes us to a quiet harbor, where an ancient city that has sunk to the bottom lies under a layer of clear water. He was cut off from the rock like a sharp razor. It resembles a multi-storey building, part of which collapsed as if from an explosion of household gas, as it often happens in our cities now. But in those days there was no gas. And there were earthquakes. Natural disasters became the culprits of this ancient disaster. Under the water column, the buildings of our distant ancestors are perfectly visible: ideally even rows of streets with residential buildings, swimming pools, baths, or, more correctly, a term. Isn't it Atlantis? Here, in the bay, an unusual necropolis on the water is discovered. Gravestones in the form of overturned stone boats: very symbolic - life is over, the boat capsized. Each boat has a hole on the side so that a ray of the sun can enter the crypt. So the living took care of the dead …Each boat has a hole on the side so that a ray of the sun can enter the crypt. So the living took care of the dead …Each boat has a hole on the side so that a ray of the sun can enter the crypt. So the living took care of the dead …
And finally, the main goal of our trip is the city of Mira. First, they are taken to the ruins of a Greco-Roman theater, considered one of the best examples of ancient architecture. 35 rows of spectator seats, rising like steps into the sky, the stage facade richly decorated with theatrical masks and reliefs depicting mythological characters - everything indicates that people who knew a lot about high art lived on this earth. Not far from the theater there is a rock in which numerous tombs are carved. Most of these rock-cut tombs have ornate facades and resemble the dwellings of the local ancient inhabitants. Burying their neighbors on a high rock, the ancient Lycians believed that this would help the dead to get to heaven faster. But we, Christians, know that the sky is closer not from a cliff, but from completely different heights. So let's go there quickly,where they initially aspired - to the miraculously preserved church for 17 centuries, in which one of the most significant Christian saints Nicholas the Wonderworker served. He was buried here. Soon after his death, several miraculous healings occurred among the believers who came to worship his ashes. Since then, the city of Mira has become a place of pilgrimage.
The church was destroyed several times by earthquakes and Arab raids. Over the centuries that have flown over its stone walls, it seems to have grown into the ground. By what miracle did these walls and vaults survive in the midst of the elements that repeatedly raged in fury ?! However, this question is probably inappropriate in the monastery of the one who is called the Wonderworker. To get to the basilica, you need to go down. But for some reason it seems that this is a path along the stairs leading up. The spirit freezes when you walk on ancient stones worn out from time to time. Here is the main chapel, where the Royal Doors were located, which swung open, revealing the Kingdom of Heaven to those who prayed. Here is the churchyard, paved with stone, here, probably in silence and shade, under a stone canopy, Bishop Nicholas was pondering the secret words of his sermons. Now his sculpture stands here,next to which tourists want to take pictures. But this is not the main thing that must be taken away from these walls … All around are stones, not a blade of grass, not a flower. And this also has its own symbolism: surely, strong as a stone was the faith of those who preached within these walls and those who were fed by these sermons.
And here is the holy of holies - a room where there is a sarcophagus, in which the relics of Nicholas the Pleasure lay. In May 1087, Italian merchants, having taken possession of them, took them to the city of Bari, where they are kept in the cathedral to this day. Christians from all over the world come to worship them. However, not only the relics in Bari are considered sacred, but also the sarcophagus in Mir, where they were laid to rest. And people from all over the Christian world also come to venerate the sarcophagus.
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Agile inhabitants of Mira near the basilica sell icons of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, as they say, for every taste and wallet - made of silver, leather, stone. Attach, they say, an icon to the sarcophagus and it will not be worth it. I had enough money for three very simple images. I did everything as the guide taught - a Russian woman who fervently believes in Christian relics. She gave two images to her sons, who were on the road all the time, giving their children under the protection of Nikolai the Pleasant. I keep one with myself. As a bright image of the one whom I believe infinitely. As a memory of this trip through a stranger's hot heat, professing a different religion, speaking a different language. As a memory of my grandmother, who prayed all her life to Nikolai the Ugodnik and, apparently, begged for her Komsomol granddaughter a bit of intelligence to get enough of thinking about faith.
Author: Natalia Verkashantseva