Joel’s Trip to Istanbul
I just returned from four days in Istanbul. I had the opportunity to meet with Harun Yahya, aka Adnan Oktar. We spent several hours together, some of which was filmed, much of which was not. I will post the portion that was filmed as soon as it is translated and the voice-over is complete. We had some very productive discussions. I’ll be sure to share some of the details later next week. In the meantime, I posted my photo album for anyone who is interested. Mostly architecture. Istanbul is absolutely beautiful.
June 25th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Stunning pictures!
Seven Hills Cafe eh? Hmmmmmmmm
June 25th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Istanbul does sit on seven hills. But aside from that, the rooftop of that cafe is the best view in Istanbul.
June 25th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
reminds me of when i was in Greece years ago and in Israel. So beautiful over there.
June 25th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Great pics - thanks for sharing. Is there a story regarding the column footing consisting of a sideways head?
June 25th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Under a collumn in a cistern sits Medusa’s head. The cistern was of Byzantine Christian contruction. No knowledge of why or for what reason. Though it seems to me to make a mockery of a pagan goddess.
June 25th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Great job! Waiting for the details of your interview with Adnan Oktar. I am very excited about his views and your views about Turkish - İslamic Union
June 25th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
Joel, was the fourth photo (DSCF1726.JPG) taken inside a church? Was it converted to a mosque?
June 25th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Hey Joel, no sit down with Recep Tayyip Erdogan?
June 25th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
Hey next time you probably should have a personal security detail with you.
June 25th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
Who’s the good looking guy in the black shirt? He looks like he can eat a LOT of Sis Kabap!
June 25th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Actually he looks like he already has eaten a lot of kebab. Bah-doom.
June 25th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Mitchell,
That is the indside of the Aya Sofia. Once the world’s largest church converted into a mosque after the sack of Constantinople but now essentially a museum.
June 25th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
Beautiful slide-show. Astounding architecture - Thank you, Joel.
That’s quite the shot of you with the two towers coming up off the top of your head!
June 25th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
Very nice you lucky DOG! I want to visit turkey there is so much Christian history there!
June 25th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
Duke,
I’ll take you along when I go to Baluchistan.
June 25th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
It’s a beautiful city and whom you met is a beautiful man.
June 26th, 2009 at 8:42 am
Hi Joel,
As soon as I have seen the filmed part of your conversation with Harun Yahya (I’m Turkish and a huge fan of him) I have started searching about your websites and articles on the web. I’m happy to find your blog and learn about a new True Christian watching for the return of Jesus Christ and coming of Mahdi. I will be following your upcoming posts and referencing them to my Christian friends as well as I’m referencing from Harun Yahya.
God bless Jesus Christ and Last Prophet Mohammed.
P.S. http://tinyurl.com/harunjoelinterview
You can watch the interview from Harun Yahya’s website.
June 29th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
what an awesome trip Joel! I spent honeymoon in Istanbul with my wife and we have wonderful memories from the historically significant “city of Islam”. I have heard that Istanbul means “city of Islam”. Interesting name. By the way, please read Joel Rosenberg’s latest article regarding Iraq-Babylon. Amazing stuff! Babylon is being rebuilt by the funds of US taxpayers etc. Biblical prophecies are coming true before our very eyes!
June 29th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
peteliuz,
Could you explain why US citizens provide funds to rebuild the Babylon in this crisis time? What is the theological background?
June 30th, 2009 at 3:30 am
I don’t think it’s theological. Whether you agree with the invasion of Iraq or not, you have to applaud the US for taking the responsibility to repair much of the collateral damage they caused.
June 30th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
…After killing 1 million people and causing millions of refugees to immigrate! What a brillant work to applaud!
I think there is a theological background for the invasion of Iraq. peteliuz is very exciting about the rebuilding of Babylon. I just want to learn what it is…
June 30th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Well I’m not one of those people who did agree with the invasion (cost of lives and destabilisation of the region was the real cost) and I’d still like to see Bush and Blair tried for the crime, but at least the US didn’t go in, bomb the place to hell, and then leave them to clear up the mess they made.
Anyhow, here’s a link to the article that Peteliuz was referring to: http://flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com/
June 30th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Thank you Stuart.
Is the prophecy about building a sample Babylon for tourists to visit?
June 30th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
Metehan,
Exactly. Any efforts to rebuild Babylon are only as a tourist attraction at best. Babylon will never be a major economic powerhouse capitol city. “Mystery Babylon” is called a “mystery” for a reason. To claim that literal Babylon is the identity of the age old “mystery” Babylon is to me rather anticlimactic.
July 1st, 2009 at 5:35 am
This month’s issue of Lamplighter magazine (I’m sure Joel remembers it
) has the title “Mystery Babylon: New York, Rome, or Babylon.”
http://www.lamblion.com/files/publications/magazines/Lamplighter_JulAug09_Babylon.pdf
It’s a little light, but it does make the good point that Babylon was destroyed by the Medes and that it was never to be inhabited again. Joel is right, Babylon the Great is Mystery Babylon.
P.S. There is a great article in the above magazine to rebuke and educate people who believe that Jesus was a mythical god based on ancient pagan religions.
July 2nd, 2009 at 7:39 am
Yes, that’s the article in question by Joel Rosenberg. I am not calming here that Iraq is definitely the Great Babylon which Revelation is talking about.
But why not to attract people first with “harmless” tourist places such as rebuilt city of Babylon and then move to more serious phase in the Babylon-process. Babylon could be literal (rebuilt) city, one world religion etc. at the same time. Only Lord knows 100% what this Great Babylon in the end time is, but Lord has gave us hints in His Word what it is.
For example Yeshua Himself commanded to watch the signs of His coming even if we don’t and we won’t know the day of His coming. Only Father knows it. In the same way we can see more and more signs regarding the Great Babylon and it won’t be mystery anymore to us. By the way, mysteries in the Bible doesnät mean that they couldn’t be solved. Why God would told us about a thing which we couldn’t ever understand?
God wouldn’t ever tease human beings, His own image, and say: “hahaha, you stupid human beings don’t know what I know”.
July 2nd, 2009 at 7:55 am
And maybe the antichtist is not the islamic Mahdi, but somekind of another “divine” person. I have thought that maybe this islamic end-time paradigm is too narrow point of view regarding the identity of AC, False prophet etc because there many many other AC types around such as Zarathrusta.
I have heard sermons about the desruction of the militant Islam in the last days and mixing the “tolerant” Islam with other religions. After that or during that that or because of that process, AC will rise to be the leader of this one world government and religion with Flase Prophet. In any case, AC’s dominion will have it’s center in the Middle-East because Bible point to Midlle-East 100% when it’a about the empire of AC in the last days.
Maybe the religion of AC will be mixture of “tolerant” Islam, new age movement, Roman-Catholism, Buddhism, Hinduism etc. Why not?
And yes, I have read Joel’s “AC book” and there really good points and arguments in that great book reagrding the islamic end-time paradigm.