Laodicea was eventually abandoned due to earthquakes. Today, there are still impressive ruins in the city, including two Roman theaters, a large stadium, and three early Christian churches. However, most of the city itself hasn’t been excavated yet. The ruins I mentioned are visible through the debris and wild growth that cover the area. I have heard that an American foundation has set aside two to three million dollars to excavate Laodicea, and I would love to be part of that project because it would be very interesting The Letters to the Seven Churches A Lesson for the Church.
Commerce in Laodicea
Laodicea was an important center for commerce and textile production (making clothes). Standing in the ruins of Laodicea, you can see the nearby hills where Colossae and Hierapolis were located. Hierapolis had famous hot springs, and it has the biggest ruins of the three cities. The hills around Hierapolis have a strange color, and the people there used the clay from these hills to mix with spikenard (a fragrant plant) to make a salve (medicine) for the eyes and ears. This salve was shipped all over the Roman Empire.
The Healing Salve and Today’s Medicine
Today, we know that the clay used for the salve doesn’t actually have any healing properties. But back then, people made a lot of money from selling it. We like to think that today we are more advanced and civilized, but there are still many products on the market today that don’t actually work. People buy these products because of advertising and pressure. We should be careful not to criticize the people from Laodicea too much, but Jesus did criticize them. He will tell them that they need to get the real eye salve, which will open their eyes to the truth Istanbul Day Tour.
