Biblical Asia Minor
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17 Days: Friday - Sunday
Day 1 Flight Day
Flight from the United States.
Day 2 Istanbul
Arrival in Istanbul and transfer to hotel. Orientation walks. Dinner and overnight at the Richmond Hotel in
Istanbul. (D)
Day 3 Istanbul
Visit Hagia Sofia, Topkapi Palace, the Hippodrome, and the Blue Mosque. Dinner in
Kumkapi, the city’s fish
market, and overnight at the Richmond Hotel. (B/D)
Day 4 Antioch ad Orontes /
Antakya
Morning flight to Adana and drive to Antakya (ancient Antioch). Located near the mouth of the Orontes
River, the city was one of the earliest centers of Christianity, serving as the headquarters of St. Paul for his
missionary journeys between 47-55 A.D. Visit the Mosaic Museum and the Grotto of St. Peter, a cave church where
St. Peter is believed to have preached and the new word, Christian, came into use. Dinner in town and overnight at
the Buyuk Antakya Hotel. (B/D)
Day 5 Tarsus
Visits to Titus Tunnel, Seleuceia ad Pierea, Antioch’s ancient port near
Samandag, and the 6th century
monastery of St. Simeon, Stylites the younger. Then on to Tarsus, the birth place of St. Paul. In Acts 21:39, Paul is
proud of his city and says, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city”. Dinner and overnight at
the Tarsus Mersin Hotel. (B/D)
Day 6 Cappadocia
Drive to Nigde and visit Eskigumus Monastery, one of the best preserved monastery complexes with an
intact fresco of Mary depicted smiling with her infant Jesus. Then on to
Derinkuyu, the deepest underground city with
eight layers. Dinner and overnight at the Urgup House Hotel. (B/D)
Day 7 Cappadocia
Full-day tour of Cappadocia: Visits to the Goreme Open Air Museum, Zelve Valley,
Avanos, and Uchisar.
A land of eerie beauty, the region was a Roman province and the refuge of persecuted Christians during the early
days of the Roman Empire. Cappadocia is well known for its rock churches that date to the period of the persecution
and for its underground cities, amazingly intricate systems of tunnels cut into mountains of rock. Dinner in town and
overnight at the Urgup House Hotel. (B/D)
Day 8 Lystra / Konya
Visit Ihlara Valley where there were more than one hundred churches once upon a time. Then on to
Sultanhan Caravanserai and Lystra, where Paul was stoned by the people during his first visit. Drive to Konya,
ancient Iconium. Optional Whirling Dervish performance in the hotel. Dinner and overnight at the Dundar Hotel in
Konya. (B/D)
Day 9 Pisidian Antioch / Antalya
Visit the Mevlana Museum, which was the cloister of Mevlana, a great mystical philosopher of the 13th
century, and Mevlevi, the Whirling Dervishes. Drive to Yalvac and visit Pisidian Antioch where St. Paul addressed the
congregation in a synagogue on the Sabbath, the first recorded sermon. The Synagogue was later converted into a
basilica dedicated to St. Paul. Dinner and overnight at the Talya Hotel in Antalya. (B/D)
Day 10 Perge - Aspendos / Antalya
Visits to Perge and Aspendos. In Perge, the apostles Paul and Barnabas began their first missionary
journey in Asia Minor. Its most notable remains include a theater, a stadium, two basilicas and an agora. It was
renowned for its schools of sculpture during the Roman period. The ancient Pamphylian city of Aspendos is noted for
its Roman ruins, including an aqueduct and a Roman theater, possibly the finest in the world, which is carved out of
the northeast flank of a hill. Free time for strolling through the old harbor in Antalya in the afternoon. Dinner in town
and overnight at the Talya Hotel in Antalya. (B/D)
Day 11 Pamukkale
Visit the Antalya Archaeological Museum, where a rich collection of artifacts from the vicinity, ranging
from the upper Paleolithic period to Ottoman times, offers a glimpse of the area’s rich history. Drive to Pamukkale and
visit Laodiceia, known for its “lukewarm” people, like the water of the city, and
Colossae, mentioned by Paul in his
letter. Dinner and overnight at the Colossae Thermal Hotel in Pamukkale. (B/D)
Day 12 Hierapolis / Pamukkale
Visit Hierapolis, modern Pamukkale, where the Martyrium of St. Philip the Apostle can be seen behind the
theater. Its hot springs have been used since Roman times for their therapeutic powers. The build-up over thousands
of years of mineral deposits has created fantastic formations of white stalactite, cataracts, and basins. Then on to
Aphrodisias, the city of Aphrodite, and her temple which was converted into a basilica. Dinner and overnight at the
Colossae Thermal Hotel in Pamukkale. (B/D)
Day 13 Sardis / Bergama
Drive to Bergama visiting three of the Seven Churches - Thyatira, Sardis, and Philadelphia - from the
Book of Revelation. Sardis, where the first coins were minted, was the capital of the Lydian Empire and the city of
King Croesos. Dinner and overnight at the Berksoy Hotel in Bergama. (B/D)
Day 14 Pergamum – Smyrna /
Kusadasi
Visit Pergamum, the site of one of the seven churches of the Bible and well-known for its throne of
Satan and the work done by the great physician Galen in Asclepion, Drive to Izmir, ancient Smyrna and visit the
Church of St. Polycarp. Dinner and overnight at the Kismet Hotel in Kusadasi. (B/D)
Day 15 Ephesus / Kusadasi
Visit Ephesus and environs. Sites include the Museum, the Temple of Artemis, the Basilica of St. John,
and the Church of the Virgin Mary. St. John preached and lived in Ephesus. It is believed that he brought the Virgin
Mary to Ephesus after the crucifixion of Christ and that she spent her last days in the small house that was built for
her on Mt. Koressos (Bulbuldagi). Dinner in town, overnight at the Kismet Hotel. (B/D)
Day 16 Istanbul
Drive to Izmir for morning flight to Istanbul. Visit the Church of Holy Saviour
(Chora), housing the best
examples of mosaics and frescos in Byzantine Christian art. Free time at the Grand Bazaar. Dinner on your own,
overnight at the Richmond Hotel in Istanbul. (B)
Day 17 Departure Day
Transfer to airport for return flight to the United States. (B)
| What's Included | Not Included |
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