Sojourn to
Biblical/Classical Turkey

Follow the footsteps of Paul across the ancient cities of Asia Minor — the very soil where the Apostle launched his first, second, and third missionary journeys, where John addressed seven struggling congregations by name, and where the assembled Church first hammered out the doctrines every Christian holds dear.

No land on earth is more saturated with the New Testament than modern-day Turkey. This journey will lead Sojourners to encounter that world not as tourists, but as students of Scripture standing where the words were first lived out.

Our ideal itinerary traces Paul's first missionary route from the Mediterranean coast at Antalya and Perga northward through Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. Next, we’ll visit church cities of Paul’s later journeys and of Paul’s and John’s epistles. Along the way we'll open our Bibles in the cities to which Paul wrote his letters and to which John addressed the Revelation, connecting the words on the page to the earth beneath our feet.

Heading through the Lycus Valley to Hierapolis, Colossae, Laodicea, and the magnificent ruins of Ephesus, we’ll continue to the Aegean coast, ancient Troy and Troas, and finally Istanbul and the shores of Nicaea — where the Nicene Creed was ratified more than 1,700 years ago.

Our prayer is that through this journey you will experience the intellectual validation and fortification of your faith; a deeper understanding of how the gospel spread from Jerusalem to the ends of the known world; the Scriptures coming alive to you as never before; recognition of Paul not only as a missionary but as a worldview warrior who reasoned, argued, and contended for truth in the most formidable intellectual arenas of his age; a new sense of the early church's courage in establishing the canon and defining the faith under pressure; and a sweet renewal of your relationship with Christ as you walk the ground where his church was born.

Key Sites & Storylines

- Antalya harbor (ancient Attalia), Paul's departure point
- Perga — where Paul and Barnabas first landed on the 1st missionary journey
- Pisidian Antioch — synagogue site and Paul's first recorded sermon to the Gentiles
- Iconium (Konya) — where Paul preached boldly despite plots against his life (Acts 14)
- Lystra (Kilistra) — where Paul was stoned and left for dead, then rose and pressed on
- Troas — where Paul received his vision of the Macedonian man and later raised Eutychus (Acts 16, 20)
- Ephesus — three-year base for Paul's third journey; site of the great riot of Artemis silversmiths
Stand in the cities to which John addressed Christ's letters in the Apocalypse:
- Philadelphia (Alasehir) — "I have set before you an open door" (Rev. 3:8)
- Sardis (two major archaeological sites) — "You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead" (Rev. 3:1)
- Thyatira (Akhisar) — home of Lydia, Paul's first European convert, before she settled in Philippi
- Laodicea — "You are lukewarm — neither hot nor cold" (Rev. 3:16)
- Ephesus — "You have abandoned the love you had at first" (Rev. 2:4)
- Smyrna (Izmir) — "Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life" (Rev. 2:10)
- Pergamum (Bergama) — "Where Satan's throne is" — seat of imperial cult worship (Rev. 2:13)
Visit the interconnected cities that received — and are referenced in — Paul's prison epistles:
- Hierapolis — where the Apostle Philip is believed to have been martyred; stunning necropolis and ancient basilica
- Colossae — site of the church Paul addressed in his letter combating early Gnostic influence
- Laodicea — one of the wealthiest cities in Asia Minor; mentioned in Colossians as well as Revelation
- Pamukkale (ancient Hierapolis travertine terraces) — a spectacular setting for reflection and debrief
One of the best-preserved ancient cities in the world, and one of the most scripturally significant:
- Ephesus ancient city — theater, library of Celsus, agora, marble streets
- Basilica of St. John — built over the site where the Apostle John is said to be buried
- Temple of Artemis — one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world; the idol that sparked the great riot of Acts 19
Encounter the places where the universal church assembled to define the faith it would pass to every subsequent generation:
- Nicaea (modern Iznik) — ruins of the basilica where the Council of Nicaea (AD 325) convened under Constantine, establishing the Nicene Creed
- Second Council Church/Mosque — site of the Second Council of Nicaea (AD 787), addressing the use of icons in Christian worship
Explore the classical roots of the civilization into which Christ sent his church:
- Troy ruins and archaeological site — immortalized by Homer and excavated by Schliemann
- Troy Museum — one of Turkey's finest archaeological museums, tracing the city's nine distinct civilizations
- Troas — the port city where Paul's world pivoted from Asia to Europe
Conclude your sojourn in one of history's great cities, once the capital of both the Roman and Byzantine empires:
Hagia Sophia — Christendom's greatest cathedral for nearly a millennium
- Topkapi Palace — seat of the Ottoman Empire for four centuries
- Hippodrome — ancient center of Byzantine civic and political life
- Grand Bazaar — one of the oldest and largest covered markets in the world
Turkey will get under your skin — and into your stomach — in the best possible ways, thanks to:
- Authentic Turkish cuisine beyond imagination
- Local markets, spices, and the art of the çay (tea)
- Warm Turkish hospitality from Antalya to Istanbul

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The Sojourn to Biblical/Classical Turkey Difference

This program goes far beyond a standard Holy Land tour to provide a theologically informed, historically grounded understanding of how the Christian faith was planted, tested, articulated, and preserved across the world's most scripturally dense landscape. By reading Paul's epistles and John's Revelation at the very sites to which they were written — and by standing in the ruins where the early church councils defined orthodoxy — Sojourners gain insights that deepen their reading of the New Testament for the rest of their lives.

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