Sojourn to Biblical Turkey

• 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