FOOTSTEPS OF ST. PAUL, T
The Turkey Specialist
Footsteps of St. Paul, Turkey – 15 DAYS
Day 1 Departure
Departure from the USA with an overnight flight to Istanbul.
Day 2 Arrival to Istanbul
Upon arrival, our tour director will meet us at Ataturk International Airport and transfer us to the hotel. You will have the opportunity to rest or start exploring the city until dinner at the hotel.
(Dinner) Klas Hotel
Day 3 Istanbul City Tour
Today our tour includes the major sites and museums of Istanbul. The Blue Mosque is one of the most famous mosques in the world because of its interior decorated with exquisite Iznik Tiles, the Hippodrome Square where all the major public events were held during the Roman times, and the Topkapi Palace which was the residence of the Ottoman Royal Family for four centuries. We will finish the day with a visit to the Grand Bazaar.
(Breakfast/Dinner) Klas Hotel
Day 4 Istanbul – Antioch – Adana
Early in the morning, we will be transferred to the airport for our domestic flight to Adana. Upon arrival, our tour bus will take us to Antioch to visit the Church of St. Peter which was one of the earliest Christian Churches where St. Peter and St. Paul preached to the public. It is also the very place where the followers of Jesus called themselves Christians for the first time. The next stop is the Mosaic Museum with an extraordinary collection of antiques. Overnight in Adana.
(Breakfast/Dinner) Surmeli Adana
Day 5 Adana - Tarsus – Cappadocia
After checking out of the hotel, we will visit Tarsus (Acts 22:3) where St. Paul was born and raised. We will see Cleopatra’s Gate where Marc Anthony and Cleopatra entered the city in 41 BC. The next stop will be Cumhuriyet Alani to visit St. Paul’s Well where according to the legend, St. Paul used to get his water when he lived there. Very close to the well, the excavation site of the ancient Roman city can be seen. The last stop in Tarsus will be the famous Waterfall where St. Paul used to swim as a child. In the afternoon, we will go to Cappadocia, driving through the Cilician Gates.
(Breakfast/Dinner) Dinler Hotel
Optional Tour: Whirling Dervishes $39 USD
This evening, we will have the chance to see the real Whirling Dervishes performing their ritual ceremony. The performance is held in a 13th century Seljuk Caravanserai, which was one of the major stops for the caravans on the ancient Silk Road.
Day 6 Cappadocia
Today we have a full day tour in Cappadocia to enjoy the breathtaking landscape. We will see the hidden places where Christians lived to survive from the Arab raids. The sites that you will visit include Goreme Open Air Museum, which is a complex of cave churches and monasteries with incredible Biblical frescoes. The museum is declared as one of the World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Ozkonak Underground City is one of the hundreds of underground cities that could contain thousands of people at the same time and saved the Christians from the raiders. Your next stop will be Pasabagi, one of the most visited valleys of Cappadocia which consists of cave dwellings and surreal fairy chimneys. The last visit will be another ancient village, Avanos, which is still occupied and is world famous for its artisans.
(Breakfast/Dinner) Dinler Hotel
Day 7 Cappadocia – Konya
In the morning, we will visit Cavusin which is like traveling back in time to see the dwellings from the Hittite times to today. After a photo stop at Uchisar alti, we will be traveling on the big Konya plain which is considered the wheat bowl of Turkey. St. Paul visited Konya which was then called Iconium in the Roman Times on his first and second missionary journeys (Acts 13:5, 14:7, 16:2). Upon arrival we will visit the Museum of Mevlana, the founder of the Sufi order of the Whirling Dervishes. The mausoleum is a part of the complex that was originally the first place where Mevlana’s father Sultan Ul Ulema and his followers settled in the 13th century which served as a monastery for the Whirling Dervishes for seven centuries. Overnight in Konya.
(Breakfast/Dinner) Hotel Ozkaymak Konya
Day 8 Konya-Antalya
We will leave Konya for our next destination, Yalvac which was once called Psidian Antioch in the early Christian times. One of the most important sightseeing stops will be the church which was built on the very synagogue where St. Paul gave his first sermon to the Gentiles (Acts 13:13–52). He visited the city once on each of his missionary journeys. Leaving Yalvac, we will drive to Antalya through the Taurus Mountains following a scenic route down to the Mediterranean. We will spend two nights in Antalya.
(Breakfast/Dinner) Khan Best Western
Day 9 Antalya
We will start the day with Perge which St. Paul visited twice with St. Barnabas on his first missionary journey. We will enter the city through the 3rd century B.C. Hellenistic Gate as did St. Paul and St. Barnabas. Then we will drive to Aspendos to see the best preserved Greco-Roman theater in the world. In the afternoon, we will see the Antalya Archeological Museum which is one of the best museums in the country with its large collection of artifacts dating back to the Paleolithic Age. We will finish the day visiting the Ancient Harbor of Attaleia (today’s Antalya) where St. Paul took the ship back to Antioch at the end of his first journey
(Breakfast/Dinner) Khan Best Western
Day 10 Antalya-Pamukkale
Leaving Antalya, we will again drive through the Taurus Mountains up North to Pamukkale. The name means “Cotton Castle” because of the calcium deposit formations on the hills caused by a prehistoric thermal spring that resembles cotton. On the skirts of the cotton hills, we will visit recently excavated Laodicea well known as one of the seven churches from the Book of Revelation (Rev. 3.14-21). After visiting the ancient city of Hierapolis and the cascades of Pamukkale, our tour bus will take us to the spa hotel where we will have time to enjoy the natural thermal pools. Overnight in Pamukkale.
(Breakfast/Dinner) Hotel Lycus River
Day 11 Pamukkale – Kusadasi
Today, we will drive west to the Aegean Coast, and start our tour with Miletus where St. Paul met the elders of the church of Ephesus on his third missionary journey (Acts 20:15-38). Our next stop will be Didyma to see the Temple of Apollo which was the second most important prophecy center of antiquity after Delphi. In the late afternoon, we will arrive to Kusadasi. We will spend two nights in this popular resort town.
(Breakfast/Dinner) Hotel Tatlises
Day 12 Kusadasi
In the morning we will start the tour with the House of Virgin Mary where many of the Christians believe that Mother Mary spent the last years of her life before the ascension. Our next stop will be one of the best preserved ancient cities of the world, Ephesus. St. Paul lived here for three years (Acts 19:23-41). St. John also lived here for a long time and addressed the city as one of the seven churches of revelation (Rev 2:1-7). After Ephesus we will drive to the Basilica of St. John where you can also visit his burial of the apostle.
(Breakfast/Dinner) Hotel Tatlises
Day 13 Kusadasi - Canakkale
Our tour will start with another city from the Book of Revelation, the city of Pergamum (Rev 1:1, 2:12-17, 2:13). Visiting the Acropolis we will see a very impressive antique city besides its biblical importance. In the afternoon, we will visit Alexandria Troas (Acts 16:18-11, 20:6-12) where St. Paul gave an overnight sermon to the locals. Overnight in Canakkale.
(Breakfast/Dinner) Tusan Hotel
Day 14 Canakkale – Istanbul
As our last visit of the tour, we will stop at legendary Troy to see the ruins where the epic War of Troy took place. After a pleasant ferry ride across the Dardanelles, we will drive through the battlefields of the Gallipoli Peninsula which witnessed one of the most tragic battles of World War 1, the Anzac War. Then we will drive back to Istanbul and check into our hotel to refresh and get ready for our farewell dinner.
(Breakfast/Farewell Dinner) Klas Hotel
Day 15 Istanbul - USA
After breakfast, our tour director will escort us to Ataturk Airport for our flight back to the USA.
(Breakfast)