TOUR ITINERARY:

Day 1. Depart Home – Fly Istanbul

Day 2. Arrive in Istanbul Airport.
Continue to Antalya Your tour guide will meet you after the customs and baggage claim with a “GROUP NAME” sign. Transfer to Domestic Terminal and flight to Antalya, which in Paul’s day was known as Attalia and was the place from where the apostle sailed home at the end of his first missionary journey (Acts 14:25–26). Transfer to the hotel. Dinner and overnight.(D)

Day 3.Antalya – Perge
Today we will visit Perge. Located ten miles east of Antalya is the ancient city of Perge, where Paul landed after sailing from the island of Cyprus during his first missionary journey (Acts 14:13–14). That Perge was a wealthy city is still easily seen today from its 15,000–seat theatre, 12,000–seat stadium, Hellenistic gate with its “Twin Towers,” baths with under–floor heating, colonnaded marketplace, water fountains, and impressive colonnaded street with a flowing water channel in the middle. Back to the hotel. Dinner and overnight. (B,D)

Day 4. Antalya Tour –
Afternoon is free Visit the award winning Archaeological Museum in the morning. Then, in the heart of the old town we will visit St. Paul Cultural Center, a “coffee shop” run by Christians that more importantly also serves as home to two churches: one Turkish and the other international. Enjoy a tasty lunch (a modest donation for the lunch will help support the ministry here) and then listen to a Turkish pastor about what it is like to live as a Christian in a country where 99.9% of its citizens are Muslim. Afterwards, we will have free time to walk and shop in the quaint restored area of the old harbor, also enjoying the view of the very port from which Paul sailed. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight in Antalya. (B,D)

Day 5.Psidian Antioch – Colossae – Pamukkale
After breakfast you will depart and drive to Yalvac, ancient Antioch of Psidia. Paul visited this town on his first missionary journey and it is here that he addressed the congregation in the synagogue on the Sabbath with his first recorded sermon. Our second stop in Colossae will be brief, since this site has not yet been excavated. Nevertheless, this is an important site for Christians to visit, since Paul sent two letters here: one to the church of Colossae and one to the rich Christian slave–owner Philemon, who hosted the Colossian church in his home. Overnight in one of the nearby modern resorts of Pammukale whose thermal baths are sure to revive your tired body! (B,D)

Day 6.Laodicea – Hieropolis – Pamukkale
Start the day by visiting Laodicea. Although the excavation work is still in its early stages, Laodicea was a major city in Roman times, as is clear from not only the size of the ancient site but also its two theatres, stadium, aqueduct and major street lined with shops. Laodicea is not only the last of the seven churches to whom John directed the book of Revelation (Rev. 3:14–22), but it also had a close relationship with the nearby churches of Colossae and Hierapolis (Col. 4:13–15) and was the recipient
of one of Paul’s now lost letters (Col. 4:16). Then, we will visit the third of the three key biblical cities in the Lycus Valley: Hierapolis. With its hot thermal springs well–known already in the ancient world for its medicinal qualities as well its spectacular white travertine terraces, Hierapolis remains just as popular with travelers today as it was in biblical times.
Equally impressive, however, are the remains of the ancient city: the Arch of Domitian, a colonnaded street and marketplace, ancient baths, a 15,000– seat theatre built in 2nd century, the largest ancient graveyard in Anatolia containing over 1,200 tombs, tumuli and sarcophagi, and the Martyrium of St. Philip, a 5th century AD structure on the site where Philip—either the apostle or the evangelist (Acts 6:1–7; 21:8–9; Acts of Philip)—was believed to have been killed in AD 80. Overnight in Pamukkale. (B,D)

Day 7.Aphrodisias – Kuşadası
Drive to Aphrodisias the city of Aphrodite, protected by Emperor Augustus. Visit the great stadium, the temple and tetrapylon. We will see also the Sebastion, which was a grandiose temple complex dedicated to Aphrodite and the Julio–Claudian emperors and was decorated with a lavish sculptural program of which much survives. We will also visit the Museum of the site and see the Jewish inscription and other riches of the city. Proceed to Kusadasi dinner and overnight.(B,D)

Day 8.Ephesus – Kusadasi
Today will likely be the high note of the tour for most people, as we visit the most impressive biblical site of our trip: Ephesus. The former glory of this city can still today be easily appreciated from its well–preserved streets, temples, fountains, public baths, terraced houses and theatres. Ephesus was also the site of the Artemis temple—one of seven wonders of the ancient world. There is the same theatre where some 24,000 citizens of Ephesus gathered shouting “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” in a riot started in response to Paul’s ministry there. The apostle visited this city only briefly during his second missionary journey (Acts 18:18–21) but returned during his third missionary journey for a much longer period of two years and three months (Acts 19:1–20:1). Timothy later served as pastor in this city during which time Paul wrote him two letters (1 & 2 Timothy). Some years later Ephesus served as the home base for the apostle John’s ministry from where he wrote a number of letters (1, 2, 3 John) and to which he sent the Book of Revelation. In addition to the ancient city, we will also visit the “Slope Houses” (the wealthiest homes in Ephesus that have been marvelously reconstructed), the Ephesus Museum, which houses several impressive items from this site, the Temple of Artemis, and the St. John Basilica. Dinner and overnight in Kusadasi. (B,D)

Day 9.Pergamum – Assos
Drive north to Pergamum Acropolis which is one of the most impressive archaeological sites in all of Turkey. Its attractions are hard to surpass: a 10,000–seat theatre on the side of the acropolis which is the steepest in the ancient world; the magnificently restored temple of Trajan; a library of 200,000 volumes second in size only to that in Alexandria; the base of the Altar of Zeus; the temple of Dionysus. John warned the church here that they were living in a place of “Satan’s throne” (Rev. 2:12–17). Afternoon drive to Assos. Dinner and overnight. (B,D)

Day 10.Assos
Today we will visit Assos. It is built on a great volcanic cone 700 feet high. An ancient city of Mysia in the Roman province of Asia, at which, according to Acts 20:13, Paul and Luke rested while on their way from Troas to Mitylene. Visit the 6th century BC temple of Athena and the harbour of the city. Afternoon free at your hotel. Dinner and overnight. (B,D)

Day 11.Alexander Troas – Istanbul
Today we drive to Istanbul via Alexander Troas, the chief city in the Northwest of Asia Minor, on the coast of Mysia in the Roman province of Asia. From here, according to Acts 16:8, Paul sailed. Here, also, according to Acts 20: 5–12, Paul raised Eutychus from the dead. The name Troas was not confined to the town itself, but it was also applied to the surrounding district or to that part of the coast which is now generally known as the Troad. From Troas we will drive to Dardanelle strait and take the ferry to Gallipoli. Then we will drive to Istanbul. Dinner and overnight. (B,D)

Day 12.Istanbul old city
Our day in the historic city of Istanbul begins at the Hagia Sophia (the church of “Holy Wisdom”)—the crowning achievement of the sacred building program of Emperor Justinian, the 6th– century head of the Christian Byzantine Empire. We also visit the Blue Mosque which was built during the years 1609–1616 and which was intended to compete with the impressive beauty of the Hagia Sophia. Nearby is located the Hippodrome which once stood in the heart of the Byzantine city of Constantinople and originally held up to 100,000 people. Although little is left of this gigantic stadium, there are a number of impressive columns and other structures situated at the site. We then head underground to the Basilica Cistern, a vast water cistern located underneath the city. We will visit Grand Bazaar before returning to our hotel for dinner and overnight. (B,D)

Day 13.Istanbul museum and capital of the empires
Today we will visit Istanbul Archaeological Museums. See the Gezer Calendar, Temple Inscription and Siloam Inscription found in the underground tunnel that feed water to the Pool of Siloam in Jerusalem. Then proceed the St. Irene Church, the site of the 2nd Ecumenical Council of 381 AD. After visiting Topkapı Palace, the main residence of the Ottoman Dynasty, we will have a boat ride along the Asian and European shores of Istanbul. Back to the hotel. Dinner and overnight. (B,D)

Day 14.Istanbul
Transfer to Istanbul Airport. Fly from Istanbul to Home. End of our services.