The Journeys of PAUL in TURKEY -
A tour for Christian Scientists and their friends.
Outstanding Turkish guide, Tulu Ciftci is a delightful and knowledgable young woman.
Your Journey Includes: Roundtrip Airfare · Superior First Class Hotels · Deluxe Motorcoaches · Breakfast Buffet & Dinner Nightly · Bible Talks by Olene & Nancy · Guided Sightseeing with Tulu Cifti
ITINERARY
Day 1 - Your journey begins as you depart the USA on your international flight .Day 2 - You will arrive in Istanbul and continue to Adana by plane. You will check into your hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day 3 - After breakfast you will drive to Antioch, the place where the followers of Jesus were first called Christians. Here you will visit the Church of St. Peter, a grotto discovered by the Crusaders and reputed to be the cave church where early Christians met in secret. At the Mosaic Museum in Antioch you will see an unusually rich collection of mosaics from this area. Following your visit at the museum, you will go to the Selucia Pierra, the ancient port town of Antioch from which Paul and Barnabas set out on their first journey and where Paul returned afterwards. Finally, you will check into the hotel in Antioch for dinner and overnight.
Day 4 - Today you will have an early departure from Antioch as you drive to Tarsus, the city where the apostle Paul was born. You will visit the Church of St. Paul as well as the recently excavated remains of the Roman Tarsus in the town center. You will take a short walk to the site known as the Well of St. Paul. In the afternoon you will continue with a drive to Cappadocia, for dinner and overnight.
Day 5 - You will have a full day of sightseeing in Cappadocia. You will visit Göreme where you will see remains of several hundred early churches, with rooms hollowed out of the spectacular cones of volcanic ash. Some of them are decorated with scratched frescoes depicting scenes from the Bible. You will drive through the Zelve valley on your way to Kaymaklı, an underground city which was an early Christian center that extended downward in the earth for at least eight floors and housed several thousand people in the eighth and ninth centuries. You'll continue to Uçhisar, another of these early Christian communities, before returning to your hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day 6 - You will have an early departure today to drive to Iconium where Paul and Barnabas used the synagogue as their forum to address the local people. They angered the authorities there and were warned in time to escape being stoned. On the way you will see the archaeological sites of Derbe and Lystra, places Paul visited on all 3 of his missionary journeys. In Lystra Paul healed a lame man and later was stoned and left for dead. Here he also met Timothy who later accompanied Paul on some of his travels. You will visit the Shrine of Mevlana before going to the hotel in Konya (modern Iconium) for dinner and overnight.
Day 7 - You will and drive to Yalvac today, ancient Antioch of Pisidia. Paul visited this town on each of his missionary journeys and it is here that he addressed the congregation in the synagogue on the Sabbath with his first recorded sermon. You will visit the excavations here, and then continue to Antalya with a very scenic drive through the lakes and the rocky mountains. Dinner and overnight will be in the port city of Antalya.
Day 8 - You will begin your day with a visit to Perga, an ancient city even when Paul visited there. He and Barnabas went through Perga on their way to and from Antioch on their first journey. You will visit the theater, the agora stadium, and the columned streets. You will also visit nearby Aspendos, with one of the best preserved theaters in the world, and Side where you will see the museum, theater, and temple. You will return to Antalya for dinner and overnight.
Day 9 - Today you will drive to Collosea on the foothills of Mount Honaz. You will continue to Laodicea, one of the 7 churches of Revelation and Hierapolis where you will visit the monuments, thermal baths and the theater with its well preserved stage and Temple of Apollo. Dinner and overnight will be in Pamukkale.
Day 10 - You will leave Pamukkale and drive to Ephesus, another of the churches of Revelation, where Paul lived and taught for 3 years. You will see the amazing ruins of this great city: the theater, the library, and the Temple of Hadrian. After your visit in Ephesus you will continue to Izmir, which is ancient Smyrna, another of the 7 churches, for dinner and overnight.
Day 11 - You will leave for Bergama which is the site of ancient Pergamon, one more of Revelation's churches. You will visit the acropolis there and see the impressive theater, the Temple of Athena, and other ruins of former civilizations. You will continue to Odun Iskelesi to visit the site and the port of Alexandria-Troas. It was here that Paul heard the call to take his message to Europe, and where he later restored Eutychus to life. You will then go to Canakkale for dinner and overnight.
Day 12 - You will drive through Bursa, the first capital of the Ottomon Sultans, and on to Iznik. Iznik is the site of ancient Nicea which is famous for the two ecumenical church councils held there to establish points of Christian orthodoxy. After your visit you will continue to Istanbul for dinner and overnight.
Day 13 - You will have a full day of sightseeing in Istanbul. This will include a visit to the impressive structure known as Hagia (Saint) Sophia. It was built as a church, converted to the principal mosque in Istanbul, and is now a museum. From there you will go to the Blue Mosque, the primary mosque of Istanbul today and one of the finest creations of Turkish architecture. You will finish the day at the Grand Bazaar where you will have time for shopping. You will return to your hotel for dinner and overnight .
Day 14 - After breakfast you will visit the Topkapi Palace, built as a summer palace by Mehmet II and enlarged by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent to be used as his primary residence. You will continue to Suleiman's Mosque, built by the Sultan in memory of his father. You'll stop by the Church of Chora before taking a relaxing private boat tour on the Bosphorus where you'll get a completely different perspective of Istanbul. The day will end with a Farewell Dinner on the boat. You will return to the hotel for overnight.
Day 15 - You will depart on your flight to the USA, filled with new insights and understandings of the land where so much of early Christian history unfolded.
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