Seven churches tour Turkey

Seven Churches Tour Turkey

Day 1
Arrival in Antalya
Saturday - Dinner

Upon arrival in Ankara airport, you are met by your representative with a friendly "Merhaba" (hello) and escorted to your hotel. Welcome Dinner. Overnight at the hotel in Antalya.

Day 2
Antalya - Side - Antalya
Sunday 90km Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

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In the morning, drive through the coastal plain of Pamphylia to Side located on a peninsula. Visit the ancient city, long reputed as a slave market, but which later was devoted to trade and became very prosperous, as can be seen through the numerous monuments built during that period including the Roman baths and theatre which once accommodated 25,000 people. Continue to Aspendos, whose theatre is the best preserved Roman theatre in Asia Minor. The accoustics are still as perfect as they were when it was built in the 2nd century AD that a coin dropped from the orchestra pit can be heard in the top row. After lunch, continue to Perge visited by St Paul on his first missionary journey, and where you can stroll along the mosaic sidewalk of a colonnaded street past the stadium and theatre. Drive back to Antalya to visit the Archaeological Museum where numerous beautiful sculptures from Perge are displayed. Stroll in the narrow streets of the picturesque old town (kalei穩 with its narrow streets and typical wooden houses overlooking the marina, to discover Hadrian's Gate, the Fluted Minaret, the Truncated Minaret, and Hidirlik Tower. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 3
Antalya - Aphrodisias - Pamukkale
Monday 360km Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

In the morning, crossing the Taurus Mountains, you will drive to Aphrodisias to explore the marvels of the ancient city dedicated to Aphrodite, the goddess of Beauty, Love and Fertility. Aphrodisias was known as a center for the arts throughout the ancient world, specifically for its school of sculpture. Visit the stadium, seating 30,000 people dating to the 1st century AD, which is the best preserved in Anatolia, as well as the Temple of Aphrodite, the Tetrapylon, the Theatre, and the Museum. After lunch, continue to Pamukkale, a unique natural site. Visit this " Cotton Castle " where the hot waters, leaving their limestone deposits, have created an unreal landscape with petrified waterfalls and basins cascading down the hillside in the midst of a dry, barren landscape. In Pamukkale, you will also visit Hierapolis, an ancient city and Roman health spa where Philip moved before 70 AD, and where he was later martyred. Hierapolis has a well preserved necropolis which is one of the largest in the ancient world with tombs from ancient Greek to early Christian times. Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Pamukkale.

Day 4
Pamukkale - Sardis - Izmir
Tuesday 250km Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today you will be able to visualize four biblical references which were four of the Seven Churches of Revelation. In the morning, visit Laodicea which, in the 1st century AD, formed a triad of cities in the area with Hierapolis and Colossae. These cities received the gospel from Epaphras of Colossae to whom Paul had sent a letter during the time he was imprisoned in Ephesus. Then, depart for Philadelphia where you will see the remains of the church named after St. John. Proceed to Sardis and after lunch, visit the remains of the ancient city, the capital of the Kingdom of Lydia where the world's first coinage was invented and which was famous for its wealthy King Croesus. Visit the Bath - Gymnasium Complex, the 3C AD marble paved Synagogue, the Temple of Artemis located in the Pactolus Valley. Continue to Izmir, ancient Smyrna, Turkey's third largest city known as "the Pearl of the Aegean". Visit the Church of Polycarp dedicated to Polycarp, a disciple of St John martyred here in 155 by the Romans. Smyrna and Philadelphia are the only churches among the seven about which nothing negative was said by St John. In the evening, you will have the opportunity to take a stroll along the lovely waterfront boulevard and enjoy a dinner at one of the restaurant there. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 5
Izmir - Ephesus - Izmir
Wednesday 160km Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

In the morning, you will depart for Sel絫 to visit Ephesus, one of the most fascinating cities in the ancient world which was among the Seven Churches of Revelation: you will stroll along the Marble Street past the Agora, the Odeon, the Nympheaum of Trajan, the Temple of Trajan, the Celsius Library. You will sit in the Theatre where St Paul preached words which triggered off a riot by the supporters of the worship of Artemis who felt he was a threat for their religion and business. You will also see the remains of the Temple of Artemis which was one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and visit the House of the Virgin Mary which has been designated by the Vatican as a place of pilgrimage and which is located in a remote setting in the heights of Ephesus. For lunch, you will proceed to Sirince, a picturesque charming village set in the hills above Selcuk, where the old Greek houses have been restored with their original characteristics. Back in Selcuk, you will visit the Basilica of St John with the Tomb of the Apostle and the museum which displays, between other artifacts of great interest, two beautiful statues of Artemis. Return to Izmir. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 6
Izmir - Bursa
Thursday 355km Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today, you will discover two cities home to two more of the Seven Churches of Revelation. First, you will depart for Thyatira which, in the time of St Paul, was reputed for its guilds of artisans. Then proceed to Pergamum, the capital of the Attalid dynasty, to explore this ancient city where parchment was invented: you will see the Acropolis with the ruins of the agoras, temples, palaces, the library which contained 200,000 volumes, the podium on which stood the Zeus Altar which was sent to Berlin, and the impressive theatre built into the steep hillside which provides a wonderful panorama of the surroundings. After lunch, in the lower part of the ancient city, visit the Asclepion, a sanctuary and a healing center dedicated to the god of healing, Asclepius. Also visit the Red Courtyard with the remains of a church dedicated to St John who referred to the city, a cult center for emperor worship, as "the place where Satan has his throne". Continue to green Bursa, located at the foot of old Mount Olympus (Uludag). Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 7
Bursa - Iznik - Istanbul
Friday 210km Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

You will spend the morning exploring the lovely city of Bursa the first capital of the Ottomans between 1326-1364. Visit the Green Mosque, renowned for its interior tile decorations in brilliant shades of turquoise, green and blue, the Green Mausoleum of Sultan Mehmet I, the Tombs of the Sultans founders of the Ottoman dynasty, Osman and his son Orhan, and the Silk Bazaar. The Great Ulu Camii Mosque, with its twenty domes, remains the religious and social center of Bursa. After lunch you will proceed to Iznik, the ancient Nicaea which became the Byzantine capital during the Latin occupation of Constantinople in the 13th century. Nicea is known for the two ecumenical councils which were held there in the Byzantine times, and for its famous workshops where the beautiful enamelled tiles which decorate the Ottoman mosques and palaces, were manufactured. Continue to Istanbul and cross the Bosphorus that separates Asia from Europe and connects the Marmara Sea to the Black Sea. From the bridge, you will be stroken by the particular beauty of Istanbul. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 8
Istanbul
Saturday Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today, you will have the opportunity to enjoy all the savors of Istanbul including some of the greatest Christian treasures to be found in the world. You will discover a fascinating city that bridges Europe and Asia which, under the name Byzantium and Constantinople was the capital of the Roman and Byzantine Empires, and in 1453, became the third and last Capital of the Ottomans. Today, visit the Blue Mosque, renowned for its six minarets. Built between 1609 and 1616 for Sultan Ahmet I, it is the beautiful 21,043 Iznik tiles dominant shade of blue that give the mosque its name. Next discover the Hippodrome where political, cultural, and sports activities took place during Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman times. Visit magnificent Haghia Sophia, originally the largest church in the Christian world, it was converted into a mosque in 1453 by Mehmet II and under Atat?t became a museum and is a living testament to the beauty of Christianity and Islam that adorn the interior. Explore Topkapi Palace, the oppulent residence of the Ottoman sultans between the end of the 15th and the first half of the 19th centuries. You will discover why it is renowned for its treasures and jeweled captivity of its infamous harem. End the day at the historical Grand Bazaar, one of the oldest covered market places in the world, where you will have free time to wander and shop. Enjoy a farewell dinner at a downtown restaurant.

Day 9
Departure Sunday Breakfast
All too soon it is time to bid this magical land "gule gule" (goodbye) as you are transferred to the airport for your return flights home.

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Packed Paradise Turkey 2010