Sardes Ancient city
Basilica of St. John "The Evangelist"
Library of Celcius in Ephesus
The Theater in Ephesus
Inside picture of House of Virgin Mary
Inside picture of House of Virgin Mary
The Seven Churches of Asia Minor
“I john, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the island that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great
voice, as of a trumpet. Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, what
you see,
write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia;
unto
Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamum, and unto Thyatira, and unto
Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. And
I turned to see the voice
that spoke with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks.”
The Revelation 1:9-12
Anatolia (Asia Minor) has been the center of Christianity ever since
St.Paul,
St.Peter, St.John, St. Barnabas and their companions John Mark, Silas,
Luke
came here to preach the Gospel of the teachings of Jesus Christ. This
trip will allow
you full insight into the achievements of these early Christian missionaries
and the
Seven Churches of The Revelation.
Day
1 Istanbul Arrival
Arrival
at Istanbul Ataturk Airport. You will be met and transferred to your hotel.
After check in, free time. Dinner and Overnight. (D)
Day 2 Istanbul
Full Day City Tour
Following the breakfast we drive to the "Old City", we
will stop by the Hippodrome
before proceeding to
the Blue Mosque, so called because of the impressive Iznik
(Nicea) blue tiles lining its
walls.
Then we will go into the St. Sophia
Church Museum.
Following this
stop, we will
go to the Underground Cistern built by Justinian in
535. After lunch we will drive
Church Museum (The
Church of Holy Savior) to see
breathtaking frescoes and
mosaics from 14th century. The church is
a remarkable example of Byzantine art.
Dinner and overnight. (B,L,D)
Day 3 Istanbul
- Pergamon - Thyateria - Izmir
After an early breakfast flight to Izmir. Arrive and drive north to
the hauntingly
beautiful Pergamon.Pergamum’s
place in religious history is largely because of the
paragraph addressed
to its Christian believers by St. John in the Book of Revelation
(Rev.
2:12-17 ).
He characterized Pergamum as the place where Satan was enthroned.
(Revelation 2:13).
St. John saw a group hecalled
the Nicolatinas as an additional threat to the believers.
Who thesepeople were is not
clearly known. ( Revelation 2:14-15 ) St. John
condemned them for adultery andfor eating food
that had been sacrificed to pagan
gods. St. John also promised a white
stone andhidden
mannato
those who repented
of their false beliefs and immoral behavior (Revelation
2:16-17).
On
our way back to Izmir, we will stop by Thyteria which is a small modern
city
today. The old Thyatira,
the site of one of the Seven Churches of Asia Minor
(Rev. 2:18-29 ). St. John’s Criticism of Thyatira in Revelation was
related to the
prophetess Jezebel. Whether she was a real woman of that name
or whether
he intended her as a symbol of licentiousness, St. John saw the challenge to Christianity which Thyatira represented as a moral decay among the members.
To those
who refused to compromise with their ideals he promised “ the star
of dawn” and
“ authority over
the nations”.
About
forty years previous to the time that St. John wrote those words to
the
congregation in Thyatira, St. Paul had met one of the merchants from
there
when he arrived in Philippi. This was on his second Journey.
The merchant
was Lydia, a woman dealing in expensive purple cloth. Under St. Paul’s
influence she and her whole household became baptized Christians. Lydia
she insisted
that St. Paul and his companions Timothy and St. Luke should
stay in her house in Philippi ( Acts 16:13-15 ). By the end of the 1st
century
here must have been a sizable Christian community for St.
John to have chosen
it as one of his seven churches. Drive to Izmir for dinner and overnight. (B,L,D)
Day 4 Izmir - Sardis - Philadelphia -Pamukkale
Departure
from hotel after breakfast and drive to Sardis, whose history
dates
back to 12th century BC, was the capital of the ancient
Kingdom of Lydia. In
the
book of Revelation (Rev. 3:1-6), St.John
stated that Sardis
needed to wake up.
He
complained that their
acts did not live up to their reputation,
that they did not
finish what they
started. But he held out the hope
those who were not polluted
that they should have robes of white (Revelation 3:5) White
was the color then
of righteousness
and immortality.
Then we will visit Philadelphia. During Byzantine times Philadelphia
was the
seat of a Christian bishopric. Its significance in Christian history
was because
it congregations addressed by St.John in the Book of Revelation (Rev.
3:7-13).
Although one of the Seven Churches, Philadelphia was the least distinguished;
it was the only one about which St. John had no real criticism. He characterized
it as having been given an open door. He told the Christians not to
leave anyone
take away their crowns and promised that those who were victorious would
become pillars in God’s temple. “Hold fast to what you have, and
let no one
rob you of your crown” (Revelation 3:11). Dinner and overnight in Pamukkale (B,L,D)
Day 5 Pamukkale – Hierapolis - Laodicea
Ad Lycum - Kusadasi
After breakfast we
leave our hotel and drive to Hierapolis but before we get here
we stop at Laodicea
Ad Lycum.
The site of one of the Seven
Churches
addressed by St. John in the Book
of Revelation ( Rev. 3:14-22 ), Laodicea is
on a low hill on the south bank of the Lycus River (Curuksu).
As a commercial
center, it had a
large Jewish community. For St.John in Revelation, the
Christians
of Laodicea
were neither hot nor cold
and because of their indifference
he wanted to spew
them out of his mouth. “ I know all your ways,
you are neither hot or cold.
How I wish you were either hot or cold. Because
you are lukewarm,
neither hot
nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth” ( Revelation 3:15-17
)
St.
John promised in “ the words of the Amen” (Revelation
3:14) that for those who
were sensitive enough to hear and respond to what was being said, the Spirit
would
join them in the great feast. “Here I stand knocking
at the door; if anyone hears my
voice and opens the door, I will come in and
sit down to supper with him and he with
me“ (Revelation 3:20)
Then we will drive to Kusadasi. Dinner and overnight. (B,L,D)
Day 6 Kusadasi-Basilica
of St. John-Ephesus–House of Virgin Mary–Izmir
This
morning we will stop by the Basilica of St. John "The
Evangelist" who came
here with Virgin
Mary and wrote his Gospel in Ephesus. Then we will carry on to
Ephesus ancient city.People visiting Ephesus today can visualize the city when it
was the capital of the province.
St.
Paul preached and taught in Ephesus for over 2 years. During that
time he sent
Timothy and Erastus to Macedonia to continue the missionary work there. The
names of several other earlyChristians are recorded
as residents of Ephesus.
Among them are the eloquent Apollos withwhom
St. Paul associated himself,
saying that he planted, that Apollos watered, but that God gave the
growth
(I Cor. 3 :6)
A
couple, Priscilla and Aquilla, established a house church in
Ephesus
(I Cor. 16:19). The daughters of the Apostle
Philip lived in Ephesus. A small
stone building high up on the west corner of the city wall is pointed
out as
St. Paul’s Prison. He wrote the letter to the Ephesians from
this place.
In
Ephesus highlights
include Double
Church where
in 431 the Third Ecumenical
Council was held, the Library of Celcius, the Temple of Hadrian, the Fountain of
Trajan and the Theater for many Christians
the best-known building in Ephesus
where a 1st century AD silversmith attempted to stir up a riot
to get rid of St. Paul
who was damaging his business of making images
of Artemis.
About
3 miles away in the forested mountain above Ephesus is House of Virgin
Mary. Today it is visited by pilgrims
from all over the world. It is a modest stone
house. St John brought Virgin Mary to Ephesus in keeping
with Jesus’s
admonition to him to
care for his mother.
(John 19:27)
House
of Virgin Mary, is now visited by over a hundred thousand pilgrims each
year.
The pilgrims come
to drink the waters of the sacred spring, to mediate, to pray for
health, and to breathe the atmosphere of if. You
will be able to collect some holly
water from the Sacred Spring.
Both
Pope Paul VI in 1967 and Pope John Paul II in 1979 have celebrated mass
here.
Many people
congregate at this sanctuary every August 15 to observe the Feast
of
the Assumption of
the Virgin. It
was first identified in 1818 by an Austrian peasant, Anne Catherine
Emmerich, who
saw it in adream
exactly as it was found. The setting is beautifully peaceful, encouring
reverence andcontemplation.
Dinner and overnight in Izmir. (B,L,D)
Day
7 Izmir (Smyrna) – Istanbul
We will drive
to Izmir ( Smyrna ) which was one of the Seven Church in St. John’s
Book of Revelation ( Rev. 2:8-11 ) as the place of the synagogue of
Satan. St. John
tells the Christians that
they are about to suffer for their faith, but also says that those
who are faithful unto death will gain a crown of
life. After lunch transfer to the Izmir
airport for flight to Istanbul. Dinner and overnight in Istanbul. (B,L,D)
Day 8 Istanbul Departure
Free
till transfer to the airport. (B)
For
specifically interested parties, the program may include one day visit to
Patmos Island (Greece) where St. John wrote the book of Revelation.
For price and more planning details contact us info@pilgrimagetoturkey.com