This 13-day tour begins in Athens and Corinth, continues to Istanbul and Cappadocia, follows St. Paul’s route through Lystra and Pisidian Antioch, and visits the Seven Churches of Revelation, with a day trip by charter ferry to the island of Patmos.
Day by day
Day 1
- Fly to Athens, arriving in the late afternoon
- Transfer to the hotel
- Dinner and overnight in Athens
Day 2
- Explore Athens, birthplace of democracy and home of Plato, Socrates and Aristotle, with a history of 3,400 years
- Bus tour of the highlights: the Parliament, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Presidential Palace, the Panathenaic Stadium, the Temple of Olympian Zeus and Hadrian's Arch
- Walk through the Acropolis and its Golden Age monuments: the Propylaia, the Parthenon and the Erechtheion
- Walk to the Areopagus (Mars Hill), where trials were heard before the Council of Elders and where St. Paul gave his speech to the Athenians
- Visit the ancient Agora, where Athenians gathered for commercial, political and religious purposes
- Tour the new Acropolis Museum, which houses the finds from the Acropolis
- Dinner and overnight in Athens
Day 3
- Drive along the coastal road to the Corinth Canal, which separates the Peloponnese from the Greek mainland and connects the Ionian and Aegean Seas
- Visit ancient Corinth, one of the most important trading cities of ancient Greece, dating back to the 6th century BC: the Temple of Apollo, the agora, the sacred spring and the Peirene Fountain
- See the Bema of St. Paul, where he preached. Paul lived in Corinth for 18 months in AD 51-52, and wrote the First and Second Epistles to the Corinthians here
- Drive back to Athens for dinner and overnight
Day 4
- After breakfast, transfer to Athens Airport for your morning flight to Istanbul
- On arrival, photo stop at Pierre Loti Hill
- Visit the Chora Church, famous for its well-preserved frescoes and mosaics
- Visit the Suleymaniye Mosque, the masterpiece of the architect Sinan, built during the reign of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent
- Continue to the Golden Horn and the Ecumenical Patriarchate
- Visit Balat and the Bulgarian Iron Church, completed in 1898 and brought from Europe by rail
- Explore the wooden houses at the foot of the Old City walls, in a neighborhood where people of three religions lived side by side
- Dinner and overnight at the hotel
Day 5
- Morning transfer to Istanbul Airport for the 08:55 flight to Kayseri
- Drive to Cappadocia
- After a comfort stop, visit the Fairy Chimneys, the local rock formations, best seen at Pasabag
- Visit the underground city of Kaymakli, where early Christians lived in hiding to keep their faith
- Continue to Soganli village, one of the earliest settlements in Cappadocia
- Continue to Mustafapasa (Sinasos), an old Greek town with fine examples of late Greek architecture
- Dinner and overnight in Cappadocia
Day 6
- Visit the Goreme Open Air Museum
- Stop at the Valley of the Birds for some free time, then continue to Konya, passing the Sultanhani Caravanserai on the way
- In Konya, visit the Mevlana Museum
- Check in, dinner and overnight at the hotel
Day 7
- Konya is ancient Iconium and home of the Whirling Dervishes, a mystic order of Islam; no archaeological remains of the ancient city survive
- Drive to Lystra, a small city St. Paul visited on one of his missionary journeys
- After lunch, continue to Pisidian Antioch, where St. Paul opened Christianity to the world. The town's history goes back to 280 BC, and in Paul's time its population was a mix of Jews, Romans and Greeks
- Continue to Pamukkale, a natural hot-springs town, for dinner and overnight
Day 8
- Drive to nearby Colossae for a brief stop at the site of its former theater
- Visit Hierapolis, founded by the legendary King Telephos of Pergamon and named after his wife Hiera; its large Jewish population was probably an important factor in the rapid spread of Christianity
- In the Byzantine period Hierapolis became the seat of a diocese with a large church dedicated to St. Philip, martyred here in AD 80, whose tomb was discovered only recently. Highlights include the Roman baths, the Temple of Apollo, the cathedral and the white limestone terraces
- Visit Laodicea, one of the Seven Churches of Revelation. Christianity arrived here in Paul's time through Epaphras of Colossae; the city later became a bishopric and hosted a church council in the 4th century AD. Highlights include the water tower, the stadium and the council chamber
- Return to the hotel in Pamukkale for dinner, the mineral pools and overnight
Day 9
- Visit Philadelphia, an important Christian center in Byzantine times, and its basilica
- Continue to Sardis, one of the Seven Churches of Revelation, prominent in mythology
- Highlights include the 3rd-century AD synagogue, the gymnasium, the House of Bronzes, the Temple of Artemis and the church
- Continue to the port city of Kusadasi for dinner and overnight
Day 10
- A full day at Ephesus, about 15 km from Kusadasi: walk the ancient streets and see the temples, gymnasiums and the theater where the riot of Acts 19 took place
- Visit the Library of Celsus
- See the remains of the Temple of Artemis and the Basilica of St. John the Evangelist
- Return to the hotel in Kusadasi for dinner and overnight
Day 11
- Sail to the island of Patmos on a privately chartered ferry (about 4 hours from Kusadasi)
- Brief tour, including the famous Grotto where St. John wrote his Gospel and the Book of Revelation
- Lunch on Patmos before returning to Kusadasi
- Dinner and overnight at the hotel
Day 12
- After an early check-out, drive to Izmir (ancient Smyrna) and visit the Church of St. Polycarp
- Continue to ancient Thyatira, home of Lydia (Acts 16) and another of the Seven Churches of Revelation, to see the remains of the church; this was one of the main towns where Christianity spread quickly
- Continue to Bergama (Pergamum) to visit the Asclepion, a famous healing center where treatments included blood transfusions, music therapy and meditation, and the Acropolis
- Dinner and overnight in Izmir
Day 13
- After an early breakfast, transfer to Izmir airport for your flight to Istanbul
- In Istanbul, connect to your flight to the USA
Good to know
- In bad weather or rough seas, a day trip to Didyma and Miletus replaces the Patmos excursion (Day 11).
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