Biblical Tours

Nurdan’s United Travel Services DMC ( UTS ) - Turkey “In Style”

Biblical tours in Turkey with UTS Services

St. Paul was born into a family of tent-makers in the southern Turkish city of Tarsus. He traveled widely throughout Asia Minor, preaching the world of Christ to Jews and gentiles alike. To follow in his footsteps is a fascinating and instructive experience. The tour includes some of Turkey’s most renowned ancient sites -Ephesus for example- as well as others that are less well-know but still immensely impressive, such as Pisidian Antioch and Seleucia and Pieria.

In The Steps Of St.Paul

*ARRIVE ISTANBUL: You will be greeted at the airport and escorted to your hotel for cocktails and a tour briefing from your guide.

*ISTANBUL - CAPPADOCIA: Fly to Kayseri from where we drive into the amazing lunar landscape of central Cappadocia to visit the famous Byzantine, rock-hewn monasteries of the Göreme Valley and the underground city of Derinkuyu. Dinner at the hotel.

*CAPPADOCIA: Full day tour, including visits to Avanos, the natural fortress of Uçhisar, and the picturesque village of Güvercinlik. Dinner at the hotel.

*CAPPADOCIA - ADANA: Morning departure for Adana stopping on the way at the cave monastery of Eski Gümüslük and Tarsus, St. Paul’s birthplace. Tarsus is a charming town full of old houses with courtyards and gardens. Monuments include St. Paul’s Well, Cleopatra’s Gate, the Roman Street, the Great Mosque and an Armenian church. Drive to Adana.

*ADANA: Morning departure for Antioch, the capital of ancient Syria, and an exceptionally important centre of early Christianity. We will visit the cave-church of St. Peter and the superb Mosaic Museum. In the afternoon we drive to the ancient port of Seleucia and Pieria where we will visit the Temple of Zeus, and the Tunnel of Titus and Vespasian, easily one of the single most remarkable pieces of Roman engineering in Turkey.

*ADANA - KONYA: Early departure for Konya, capital of the Seljuk Turkish sultans, and home to the great poet and sufi mystic, Rumi. It was Rumi who founded the sect known in the West as the Whirling Dervishes. We will visit his tomb and the Karatay Medrese, which is famous for its exquisite tile mosaics.

*KONYA - PAMUKKALE/HIERAPOLIS: On our way, we will visit Pisidian Antioch, a site that is very closely associated with Saint Paul. Monuments at the site include a colonnaded street, a bath complex, a public fountain, the Temple of Augustus, and a magnificent Roman aqueduct. The Church of Saint Paul itself stands on the site of a synagogue where he once preached.

*PAMUKKALE - IZMIR: Visit the famous travertine cascades and the ruins of Hierapolis, including the Martyrium of St. Phillip and the Roman theatre. Depart for Izmir, stopping off at Laodicea, Philadelphia and Sardis along the way.

*IZMIR: Drive to Ephesus. Full day tour of this great Greco-Roman city, including The Library of Celsus, the theatre, the Arcadian Way, the Basilica of St. John and The Virgin Mary’s House. Return to Izmir.

*IZMIR - BURSA: Depart for Bursa, a former Ottoman capital, stopping at Akhisar to visit the church of Thyatira along the way. On arriving in Bursa, we spend some time in the city’s vast bazaar district, which is famous for its elegant 15th century caravansaries.

*BURSA - ISTANBUL: Morning visit to Bursa’s majestic 14th century Great Mosque, then on to Iznik (the ancient Nicaea), a delightful lakeside town ringed by massive Roman and Byzantine ramparts. It was here that the second and seventh Ecumenical Church Councils were held in AD 325 and 787 respectively. Return to Istanbul.

*ISTANBUL: Full day tour, which will include the Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome, the great church of Haghia Sophia, Topkapı Palace and the Grand Bazaar. Farewell dinner.

*DEPART ISTANBUL: Transfer to the airport.