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CHORA MUSEUM The monastery, Christ as the Land of the Living and
HAGIA SOPHIA MUSEUM
now only a museum, once a
Pagan temple, converted to
first Church by Constantine the
Great, later restored in the 6th
century by Justinian I as the
largest basilica in the Christian
world. The building is a great
architectural beauty and an
important monument both for
Byzantine and for Ottoman
Empires. Once a church, later a
mosque, and now a museum
at the Turkish Republic, Hagia
Sophia has always been the
valuable of its time.
MONASTERY OF
THE APOCALYPSE
Founded in 1088, the
monastery perches on a hillside
above Chora. A single entrance
leads through the 59 foot (18m)
high walls. Your tour views the
elaborate frescoes and visits
the Christodoulos chapel. The
monastery’s old Treasury is
today a museum displaying a
stunning collection of jeweled
chalices, crowns, crucifixes,
vestments and manuscripts.
GROTTO OF ST. jOHN
Exiled from Ephesus in 95 AD,
St. John the Theologian retired
to a cave on Patmos, where he
recorded his divine visions in
the Book of Revelations. The Anatolia. And also one of the seven churches refered
chapel displays a stone that the
saint used as his pillow. A small
chapel marks the cave site. We will see the streests of Ephesus the ruins and Virgin
Mary church one of the 7 churches of Revelation.
ACROPOLIS OF PERGAMON Cable Car experience to visit high hill. Sites include; Temple of Athena,
Temple Of Trojan, Arsenals, Altar of Zeus, and the Library & the steepest Theatre of ancient World.
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THE GOREME OPEN AIR MUSEUM three saints; The Great St. Basil, antIochIa
named Chora, was originally built Mary, the Mother of Jesus, as the By the end of the 2nd century a Bishop of Kayseri; his brother St.
right outside the city walls of Container of the Uncontainable. large Christian community had Gregory of Nyssa, and St. Gregory hatay
Constantinople but kept the name In 1511 the Monastery with the formed in Cappadocia. It is known of Nazianus. These three men
Chora even after the walls were conquest of Istanbul by the Turks that there were two bishoprics at created a new unity in Christian
expanded by Theodosius II in 413- was converted into a mosque by that time; one in Kayseri, which, thought, and many of St. Basil’s ANTIOCH Antioch or Antak-
414. The name derives from the Atik Ali Pasha. A mihrab was added for a long time, continued to be thoughts and actions are still ya, Southern Turkey, on the
Greek word Hora meaning “country”, in the main apse, the belfry was a Christian center in the region important today. St. Basil is Orontes (Asi) River, near the
“land”, referring to its location and removed and replaced by a minaret. and the other in Malatya. In the important in that he introduced Mediterranean Sea, at the
carries a symbolic meaning as the The name of the Chora Monastery 3rd century, priests with good worship within in the community foot of Mt. Silpius. Antioch is
mosaics of the church describe was changed to Kariye. character changed the region into in the churches of Cappadocia. the trade center for a region
a lively centre of Christian activity. Goreme Open Air Museum is the where grains, cotton, grapes,
In the 4th century Cappadocia place where this kind of religious olives, and vegetables are
became known as the land of the education was started. grown. The city’s manufactu-
ICONIC STYLE res include processed foods,
Due to the prohibition against iconic textiles, and leather goods.
images in Islam all inscriptions, Christian There is an archaeological
symbols, frescoes, and mosaics were museum.
covered over with a thin layer of
paint and lime. ARCHITECTURE Modern
Antioch occupies only a
fraction of the area of the
ancient city, most of which
is buried under alluvial depo-
sits. Important archaeologi-
Istanbul cal finds in the area include
the Great Chalice of Antioch
(see chalice), said by some
THE HIPPODROME to be the Holy Grail, and, at
OF CONSTANTINOPLE UNDERGROUND CITY, a complex of Daphne, an ancient subur-
heart of Old City as the joint caves built by the Christians awhich ban resort, splendid Roman
Troy Ancient “Largest Hippodrome was a shelter for the early christians and mosaics (1st-6th cent. AD),
City of The Ancient World” the church & missionary School which is mostly copies of lost pain-
up to 40 meters underground tings and held to represent
the height of mosaic art.
beRgaMa The city was founded c.300
pergamon BC by Seleucus I, king of
7 churces
VIRGIN MARY HOUSE / IZMIR cappadoccIa SAINT PETER CHURCH St. of people in that era. Although Syria, and named for his
Virgin Mary House. Virign Mary Pierre Church is located on the there is no concrete data on father Antiochus, a Mace-
and Saint John escpaed from west side of Asi River and by the exact construction date, donian general. Situated at
ephesus vIRgIn MaRY the west foot of Hac (Staurin) the oral tradition, historical
7 churces house Jaruselam and they came to Mountain. The area where the events and development the crossing of north-south
IZMIR Ephesus. It is belived that Virgin church was constructed is process of the city suggest and east-west trade routes,
mary stayed at this house.
the antique city of Antiokheia. that the building was used the city soon became a rich
thYateIRa As the Antiokheia got bigger since the first Christians in commercial center. Antioch
IZMIR saRdes 7 churces between II. and IV. Centuries, Antakya. The cave in which was occupied by Pompey in
7 churces
smyrna church turned to be in the the church was 64 BC and quickly beca-
7 churces taRsus middle of the city, near the constructed is the me an important Roman
phIladelphIa Agora. This means the building place St. Pierre firstly ANTAKYA military, commercial, and
7 churces
was important in the social life preached. ARCHEOLOGICAL cultural center. The Romans
denIZlI MUSEUM has one of the built great temples, a forum,
St. Paul Monument best mosaic collection a theater, baths, aqueducts, and other
and Museum
public buildings. The two main streets,
Roman in the world which was
patMos laodIkeIa Road adana found in Antakya and it s at right angles to each other, were lined
with marble colonnades and adorned with
7 churces Cleopatra’s g neighborhood.
Gate temples, palaces, and statues.
MeRsIn
hataY ST. PAUL’S MONUMENT HISTORY Antioch was an early center of
Christianity; Peter and Paul preached there.
ephesus ancient city AND MUSEUM, Served as a monu- It was in Antioch that the followers of Jesus
ment museum today, the Church
were first called Christians after they severed
Ephesus Ancient City, The biggest Roman City of SARDES, was the capital of of St. Paul is located in the Ulu themselves from the synagogue about 20
years after Jesus’ death. Antioch is one of
Cami quarter. There are frescoes
by Saint John. Saint Paul visited the city 2 times. Two the ancient Kingdom of Lydia, taRsus Tarsus is an important depicting Christ and the Four the three original patriarchates (see patriar-
Evangelists with Angels on the
where the first coin was minted.
ch). Aurelian, who recovered the city from
Church Councils were held in Ephesus in the 5 C Ad.
Saint John says in his letter to place from the point of view of Chris- roof. The church is an important Shapur I of Persia, erected (3d cent.) more
tian history because it was St. Paul’s
magnificent buildings and churches. The city
church of Sardes’ - wake up
place of pilgrimage for Christians
otherwise I will come like a thief birthplace and he is named as Paul and in 1992-93 it hosted the “Saint played a significant role in the theological
to your city and wake you up. of Tarsus in the Bible. It is included Paul Symposium and Ceremony” controversies of the early Christian church
provisionally on the UNESCO World organised by the Vatican. (see Christianity). St. John Chrysostom esti-
SMYRNA is home town of Culture Heritage List. Among the mated its population (4th cent.) at 200,000,
Polycarp student of Saint john places that should be top of the list ST. PAUL’S WELL iAn important excluding children and slaves. In 1516 Anti-
who was martyred by the to visit in the year of St. Paul are the place of pilgrimage for Christians. It och, by then much reduced in importance,
Romans in mount Pegas. Church of St. Paul and St. Paul’s Well is located in what is thought to be was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire.
and its environs. Another significance the courtyard of St. Paul’s house in The city was held (1832–40) by Muham-
THYATIRA, was home to a of Tarsus for Christians stems from the Kizilmurat quarter close to the mad Ali of Egypt, and in 1872 it was badly
significant Christian church, The the fact that along with Antakya it is Cumhuriyet Meydani (lit. Republic damaged by an earthquake. After World War
Apostle Paul and Silas might one of the places from which St. Paul Square). The water level never I, Antioch was held as part of French Syria
have visited Thyateira during chose to set out on his long journeys drops and the water is believed to under a League of Nations mandate. In 1939
Paul’s second or third journey. in the cause of Christianity. be sacred with healing properties. it was restored to Turkey.
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