The Route of Saint Paul

The trips of San Pablo
an Paul made a total of four trips, three missionaries and one in captivity, from Jerusalem to Rome, where he was accused and beheaded. Most of the lands visited by St. Paul during his pilgrimages are in Anatolia. The main reasons that motivated St. Paul to make these trips were to spread the Christian faith, convert the inhabitants of the region and generally preach their religion. In these trips they highlighted three fundamental places:

Yalvaç (Antioch of Pisidia), here St. Paul stopped converting the followers of the Jewish religion to devote himself to preaching to the idolaters of Anatolia.
Ephesus, place where San Pablo lived the longest (2 years), was where he found more religious resistance of the inhabitants, being expelled from the city.
Miletus, this is where St. Paul pronounces his farewell speech to the Ephesians. Do not forget that in addition to his trips, Saint Paul sent letters to the different Christian communities in Anatolia. We can note in importance the letters to the Galatians and the Ephesians.
St. Paul is considered one of the most important promoters and preachers of the Christian religion, so for many religious groups, the visit to the places he toured during his pilgrimages is a unique and vital experience.

Do not forget that in general Paul traveled in present-day Turkey about 1500 kilometers, so that in view of the practical impossibility of following them, we have separated the routes into several programs, highlighting the places of greatest interest and importance and according to the time available. for it.

DAY 1

Madrıd / Barcelona – Istanbul

Regular flight to Istanbul. Arrival, airport assistance, and transportation to the hotel. Dinner and accommodation.

DAY 2

Istanbul-Çanakkale

Breakfast buffet. Departure by road towards Çanakkale, crossing the Los Dardanelos strait by ferry from Trakya. Food en route. Arrival and visit to the ruins of the ancient city of Troy. Homer immortalized Truva (Troy) in The Iliad, with the stories of King Priam, Hector, Paris and the beautiful Helen. Archaeological excavations have revealed the existence of nine different colonization periods, in addition to the ruins of the city walls, foundations of houses, a temple and a theater. A symbolic wooden Trojan horse commemorates the famous war. The ancient port of Alexandria-Troas, was built in the 3rd century BC. St. Paul visited him twice and was also a place of pilgrimage on his way to Assos, during his third missionary journey. After the visits, transfer to the hotel. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

DAY 3

Çanakkale – Pergamon – Cıatırıa – Izmır – Kuşadası

Breakfast. Exit towards Pergamo. Visit to that ancient city, once a great cultural center and today one of the best archaeological sites in Turkey. On the Acropolis, the temples of Trajan and Dionysus, the monumental altar of Zeus, the sanctuary of Demeter and a gymnasium; they extend over three terraces and the agora. The Asclepion, located to the southwest of the lower city, was a sanctuary dedicated to the god of health, Aesculapius. In the city we will also visit the temple dedicated to Serapi, which is one of the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse, later converted into a basilica by the Byzantines (” Red Basilica ”). Continuation of trip towards Ciatria, at present it is a modern city in which we will be able to contemplate the ruins of a temple supposedly dedicated to Apolo, a route of columns and a great church. Departure to Izmir, panoramic tour of the city, third in importance of the country. The food of this day will be made between visits. Finished the same, continuation to Kuşadası. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

 

DAY 4

Kuşadası – Ephesus – Laodıkía – Pamukkale

Breakfast buffet. Visits to the ancient Greco-Roman city of Ephesus, true cradle of the first Christians. The arrival of St. Paul to Ephesus should be approximately in the year 54 of our era. Ephesus was once the richest shopping center in the world. The city, whose wealth and patronage was the support of its splendid architectural program, was dedicated to the goddess Artemis. The last form of its enormous temple, several times rebuilt, dates from the 3rd century. to. of C. and is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Among the ruins are also the theater, the gymnasium, the baths, the agora, as well as the Celso Library. The nearby city of Selçuk is dominated by a Byzantine citadel that rises next to the Basilica of St. John, built in the sixth century, on the site of the tomb of the Apostle. From there we go to the House of the Virgin Mary. It is said that Saint John took the Virgin Mary to Ephesus after the death of Christ, and that he spent his last days in a modest house (Meryemana Evi) built for her on Mount Koressos. The house, now a popular place of pilgrimage for Christians and Muslims, has received official authorization from the Vatican, and Christians there every year hold a commemoration ceremony on August 15. Lunch in a typical restaurant in the area. Continue trip to Laodikia, visit the existing ruins belonging to several public monuments, theater and a large stadium, cistern in the form of a tower and odeon. After the visit departure to Pamukkale. Arrival, transfer to the hotel. Dinner and accommodation.

DAY 5

Pamukkale – Phıladelphía – Sardıs – Izmır – Istanbul

Buffet breakfast at hotel. Pamukkale is known as “The Cotton Castle” because of its petrified calcareous waterfalls. It is a natural, magical and spectacular location, unique in the world. Here you will get to know a dream place, composed of fossilized waterfalls, old terminal baths with high calcium content, which have been petrified, creating a unique landscape, with stalactites, waterfalls and depressions of a dazzling white. The thermal baths have been used for their therapeutic powers since Roman times. The thermal center with its motels and pools and the ruins of the ancient city of Hierapolis are located on the plateau. From here we left for Philadelphia, to some of the ruins of the time, a Byzantine basilica with a fragment of an arch and some eleventh-century frescoes, not very well preserved. We continue our trip to Sardis, one of the most picturesque churches of the revelation. The ruins of the ancient Sart (Sardis), at one time the capital of the Lydian kingdom of Croesus, stretch along the banks of the Sart Çayı (Pactole River). The Temple of Artemis and a restored gym give testimony of the past splendor of the city, as well as the important synagogue of the 4th century BC. of C., later reconstructed in century III of ours was. It was here in Sardis, the most important Jewish commercial center at that time, located west of the Route of the Kings, where it is believed that the coin was used for the first time, in the 6th century. BC. Lunch between the visits. Continue to Izmir. Arrival and transfer to the airport to depart by regular line to Istanbul. Arrival, assistance at the airport and transfer to the hotel. Accommodation.

DAY 6

Istanbul

Breakfast. Full day visit to the city, (lunch included): Roman Hippodrome, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapı Palace and Grand Bazaar. Accommodation. (To see a detailed description of the itinerary of this day click on our tour: Classic Istanbul).

DAY 7

Istanbul

Day 7. Istanbul:
Breakfast and free time until the time of transfer to the airport, to fly back to Spain or continue your trip through Turkey.