Encounter life as it was known to ancient believers of Asia Minor, and view the ruins and landscapes that played a role in their day-to-day lives.
Walk in the footsteps of the Apostle Paul in Turkey with Kieler Henry, a trusted church leader who has lived in Asia Minor since 2016. Explore the depths of Scripture in the places where the Church began.
Kieler Henry (MBA, University of Louisville; MA, the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) has been helping pastor an English-speaking church in Izmir since 2018. He is the founder of Enjoy Tours, a travel company specializing in the enjoyment of biblical sites. A lifelong learner, he is currently pursuing a Master of Theology in Early Church History at Union School of Theology in Wales. Also an avid traveler, he has visited over three dozen countries, including a number of ancient sites in the biblical world. Kieler lives with his wife and three sons in Izmir, Turkey.
Depart from the USA to Istanbul Airport (IST).
Your tour guide will meet you at the Istanbul Airport with a “BAS – TUTKU” sign. Meet and transfer to the hotel for dinner and overnight. The next day you will explore the wonders of Istanbul.
You will start at the Hippodrome and see its monuments. Nearby is the historic Blue Mosque. After briefly stopping at the Golden Mile of the Egnatian Way, you will visit the magnificent Hagia Sophia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. From there you will visit the historic Hagia Irene Church. Afterwards you will walk to Istanbul’s Archaeological Museum—one of the most celebrated collections in the world. Among its treasures are the Siloam inscription, the Gezer calendar, and the Thanatos inscription from Jerusalem’s temple mount. Dinner and overnight in Istanbul.
Early morning flight to Hatay airport; we begin with site visits at Tel Tayinat and Tel Atchana; after lunch where you will taste Antakya’s famous dessert, künefe, we will visit the hippodrome and temple site with a local archaeologist; finally, we tour the museum and the archaeology hotel in Antakya, where we'll stay the night.
First you will visit the grotto Church of St. Peter where Jesus followers were first called Christians (Acts 11:26). At the new Antakya Archaeological Museum you will see one of richest collections of mosaics in the world. Drive to After lunch, you will go to the Seleucia Pieria, the port town from which Paul and Barnabas departed and returned on their first journey (Acts 13:4). There we will see the Titus, one of Rome’s engineering wonders. If time allows, we will visit the monastery complex of Simon Stylites.
Drive through Cilicia to Tarsus, the home of the Apostle Paul. There you will visit the Roman baths and see the ancient bridge over the Cydnus River. You will next visit the Cardo Maximus street of the Roman city and then Donuktaş, one of the largest temples of the ancient world. After lunch you will drive to Adana to walk across the Sarus River on the Roman bridge and visit the Adana Archaeology Museum.
We first pass through the Cilician Gates in the Taurus Mountains and
then continue to Derbe visited three times by Paul visited (Acts 14:20).
We continue to Lystra, the home of Timothy, visted by Paul on his three journeys. After a short drive to Iconium, we will first visit the ancient acropolis in Konya’s city center and then visit the archaeological museum and its important inscriptions mentioning Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe.
You will depart early for Yalvaç, the site of the Roman colony of Pisidian Antioch. Paul visited this city on his three missionary journeys. His first recorded sermon in Acts 13 addressed the congregation of Jews and Godfearers in the synagogue. You will also visit the St. Paul Room in the Yalvaç Museum. Then you will make a scenic drive through the Pisidian lake country before descending through the Taurus Mountains to the plain of Pamphylia.
You will begin with a visit to Perga visited by Paul and Barnabas on their first journey (Acts 13:13-14). There you will see its well-preserved stadium and colonnaded street divided by a water channel. Returning to Antalya, you will see Hadrian’s Gate and the Roman mausoleum of ancient Attalia. After lunch at the St. Paul Cultural Center, you will visit Antalya’s renowned archaeological museum. Later in the afternoon you will take a boat ride from the port that Paul and Barnabas sailed from at the end of the first journey
(Acts 14:25).
You will then drive inland again over the Taurus Mountains to Apamea and follow Paul’s route to Colossae. Laodicea, one of the Seven Churches of Revelation (Rev. 3:14–22) and addressed by Paul (Col. 4:13-16). Then you will drive to the unexcavated site of Colossaeon the foothills of Mount Honaz, to which Paul wrote the letters to the Colossians and Philemon.
At Hierapolis you will walk through its extensive necropolis, then see its well-preserved theater as well as Philip’s Martyrium and basilica (Col. 4:13). Later traveling westward down the fertile Meander valley, you will visit the archaeological museum at Aydın, ancient Tralles, and later visit Magnesia on the Meander. These cities had churches, later addressed by Ignatius in the early second century A.D., that were probably started during Paul’s time in Ephesus.
You will first visit Miletus with its four harbors and well-preserved theater originally built in the Hellenistic period and expanded in Roman times. Paul made a farewell speech here to the elders of Ephesus on the return leg of his third missionary journey (Acts 20:17–35). We will also visit briefly its small but informative archaeological museum. You will then visit Didyma, home to the Temple of Apollo, one of Turkey’s best-preserved ancient temples. After lunch you will drive to Priene, the best-preserved Hellenistic city in Turkey. We will visit the Jewish synagogue, whose excavation was funded by the Biblical Archaeology Society.
Today will likely be the high point of the tour for most of the group, as we visit the impressive biblical site of Ephesus. You will take a walking tour starting in the upper city at the State Agora, then walking downward to the iconic Library of Celsus and Tetragonos Agora. You will make a slight detour to see the exquisite terrace houses where the rich and famous citizens of Ephesus lived. Your city tour ends at the theater where 24,000 citizens shouted “Great is Artemis!” in a riot started in response to Paul’s ministry there (Acts 19:1–20:1). We will stop briefly to view the remains of the Artemis Temple, formerly one of seven wonders of the ancient world. In the afternoon you will visit the Church of St. John, where tradition holds that theapostle and revelator was buried. Nearby is the Ephesus Museum housing important artefacts from Ephesus.
Ancient Smyrna is the second of the seven churches (Rev. 2:8–11). We will first visit archaic Smyrna located at Bayraklı. Then we will visit the Agora and its important collection of Greek graffiti, the largest from the ancient Greek East. We conclude with a brief visit to the archaeology museum in the fairgrounds. Lunch on your own with free time in the afternoon. You may wish to visit St Polycarp Church or wander around the Kemeralti Bazaar. Farewell dinner at a local restaurant.
Transfer to Izmir Airport (ADB) for flight back to the USA.
Operating since 1992, TUTKU’s main office is in Izmir, ancient Smyrna, located in the heart of the Seven Churches of the Revelation. Tutku offers numerous tour packages and customized itineraries for groups and individuals in Turkey, Europe, and the Eastern Mediterranean.
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