Day 02 Sept. 13, Saturday ISTANBUL
In the morning, we will visit the Byzantine Cistern and the Turkish Islamic Art Museum.
 The visit to the Turkish Islamic Art Museum, especially the ethnographic section, makes a perfect introduction to what we will see in the countryside.  After lunch visit Hagia Sophia, the grandest standing monument from 1500 years before our time; the Topkapi Palace, the residence of the Ottoman Sultans from 1453-1856. At 06:30 PM we will have a group meeting at the lobby of the hotel to go over
the tour and to answer the possible questions of the tour members. Dinner will be served at Kumkapi, a very colorful quarter of Istanbul, where the ambiance is just as memorable as the food we will be served in this  seafood restaurant. Overnight at Hotel Ayasofya ISTANBUL

Day 03 Sept. 14, Sunday ISTANBUL

Today, we will begin by visiting the Church of St. Savior in Chora (Kariye Museum),
a beautiful 6th c. Byzantian Church, decorated with 11th c. wall paintings depicting  scenes from the Bible. Next, we will visit the hub of Istanbul’s trade activity for 5 centuries, the Grand Bazaar (Kapali Carsi). After lunch, we will see one of the masterpieces of the 16th c. chief architect, Mimar Sinan. The mosque he built for Sultan Suleyman the Magnificient, The Suleymaniye Mosque, is one of the landmarks of the Istanbul skyline with its four minarets and cascading domes. Next, we will visit the See of Greek Orthodox Christianity, the Patriarchate in Fener on the shores of the Golden Horn. Lastly, we will take a walk under the 500-year old domes of the Spice Market (Misir Carsisi). We will relax and enjoy the beautiful sky line of Istanbul in a private tour boat that will take us up and down the Bosphorus, on the shores of which we will see magnificent palaces, private kiosks, castles, etc. Dinner will be served  at a wonderful place where we will enjoy the moon light dancing on the waters of Bosphorus

Day 04 Sept. 15, Monday ADANA & ANTAKYA 

MORNING FLIGHT TO ADANA  Antioch of Cilicia (Antakya) is where St. Stephan and Barnabas organized the first followers of Christ. This is also where St. Paul met Barnabas for the first time, after his epiphany on the road to Damascus, and his proselytizing work in Namibia and in Damascus. St. Peter also traveled here from Jerusalem to resolve the disputes between the Jerusalem fathers and the “Greek School” led by St. Stephan. This is also where the followers of Christ were called Christians for the first time.  We will visit the mosaic Museum of Antakya which reveals the wealth and grandeur of the Roman city at  St. Paul's time. OVERNIGHT  IN ANTAKYA at Antik Beyazit Hotel

Day 05 Sept. 16, Tuesday TARSUS
Visit St. Peter's church. Drive to the Monastary of St Simon
After lunch Drive to Tarsus, birthplace of St. Paul. Dinner by a water fall. Overnight in Tarsus.

Day 06 Sept. 17, Wednesday GUZELYURT  (CAPPADOCIA)
Drive from Tarsus, birthplace of St. Paul.Drive through the Cilician Gates, just like Paul and Barnabas did on their first journey into Galatia “to deliver unutterable expressions into a strange land” (II Cor 12:2-4). At Nigde, we will see the oldest known Madonna and the Child scene on a wall of a 1,100 year old church. We will continue to where St. Gregory was born and established the oldest monastery on earth. In the beauty of the Monastery Valley, one can imagine the monks contemplating to find the best way of passing the word of God to the fire worshippers of the region. OVERNIGHT AT HOTEL KARBALLA in GUZELYURT . For those who might be interested in home stay we can arrange a home stay with a mother and a daughter.

Day 08 Sept. 19, Friday     UCHISAR  (CAPPADOCIA)

 In Cappadocia, Creator and man competed in creating the most unusual and the most beautiful. Enjoy the moon-like landscape with endless forms of work of art, natural and man-made. The colors of the frescoes of the twelve hundred year old churches are just as fresh as the colors of the carpets woven in the region. The rock formations are just as striking as the local pottery made of the clay obtained from the old river beds. St Paul visited the region, called Caesarea, on his 1st Missionary Journey. As one visits the colorful "churches" of Cappadocia and admires the surrounding forms of thrilling art buried in nature, it becomes easier to imagine how the ideas and teachings of St. Paul sprouted into life and affected the Cappadocians for two thousand years. We will visit the carpet cooperative to learn more about the Turkish carpets, which are inseparable part of the Turkish life. Dinner & Overnight at Museum Hotel. In the morning easy hike to Zelve to see the 10-11th century churches, monasteries and houses carved in the rocks. Visit villagers at their rock dwellings. We will visit the astonishing Goreme Open Air Museum, with its numerous monasteries and see how each monk had interpreted, in their wall paintings, the history of Christianity.  Overnight at Lalesaray HOTEL, in Uchisar

Day 09 Sept. 20, Saturday KONYA
We will begin our day with a visit to Avanos, on the banks of the Red River, to see how the potters perform the
thousand-year old tradition of ceramics.  After lunch , we will continue to Konya (Iconium) on the old silk road.
Following the foot steps ofSt.Paul we will appreciate the distances that St Paul had to cover on foot or on his donkey.
En route, we will make a couple of stops at the Caravanserais, where Camels used to take a break on their long journey from China to the Mediterranean.
Dinner and overnight at hotel BAYKARA in Konya

Day 10 Sept. 21, Sunday ANTIOCH OF PISIDIA /PAMUKKALE
Start the day with a visit to the Museum of Mevlana (Rumi) in Konya, known as the ancient city of Iconium. After lunch drive to Antioch of Psidia where St.  Paul had visited twice. At the Temple of Agustos where St Paul was not allowed you can now have your service. Drv e to Pamukkale via Collesea ( region) where two of St. Paul's letters were addressed.
Stay overnight at Pamukkale Thermal Hotel.

Day 12 Sept. 23, Tuesday EPHESUS/KUSADASI
Today, we will visit the ancient site of Ephesus, the Ephesus Museum and the house of the Virgin Mary. Ephesus was the 4th largest city of the Roman Empire, after Rome, Alexandria and Antioch of Cilicia.  Today, Ephesus is the largest Roman excavation site in Turkey. The grand avenues and intact social buildings help one build the city in their imagination with not too much of an effort. As one walks in the theater, which had a seating capacity of 24,000, the sounds of the enraged Ephesians, led by Demitrius the silversmith, can almost be heard. According to Acts 19 St Paul, who visited Ephesus twice, was never given an opportunity to speak in this theater when the Ephesians were reminded that St Paul and his teachings were a threat to the way they made their living. So Paul wrote everything he had to say to the Ephesians in his letters. Thus Ephesus is mentioned not only in Acts but there is a whole big chapter in the Bible named the ''Epistle of Apostle Paul to the Ephesians.'' Overnight at Kismet hotel in Kusadasi
Day 13 Sept. 24, Wednesday PERGAMUM/AYVALIK
We drive north along the Aegean Sea to Pergamum, which reached its zenith in the second century B.C.E. and equals Ephesus in importance. Pergamum wasone of the Seven Churches of Revelation. Here we visit the Acropolis; the library that rivaled Alexandria; and the Asclepion, a great medical center that peaked under the celebrated physician Galen, who was born here. We continue our drive through a pine nut forest and mountain villages to Ayvalik, Overnight at Ayvalik