In the Footsteps of St. Paul Tour in Turkey – 15 Days

Your journey begins at Cukurova Airport, where our representative meets you and transfers you by private vehicle to your hotel in Adana. The rest of the day is free to rest after your flight. Adana is the base for the first three nights: it offers wider hotel choice and more flight connections than Antakya, and it keeps both Antioch and Tarsus within easy reach. In the evening, your guide introduces the route ahead, from the city where Paul’s missions began to the harbor where he set sail for Europe. Dinner and overnight in Adana.

Today begins where Paul’s missions began. In Antakya, ancient Antioch on the Orontes, the disciples were first called Christians, and Barnabas and Paul taught the young church for a full year. We visit the Church of St. Peter, a cave church traditionally linked to Antioch’s earliest Christian community. We continue to Seleucia Pieria, Antioch’s ancient port, from which Paul and Barnabas sailed for Cyprus at the start of the First Missionary Journey, and walk through the Roman-built Titus Tunnel. Return to Adana for dinner and overnight. (about 5.5–6 hours of driving in total)

Biblical References: Acts 11:19–26; Acts 13:1–4

Today is dedicated to Tarsus, the city Paul named as his home: “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia” (Acts 22:3). We visit St. Paul’s Well, traditionally associated with his family home, although the exact site of the house cannot be established, and St. Paul’s Church, a historic church dedicated to the apostle. The excavated Roman Street offers a glimpse of the Roman-era city in which Paul was born. Here we recall his return to Tarsus after Jerusalem, and Barnabas coming to bring him to Antioch. Dinner and overnight in Adana.

Biblical References: Acts 9:11, 30; Acts 11:25–26; Acts 21:39; Acts 22:3

We drive north across the Taurus Mountains into ancient Lycaonia. Near Karaman, Derbe is associated with the mound of Kerti Hoyuk, where Paul and Barnabas preached and made many disciples. Near Hatunsaray, Lystra recalls the healing of a man lame from birth, the crowd hailing the apostles as Zeus and Hermes, Paul’s stoning, and later his choice of Timothy. Both sites are unexcavated mounds rather than ruins; we stop to read the passages from Acts and pray. Overnight in Konya, ancient Iconium. (about 6 hours of driving in total)

Biblical References: Acts 14:6–23; Acts 16:1–3; 2 Timothy 3:10–11

The morning begins in Konya, ancient Iconium, at Alaaddin Hill, the mound of the ancient city. Here Paul and Barnabas preached in the synagogue until threats forced them to flee to Lystra and Derbe. We then drive to Pisidian Antioch near Yalvac, the Roman colony where Paul gave his first recorded sermon, in the synagogue on the Sabbath. Walk its Roman streets and see the remains of an early Christian basilica traditionally associated with St. Paul. In the afternoon we cross the Taurus Mountains to Antalya, ancient Attalia, for two nights. (about 5.5 hours of driving in total)

Biblical References: Acts 13:14–52; Acts 14:1–7; 2 Timothy 3:10–11

Today covers both ends of the First Missionary Journey on this coast. At Perga, Paul and Barnabas landed from Cyprus, John Mark turned back to Jerusalem, and on their return the apostles preached here before heading to the sea. Walk the colonnaded street, agora, stadium and monumental city gates of this Roman city of Pamphylia. In the afternoon we explore Kaleici, Antalya’s old town, and the Old Roman Harbour of ancient Attalia, from which Paul and Barnabas sailed back to Antioch to report all that God had done. Overnight in Antalya.

Biblical References: Acts 13:13–14; Acts 14:24–28

We travel west along the Lycian coast to Myra, a turning point in Paul’s voyage to Rome as a prisoner: here the centurion Julius found an Alexandrian ship bound for Italy and put Paul aboard. At Myra we see the Roman theatre and the Lycian rock-cut tombs carved into the cliff. We continue to Andriake, Myra’s ancient harbor, to reflect on Paul’s transfer to the Alexandrian ship and the hard sailing that followed toward Crete. The coastal road then brings us to Kas or Kalkan for dinner and overnight.

Biblical References: Acts 23:11; Acts 27:1–8

At Patara, one of the great ports of Lycia, Paul changed ships at the end of the Third Missionary Journey, finding a vessel bound for Phoenicia as he pressed on toward Jerusalem. We explore the ancient city’s theatre, its monumental public buildings and the harbor area, and recall Paul’s words at Miletus that he did not count his life dear to himself. From the coast we drive inland to Pamukkale, at the edge of the Lycus Valley, for two nights. (about 4.5 hours of driving in total)

Biblical References: Acts 20:22–24; Acts 21:1–2

A day in the Lycus Valley, where three neighboring churches shared Paul’s letters and his co-worker Epaphras. At Laodicea, one of the Seven Churches of Revelation, we walk its colonnaded streets and early Christian church complex and read the message to the “lukewarm” church. Hierapolis, above the white travertines of Pamukkale, is named by Paul in Colossians and linked by tradition with St. Philip. Colossae, to whose church Paul wrote, is an unexcavated mound; the visit format depends on local access, and we stop to read Colossians and pray. Overnight in Pamukkale.

Biblical References: Colossians 1:15–20; Colossians 4:12–16; Philemon 1:1–2; Revelation 3:14–22

We drive west to Miletus, the setting of Paul’s most personal speech in Acts. Hurrying to reach Jerusalem by Pentecost, Paul sent for the elders of Ephesus to meet him here, reminded them of his years of service, entrusted the church to their care, then knelt and prayed with them before they walked him to the ship. Among the ruins of this Ionian port, including its Roman theatre and harbor area, we reflect on his farewell address. Continue to Kusadasi for dinner and overnight.

Biblical References: Acts 20:15–38; 2 Timothy 4:20

Paul spent more than two years in Ephesus, teaching in the synagogue and the Hall of Tyrannus. We enter Ephesus from the Upper Gate and walk downhill past the Temple of Hadrian and the Library of Celsus, finishing at the Great Theatre, where the silversmiths’ riot of Acts 19 reached its peak. Nearby in Selcuk, the Basilica of St. John stands over the apostle’s traditional tomb. Your group pre-selects one complementary visit: the House of the Virgin Mary or the Ephesus Archaeological Museum. We then drive north to Izmir, ancient Smyrna, for the night.

Biblical References: Acts 18:19–21; Acts 19:1–41; Acts 20:31; Revelation 2:1–7

We drive north along the Aegean to Assos, where Paul chose to walk overland from Troas while his companions sailed, and rejoined them at the harbor. From the Temple of Athena on the hilltop, the view reaches across the sea to Lesbos, where their ship sailed next. We continue to Alexandria Troas, where Paul saw the vision of the man of Macedonia and first carried the Gospel into Europe, and where, years later, Eutychus fell from a window during Paul’s late-night teaching. Overnight in Canakkale.

Biblical References: Acts 16:6–12; Acts 20:5–14; 2 Corinthians 2:12–13

Troy is not a Pauline site, but it frames the world Paul traveled. At the Troy Archaeological Site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the walls, gates and settlement layers trace thousands of years of history, from the Bronze Age city linked to Homer’s Iliad to the Roman town that honored Troy as the legendary origin of Rome. At the nearby Troy Museum, finds from the site and the wider Troad complete the picture. In the afternoon we cross to Europe and continue to Istanbul. (about 4.5 hours of driving in total)

Biblical References: Acts 16:8–11 (nearby Alexandria Troas)

A full day in Istanbul, the Byzantium and Constantinople that became a capital of Christianity in the centuries after the apostles. Hagia Sophia, completed under Justinian in AD 537, served for nearly a thousand years as the great church of Constantinople; its surviving Byzantine mosaics are seen where accessible. In the Hippodrome stand the Obelisk of Theodosius and the Serpent Column. We continue to the Blue Mosque, a masterpiece of Ottoman architecture, and descend into the Basilica Cistern, Justinian’s vast underground reservoir. Overnight in Istanbul.

Historical context: Acts 1:8 (the spread of the Gospel to the wider world)

After breakfast, enjoy a final quiet morning in Istanbul. At the appropriate time for your flight, you are transferred by private vehicle to Istanbul Airport for your international departure. Over fifteen days, the journey has traced Paul from his birthplace in Tarsus and the sending church of Antioch, through the cities of Galatia, Pamphylia and Lycia, to the Lycus Valley, Miletus, Ephesus and the harbor at Troas, where the Gospel crossed into Europe.