15-Day St Paul's Biblical Tour of Turkey

Welcome to Türkiye. On arrival at Istanbul Airport you are met and privately transferred to your hotel in the heart of the old city. The rest of the day is free to rest or take an optional evening outing — a Dolmabahçe Palace visit, a Whirling Dervish ceremony or a rhythm-and-dance show. Your guide confirms the plan for the pilgrimage ahead. Overnight in Istanbul.

A full day among the early Christian churches of the city. You visit the Ecumenical Patriarchate at Fener, the seat of Orthodox Christianity, and the Greek Orthodox church of Aya Yorgi with its 5th-century patriarchal throne. You see the Byzantine mosaics of the Church of St Mary Pammakaristos, the extraordinary cast-iron Bulgarian St Stephen Church, the shrine of Panagia of Blachernae, and finish at the Church of St Saviour in Chora (Kariye), whose golden mosaics and frescoes of the life of Christ are among the finest in the Byzantine world. Overnight in Istanbul.

You travel to the capital, Ankara. Here the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations traces the land's history from the Paleolithic to the Byzantine era, with a renowned Hittite gallery. You visit the well-preserved 1st-century Temple of Augustus and Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Dinner and overnight in Ankara.

Driving south you break the journey in Aksaray before entering Cappadocia. You walk part of the Ihlara Valley, a deep canyon lined with cave churches carved and painted by early Christian monks, and descend into the Özkonak Underground City, a multi-level refuge with kitchens, stables and chapels built against Roman and Arab raids. Dinner and overnight in Cappadocia.

A full day among the fairy chimneys. You climb to the natural citadel of Uçhisar for sweeping views, explore the Göreme Open-Air Museum — a UNESCO site whose rock chapels (St Basil's, the Apple Church, St Barbara, the Snake Church and the Dark Church) keep their vivid frescoes — and visit the fairy-chimney settlement of Zelve and the pottery town of Avanos on the Red River. Dinner and overnight in Cappadocia.

Today you reach the birthplace of the Apostle. In Tarsus you see St Paul's Well, the St Paul Memorial Church, the Cave of the Seven Sleepers, the ancient Cleopatra Gate and a stretch of the old Roman road. You continue to Hatay (Antakya), ancient Antioch on the Orontes. Dinner and overnight in Hatay.

Antioch was where the followers of Jesus were first called Christians. You visit the Church of St Peter, a cave sanctuary considered one of the oldest churches in the world, the Habib-i Neccar Mosque and the Hatay Archaeology Museum, famous for its Roman mosaics, before pausing at the Harbiye waterfalls. You then drive along the coast to Mersin. Dinner and overnight in Mersin.

A scenic coastal drive along the Mediterranean. You stop at Anamur, Türkiye's southernmost point, and the Roman city of Anemurium set above the sea, before continuing to the resort city of Antalya. Dinner and overnight in Antalya.

A day among Paul's missionary coast. At Side — where Paul, Barnabas and Mark are recorded to have landed — you see the ancient harbour, the colonnaded street and the temples by the sea. Perge, visited by Paul on his first journey, reveals its stadium, agora and long colonnaded avenue, and at Aspendos you stand in the best-preserved Roman theatre in the Mediterranean. Dinner and overnight in Antalya.

You travel inland to the Lycus valley. At Laodicea — the lukewarm church rebuked in Revelation 3 — you walk the newly excavated streets, theatres and churches. At Hierapolis you explore the Roman theatre, the Temple of Apollo, the Plutonium and the martyrium linked to the Apostle Philip, then descend the dazzling white travertine terraces of Pamukkale. Dinner and overnight in Pamukkale.

Two more of the Seven Churches. Philadelphia (Alaşehir) — praised in Revelation 3 — keeps the brick piers of its Byzantine basilica. At Sardis, capital of the Lydian king Croesus and birthplace of coinage, you visit the great Temple of Artemis, the restored Roman gymnasium and one of the best-preserved ancient synagogues in the world. You continue to the coastal town of Kuşadası. Dinner and overnight in Kuşadası.

A full day at Ephesus, where Paul preached for three years and to whose community he addressed one of his epistles. You walk the marble streets past the Fountain of Trajan, the Library of Celsus and the Great Theatre where the silversmiths rioted, then visit the House of the Virgin Mary and the Basilica of St John, built over the apostle's tomb, with the last column of the Temple of Artemis nearby. In the afternoon you climb to the Greek hill village of Şirince with its old churches of St Demetrios and St John the Baptist. Dinner and overnight in Kuşadası.

to Pergamon (Breakfast, Dinner) You drive to Izmir, ancient Smyrna, one of the Seven Churches and home to the Church of St Polycarp. Continuing north you reach Pergamon, whose acropolis holds the steepest theatre in the ancient world and the site of the Altar of Zeus — the "throne of Satan" of Revelation 2 — while below stands the Red Basilica, a vast pagan temple later turned into a church, and the healing sanctuary of the Asklepion. Overnight in the region.

to Istanbul (Breakfast) You travel to Iznik, ancient Nicaea, where the First Ecumenical Council met in 325 AD and formulated the Nicene Creed. You see the lakeside walls, the ruins associated with the council and the church of Hagia Sophia of Nicaea, site of the Seventh Council of 787 AD, before returning to Istanbul for your final night. Overnight in Istanbul.

After breakfast and check-out you are privately transferred to Istanbul Airport for your onward flight, carrying with you two weeks spent in the footsteps of St Paul and the first Christian communities of Anatolia. End of the tour.