16 Days St Paul Tour of Turkey: Tarsus, Antioch, Cappadocia, Ephesus & Pergamon Private Tour

On arrival at Istanbul Airport you are welcomed by our representative and driven to your hotel. The rest of the day is free to settle in after your journey. Overnight in Istanbul.

After breakfast the guided tour heads into the historic peninsula. You begin at the Hippodrome and continue to the Blue Mosque, named after the blue Iznik tiles of its interior. Next comes the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, followed by Hagia Sophia, the great 6th-century church of Emperor Justinian. You then descend into the Basilica Cistern, built by Justinian in the 530s, and finish at the Suleymaniye Mosque, the masterpiece Sinan created for Suleyman the Magnificent. Overnight in Istanbul.

An early domestic flight brings you to Adana in ancient Cilicia, and you drive directly to Tarsus, where Paul was born. In his lifetime the city was a centre of learning said to rival Athens and Alexandria; Cicero governed it in 51-50 BC and Cleopatra famously met Mark Antony here. You visit St Paul's Well, the so-called Tomb of Sardanapalus and Cleopatra's Gate before returning to Adana. Overnight in Adana.

Today you travel east to Antioch on the Orontes, founded around 300 BC and one of the liveliest cities of the 1st century. Peter preached here first, followed by Paul and Barnabas, and it was in Antioch that believers were first called Christians. You see the museum with its outstanding mosaics, the cave church of St Peter where early Christians gathered, and Daphne, the sacred grove of Apollo. At Seleucia Pieria, the ancient port of Antioch, you walk to the Titus Tunnel, cut to divert the floodwaters of the Orontes, and the Hellenistic rock tombs. Return to Adana for the night.

After an early breakfast you drive north into Cappadocia. The first stop is an underground city, a maze of tunnels, rooms, kitchens and storage cellars spread over eight levels and ventilated by a deep central shaft, where Christians once sheltered from persecution. Continuing among the fairy chimneys, pillars of volcanic tuff sculpted by wind and rain, you reach Goreme to see the frescoed Apple Church, the Church of St John the Baptist and the Buckle Church. Overnight in Cappadocia.

This morning you drive to Konya, ancient Iconium, which grew into an important Christian centre after Paul's preaching. A Phrygian legend claims it was the first city founded after the Flood. Paul and Barnabas arrived in 47 AD, and Paul returned on his second and third journeys. Much of today's Konya is modern, but its historic core is very old. Overnight in Konya.

An early start takes you to Yalvac and the site of Pisidian Antioch, where Paul's preaching first turned decisively towards the non-Jewish world. Settled since about 280 BC, the city held Jews, Romans and Greeks in Paul's day. Little survives, but you see the propylon of the acropolis with its carved blocks and the remains of a Byzantine church. The drive then passes Lake Egirdir on the way down to Antalya. Overnight in Antalya.

Perge lies about 18 km north-east of Antalya and is where Paul began preaching after arriving from Cyprus; its gymnasium, baths, agora, theatre, stadium and Hellenistic gate are well worth exploring. Aspendos, another Pamphylian city, has the best-preserved Roman theatre in the world, renowned for its acoustics. Side, whose name means pomegranate, stands right on top of its ancient predecessor; here you see the temples of Athena and Apollo, the state agora, the theatre and the museum. Overnight in Antalya.

Leaving early, you stop first at Laodicea, said to be named by Antiochus II after his wife, with two theatres, a large stadium, a water tower and an odeon; Paul refers to its church in his letters. Hierapolis, founded according to tradition by King Telephus of Pergamon and named after his wife Hiera, later became a bishopric with a large church dedicated to St Philip, martyred here around 80 AD. Highlights are the Roman baths, the Temple of Apollo and the theatre, beside the white travertines of Pamukkale. Overnight in Pamukkale.

A full day with four sites. Aphrodisias, a city famed for its sculptors, displays fine marble works on site, a stadium among the best preserved anywhere, the Bishop's Palace, the odeon and the theatre. At Didyma you stand before the Temple of Apollo, an oracle sanctuary with inscriptions from the 6th century BC. Miletus, home of the philosopher Thales, offers its theatre, the Baths of Faustina and the council chamber, and Priene, with its orderly streets, has the agora, the assembly hall and the Temple of Athena Polias. Overnight in Kusadasi.

On the way to Izmir you visit Ephesus, beginning at the Basilica of St John, where the apostle is believed to have written his Gospel; the Temple of Artemis, one of the ancient Seven Wonders, once stood nearby. The ancient city itself is remarkably well preserved, and Paul's preaching here famously provoked a riot of the silversmiths. You walk past the Library of Celsus, the Temple of Hadrian, the Fountain of Trajan and the Great Theatre, then visit the House of the Virgin Mary, where you may collect water from the sacred spring. Overnight in Izmir.

Today you drive to Sardis, whose history reaches back to the 12th century BC and which became one of the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse and later a bishopric. You see the synagogue, the gymnasium, a Byzantine church and the Temple of Artemis. You continue to Thyatira, modern Akhisar, another Church of Revelation where Christianity spread quickly, and on returning to Izmir you see one more of the seven churches. Overnight in Izmir.

Heading north towards Ayvalik, you climb to the acropolis of Pergamon above Bergama, capital of one of the richest kingdoms of the ancient world. You see the Altar of Zeus, the Temple of Trajan and the steep hillside theatre. Lower down you visit the Asclepion, a renowned healing centre where treatments included music and walking barefoot. Overnight in Ayvalik.

You leave for Alexandria Troas, a busy port on the north-western coast where excavations have uncovered layers of many settlements. It was here that Paul saw in a vision a man calling him to Macedonia, prompting his crossing into Europe, and he returned to the city on later journeys. Next is Assos, high on a cliff facing Lesbos, where the Temple of Athena crowns the acropolis; Paul walked here from Troas to join a ship heading back towards Jerusalem. The drive then continues to Bursa. Overnight in Bursa.

After breakfast you visit the Green Mosque and the Green Tomb in Bursa, the Seljuk-style Ulu Mosque with its many columns, and the Ottoman House Museum. You then drive to Iznik, ancient Nicaea, where the First Ecumenical Council met in 325 to condemn Arianism and the Seventh Council gathered in the Church of Hagia Sophia. You visit this 4th-century church with its 6th-century mosaic floor and see the Byzantine walls and gates before continuing to Istanbul. Overnight in Istanbul.

After breakfast you are transferred to Istanbul Airport for your onward flight.