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TOUR ITINERARY:
Day 01 Depart from New York – Fly to Athens
Day 02 Arrive Athens Airport
Your tour guide will meet you after you pass through
customs and claim your baggage. We will transfer you to the
hotel for dinner and overnight. (D)
Day 03 ATHENS
Enjoy the architectural splendors of the ancient city of
Athens as you follow your guide to the world renowned
Acropolis, the Propylaea, the Parthenon, and the Erectheum.
Climb Mars Hill where the apostle Paul stood and said, “ I
found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.
What you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you” (Acts
17:23). See the Agora, the ancient market place and center
of the Athenian public life, where the apostle Paul preached
“Jesus and the resurrection” (Acts 17:18) to the skeptical
Athenians. Also see the House of Parliament, the
Presidential Palace and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The
afternoon is free to explore Athens on your own or enjoy an
optional journey to Sounion to visit the famous Temple of
Poseidon (additional $39). Overnight in Athens. (B,D)
Day 04 CORINTH and CENCHRAEAE – ATHENS
Visit Corinth, the city where Paul met Aquilla and
Priscilla, a city where Paul spent twenty one months in
ministry during the second and third missions (Acts 18:1–17
& 20:2–3). Here, Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue
believed in the Lord, along with many of the Corinthians.
Paul wrote two New Testament letters to this church. Visit
the Archaeological Museum, the market buildings and temples.
Walk among the ruins and stand on the Bema where Paul stood
before Gallio facing charges brought by the Jews. Visit
Cenchraea, the port from which Paul departed at the
conclusion of the third mission (Acts 18:18). Overnight in
Athens. (B,D)
Day 05 DELPHI – METEORA – KALAMBAKA
Travel to scenic Delphi, the most important prophetic
oracle in the ancient world. Walk the Sacra Via to the
Athenian Treasury, the Theatre, and the Temple of Apollo
where the oracle performed its prophetic rituals. Visit the
Museum where you will view many ancient treasures including
the famed 5th century bronzed Charioteer. Drive to Kalambaka
to visit the rock forest of Meteora in western Thessaly.
This area became the center of numerous Byzantine
monasteries perched precariously on the summits of soaring,
sheer–sided rock pinnacles of varied shapes. Their history
goes back to the 14th century when the monks sought refuge
in cliff–side caves, then fled higher to build the original
wooden shelters, which were later transformed into
monasteries. Visit one of these monasteries. Dinner and
overnight in Kalambaka. (B,D)
Day 06 KALAMBAKA – THESSALONICA – PHILIPPI – KAVALA
Drive to Thessalonica, the city where Paul established a
church amidst great opposition and a church to which Paul
later wrote two letters. The agora at this site is visible,
having been excavated in the center of modern Greece’s
second largest city. Next, you’ll drive to Philippi, where
Paul met Lydia, the first convert to Christianity in Europe
(Acts 16:13–15). Visit the forum at Philippi, the theater,
two Byzantine basilica churches and a cistern which may have
served as the prison for the apostle Paul and Silas.
Overnight in the Kavala area. (B,D)
Day 07 KAVALA (GREECE) – ISTANBUL
Drive to the Greece–Turkey border, where you’ll transfer to
your Turkish bus and meet your Turkish guide. Continue to
Istanbul where you’ll visit the St Chora Church famous for
its Golden Mosaics, followed by a visit to the Istanbul
Archaeological Museum, one of the world’s great
archaeological museums with numerous important Biblical
artifacts. Take a leisurely Boat Tour along the Bosphorus
seeing both European and Asian shores of Istanbul. Have
dinner at a local restaurant at the historic Flower Passage.
Overnight in Istanbul. (B,D)
Day 08 ISTANBUL
You’ll visit Istanbul’s ancient hippodrome and the famous
Blue Mosque, with its six minarets and sparkling interior.
Walk through the Hagia Sophia, Constantine’s famous church
that, for 1000 years, was the largest church in Christendom.
Rebuilt by Justinian (532–537 AD), the church has 107
columns, fossil imbedded white marble floors and beautiful
glass mosaics. Tour the basilica cisterns that supplied
water to the growing capital of the Byzantine empire.
Finally, explore the Grand Bazaar, the world’s largest
middle east bazaar. Over 4000 shops sell everything from
herbs to gold. Overnight in Istanbul. (B,D)
Day 09 ISTANBUL – CANAKKALE
Drive to Gallipoli. Cross the Dardanelles strait by ferry
and drive to Alexandria Troas, founded by Alexander the
Great. The apostle Paul visited here at least twice. Then
visit Troy and see the site of the Trojan War immortalized
in Homer’s Illiad. Overnight in Canakkale. (B,D)
Day 10 ASSOS – PERGAMUM – IZMIR (SMYRNA)
Visit Assos (a stop on Paul’s journeys) and drive to
Pergamum, the site of one of the churches addressed in the
book of Revelation (Rev. 2:12–17). Towering 1000 feet above
the town and commanding a spectacular panorama is the scenic
Acropolis. In the lower city see the Asclepion, the most
famous healing facility in all of Asia Minor. Then drive to
Izmir, ancient Smyrna. Overnight in Izmir. (B,D)
Day 11 MILETUS and PRIENE - KUSADASI
Visit the excavations at Miletus, where Paul bid farewell to
the elders of the church at Ephesus at the end of his Third
Missionary Journey (Acts 20). The site contains a large
theater where an important inscription refers to the Jews
and “God-fearers” of the city. The God-fearers were
monotheistic Gentiles who constituted a large portion of
Paul’s converts. Priene, another site on this leg of the
trip, had a synagogue (recently discovered) and had a
substantial Christian community during the Byzantine period
and was the seat of a bishop. Overnight in Kusadasi. (B,D)
Day 12 EPHESUS – KUSADASI
Ephesus is one of the Seven Churches of Revelation (Rev.
1:11). In ancient days, Ephesus was a bustling port town of
250,000 or more people, graced with wide, colonnaded
streets. Today you will be impressed with the excavations of
the major streets and the slope houses containing
spectacular frescoes and mosaics from 2,000 years ago.
You’ll view the Library, the huge Agora and the temple of
Domitian. The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus was declared one
of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, although today
only a single column remains to mark the site. You’ll visit
the Basilica of St. John, the traditional site of his tomb.
From the basilica, enjoy a commanding view of the area.
You’ll visit the Museum of Ephesus for an up–close look at
the interesting and important artifacts from the ancient
city. Dinner and overnight in Kusadasi. (B,D)
Day 13 LAODICEA – APHRODISIAS – PAMUKKALE
Visit Aphrodisias excavated by the New York University and
see the Stadium, the Theater, the Agora, the Sebasteion and
more. The museum on site contains beautiful reliefs and
statues from the site, which served as a school for the
production of sculpture. Proceed to Laodicea. The Christians
of Laodicea, one of the Seven Churches (Rev 3:14–22), were
chastised for being lukewarm, “You are neither cold nor hot”
(Rev. 3:14) and for being too lax by incorporating pagan and
Christian beliefs. Today, the site is being rapidly
excavated and by archaeologists from the local university
and the ancient city is coming to life in all of its glory
with theaters, a stadium, several baths and columned
streets. Dinner and overnight in Pamukkale. (B,D)
Day 14 HIERAPOLIS – SARDIS – IZMIR
Hierapolis, one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites, is blessed
by hot mineral springs and some of the best–preserved Roman
ruins in Asia Minor. Christianity came to Hierapolis via
Paul (Colossians 4:13) and the ruins cover more than a mile.
You’ll see the impressive theatre with seats still in
perfect condition along with the City Gates, column–lined
streets and the plutonium – thought to be the entrance to
the underworld. The city is crowned with the Philip
Martyrium and the recently discovered tomb of the apostle
Philip. In addition to the ruins, the site is distinguished
by massive travertine formations and hot springs that
cascade from one white–edged terrace pool to the next.
Sardis is another of the Seven Churches of Revelation (Rev.
3:1–6). The site iss noteworthy for the huge Temple of
Artemis, the important Persian Royal Road, the gymnasium &
palaestra complex and the synagogue. Continue on to Smyrna,
modern day Izmir for dinner and overnight. (B,D)
Day 15 DEPARTURE
Transfer to Izmir Airport for your flight back to New York.
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