June 12- 28, 2008
Turkey is the site of the churches of the book of the Revelation to St. John, the missionary journeys of St. Paul, as well as the councils that gave us the theology of the Trinity and the two natures of Christ. Visit this visually and culturally fascinating country in the company of Donald Bruggink and Tansu Uygun, the latter a personable, attractive, highly educated, professional Turkish guide.
The tour is not for specialists, but for everyone whose interests might include learning more about the Greco-Roman world, the development of the early and Byzantine church and its faith, art and architecture, the spread of Islam in Turkey, its irenic Sufi sect and the rise of modern, secular Turkey under Ataturk. Members of the tour are encouraged, but not compelled, to share their interests or expertise with the group in any way that might relate to the tour. Also to be enjoyed is the beauty of the varied sea and landscape and the incredible geology of Cappadocia.
Creature comforts are addressed in deluxe, four and five star hotels which include the culinary delights of Turkey. The itinerary has been constructed to make as few hotel changes as possible, freeing time to enjoy Turkey.
Tour Cost is $3,993 per person, double occupancy, from Chicago.
Click Here for PDF of Terms and Conditions and an Application.
Click Here for PDF of list of Hotels with websites.
Itinerary
Thursday, June 12:
The beginning of our seventeen-day adventure. Depart Chicago (O'Hare) on an afternoon Austrian Airlines flight.
Friday, June 13:
Arrive in Istanbul and transfer to the four-star Hotel Kent for a good night's rest.
Saturday, June 14:
We will meet our guide for our adventrue in Turkey, Tansu Uygun, who will accompany us in our private air-conditioned motor coach from Istanbul to Izmir giving us wonderful views of Turkey. On the way, we will stop at the site of the great ecumenical council of Nicea (today's Iznik) and visit the basilica, St. Sophia.
Sunday, June 15:
Arrive in Izmir, Turkey. Izmir was known as Smyrna at the time of the apostles Paul & John and is one of the seven churches addressed in the Apocalypse. Today there is a Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to St. John and another dedicated to St. Polycarp, an early Christian martyr, where we will worship. Then it's off to Pergamum with an acropolis with monumental foundations of the altar of Zeus, a fourth century temple of Athena, and a temple of Trajan, as well as a fantastic theater. Nearby is the Asclepion, one of the foremost medical centers of classical times, where the physician Galen wrote his sixteen-volume On Anatomical Procedure. Thyatira (present day Akhisar) is our final stop.
Monday June 16:
Two more cities of the Apocalypse, Sardis, with its huge temple of Apollo (and a little Christian basilica nestled alongside), its beautifully restored gymnasium, and its great synagogue. After visiting the basilica in Philadelphia (Alasehir) it is on to the deluxe Korumar Hotel with its pools and views of the aegean for the next three nights.
Tuesday, June 17:
Ephesus is one of the world's major archaeological excavations, and the city that figures so prominently in Paul's missionary journeys and the ministry of John. Among its many sites are the Marble Road with its temple of Trajan, the Scholastica Baths, the great two story Celsus Library, and the 25,000 seat theatre that Demetrius the silversmith filled with his cry against the Apostle Paul. Four centuries later, the great Council of Ephesus was held in the Church of St. Mary, which we will also visit.
Wednesday, June 18:
We visit Miletus, from which Paul sailed, and Didyma, once as important as Delphi for oracular knowledge. Its massive temple of Apollo with a porch of 120 columns was in use for 1400 years. We return to our delightful deluxe Korumar Hotel.
Thursday, June 19:
We move down the coast in our deluxe motor coach, visiting Laodicea (Denizili) with its theatre and stadium. Hierapolis/Pamukkale is famous for its immense tiers of white limestone cascading down the mountainside--created by thermal mineral waters which are neither hot nor cold. Our hotel, named for the ancient city to which Paul wrote a letter, will be the five-star Colossae Thermal Hotel with pool and thermal baths.
Friday, J
une 20:
Today will take us to Iconium, present day Konya. The city dates back four thousand years to the Hittites. Its Karatay Museum with an outstanding collection of ceramics and tiles, was once a theological school built in 1251 by Emil Celaeddin Karatay. Konya is the home of the irenic Sufi sect of Islam. Our hotel will be the four-star Bera Hotel in Konya.
Saturday, June 21:
From Konya we drive through remarkable countryside with volcanic cones to Cappadocia and to the underground city of Derinkuyu. Our splendid hotel is the Lykia Lodge Kapadokya..
Sunday, June 22:
Cappadocia is important in the history of Christianity for the impact of the Cappadocian fathers whose theology did much in the formulation of the doctrine of the Trinity. Our entire day will be spent touring the incredible churches of Cappadocia carved out of rock pinnacles and decorated with Christian frescoes. Built between the seventh and thirteenth centuries, the region is absolutely unique. Return to the Lykia Lodge.
Monday, June 23:
Today will take us past a great salt sea to Ankara, Turkey's capital. We will tour the monument to Ataturk, the father of modern Turkey, and a new mosque larger than Justinian's Church of Holy Wisdom in Istanbul. We will also visit the incredible Anatolian Civilizations Museum, housed in a ten-domed former covered bazaar of the fifteenth century. Our hotel is the five-star Dedeman Ankara.
Tuesday, June 24:
We will take the national highway from Ankara toward Istanbul, and the Yalova-Yenikapi ferry across the Sea of Marmara to Istanbul, with a visit to the mosque of Suleymaniye the Magnificent. Our hotel will be the four-star Hotel Arcadia for the next four nights.
Wednesday, June 25:
We enter the heart of Orthodoxy, the patriarchate, and worship at the cathedral. (On two prior occasions our group has been welcomed by His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.) In the afternoon we will visit the Church of Chora, now the Museum of Kariye. Its present mosaics and frescoes were done in 1312 and are undoubtedly the finest remaining in Istanbul. Then, for a radical change of pace, the Dolmabahce Palace, said to have sent the Ottoman Empire into bankruptcy.
Thursday, June 26:
Friday, June 27:
No trip to Istanbul would be really complete without a boat ride on the Bosphorus, that incredibly important liquid link between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. Along its banks are an incredible array of grand homes, old and new, mosques and palaces. At 5:30 pm our Austrian Airlines flight will depart for the Vienna airport. Our hotel is located nearby.
Saturday, June 28:
An 11:00 am departure from Vienna, arriving in Chicago at 2:20 pm, with heads and cameras filled with wonderful memories of Turkey.
