First Class 16 Day Tour/Cruise Package
Footsteps of Paul & John Day 1: Departure from US Day 4: Sea of Marmara, Ancient Troy Today we embark on our Journey to the lands of ancient treasures Departing Istanbul, we travel west across "Trace," the European and Christian history with an overnight flight to Turkey. Prepare portion of Turkey. The summer homes along the Sea of Marmara yourself for a life-changing experience. Get some rest on the will provide the scenery as we travel. Our bus boards a large ferry flight…Tomorrow you will be walking where the apostles walked! to cross the Dardanelles Strait giving us views of the bunkers on the hillside and the ocean going vessels. During our journey, we Day 2: Arrival Istanbul hear the commentary of the British major losses and World War I We transfer to our hotel in Istanbul, Turkey for the next two defeat in the Dardanelles Strait. Disembarking in Canakkale, we evenings. travel a short distance south to the area known as Troas, where Paul had a vision during his second missionary journey and was Day 3: Bustling Istanbul, Archaeological Museum called to Macedonia (Acts 16:8-13). Paul later spent a week in The tour today will be an unusual combination of Greek Orthodox, Troas preaching here and Eutychus was resurrected (Acts 20:6- Roman, Ottoman and modern day Islam including entrance into 12). We will visit ancient Troy, which was excavated in 1873 by the famed Blue Mosque and St. Sophia Church. After lunch we Heinrich Schliemann. Don't forget to have your picture taken visit the fascinating Topkapi Palace housing the many priceless from the top of the Trojan Horse. We travel to our nearby lodging treasures and colorful stories of Ottoman Sultans. This afternoon for the evening. our guide will walk us through the wonderful exhibits at the Ar - chaeological Museum. Treasures include the sarcophagus of Day 5: Pergamum, Thyatira & Izmir Alexander the Great, mosaic remnants depicting the times of Neb - Our first visit of the day is Pergamum. The church of Pergamum uchadnezzar, tablets of the Treaty of Kadesh known to be between was praised for its forbearance; (Rev. 2:12-17) it was here that the Ramses II and the Hittites during the 13th century BC and many first Christians were executed by Rome. We'll visit the fabled other wonderful items. We return to our hotel for dinner and Acropolis, pass through the Royal Gates, view the foundations of overnight. the Altar of Zeus and visit the ruins of the library (which once held 200,000 volumes). Next we travel east to Thyatira viewing the an - cient roadway and period columns. Thyatira was once a busy
1 | www.pilgrimtours.com s i l o p o r c A
C Day 7: Hierapolis, Laodicea & Colossae o
r Hierapolis, meaning "Sacred City," was an ancient center for i n pagan cults until it was transformed into a Christian center in the t
h first century. According to tradition, the Apostle Philip lived and
C was martyred in Hierapolis. It was likely the hot springs of Hier - a
n apolis (in contrast to the cold mountain springs near Colossae) a
l that combined to bring application to the "lukewarm" Laodiceans (Rev 3:14-22). This connection between the cities lies behind Paul’s reference to Hierapolis and Laodicea in his epistle to the Colossians (Col 4:13). Laodicea contains many acres of ruins to visit including a stadium and remnants of a sophisticated water system. Nearby Colossae is well-known throughout Christian cir - cles as the receiver of Paul's letter to the Colossians. Today, the town has fallen into obscurity and nothing remains. We spend the remainder of the day traveling through the Turkish countryside arriving in the port city of Kusadasi where we spend two nights. trading center and famous as a "seller of purple," the most favored The day will not be complete without a visit to a local Turkish Rug of the Seven Churches. We continue south to Izmir, which is the cooperative. third largest city in Turkey and a long time center for Jews and Christians. In Paul's day, Izmir was known as Smyrna and was an - Day 8: Ephesus other of the Seven Churches (Rev. 2:8-11). Our lodging this We travel to the nearby town of Selcuk for a visit of ancient Eph - evening will be in Izmir. esus. Ephesus was once a thriving port town of 250,000 people. Today you can still see the spectacular excavations of the major Day 6: Sardis, Philadelphia, Pamukkale streets in this ancient city. We view the Library, Agora, theatre, Departing our Hotel in Izmir, we'll see Polycarp's Church and visit colorful mosaics in the aristocratic Terrace Houses, and a the ancient roman agora. Then, we travel to Sardis, which was be - panoramic outlook of the surrounding ancient port area (includ - rated by John for its facade of strength when, in reality, it was ing a wealth of church history and cultural insight). Then we con - weak (Rev. 3:1-6). Here coins were minted and the dyeing of wool tinue with a visit to the Basilica Church of St. John, which houses originated. We'll visit the gymnasium and synagogue. Our next an immersion baptismal and is believed to be resting place of stop is nearby Philadelphia from where we are challenged to “hold John. From here we have an excellent overview of the Ephesus fast” and look forward to the coming of the "new Jerusalem" (Rev. harbor, the Mosque of Jesus, and see the site of the Temple of 3:7-13) in the Book of Revelation. Not much is left of the city ex - Artemis, which is listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the An - cept for the ancient wall and the remains of a Byzantine basilica in cient World. the modern city of Alasehir. Our lodging this evening will be in a lovely spa hotel in Pamukkale. Day 9: Isle of Patmos This morning, we embark our cruise ship and sail for a visit to the beautiful Isle of Patmos, which is under statutory protection as a
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f l e a i e e e t d s Meteora Monastery s option later this afternoon is a visit to the famous Plaka with a multitude of shops and cafes. PRICE PER PERSON: BASED ON DOUBLE OCCUPANCY Day 13: Meteora Monastery From Athens, our tour travels northward past Thermopylae where we learn of the famous Spartan battle of 300. We continue through the mountains to Meteora. Here we see the world famous Byzantine monasteries that are perched precariously on summits of gray rock pinnacles of varied and beautiful shapes. Their history Please contact us at goes back to the 14th century when the monks sought refuge in the cliffside caves then fled higher to build the original wooden shel - 800.322.0788 ters, later transformed into monasteries. Our lodging this evening will be in Meteora. or
Day 14: Vergina, Berea, Thessalonica [email protected] Traveling northward into Macedonia we visit King Phillip's (Alexander's father) tomb in Vergina, one of the most outstanding finds in all of Greece. A stop will be made in Berea to view the an - cient synagogue where Paul spoke and the Bema surrounded by e t
mosaics of Paul and the plaque of scripture regarding the "more e noble" church. The New Testament books of I & II Thessalonians r C will come alive to us today as we arrive in the delightful harbor city of Thessalonica. En route to the hotel we will view the old city ramparts; the newly excavated Forum, St. George Church, an an - cient Roman monument which was transformed into a church and the Galerius Arch which rises over the famous Via Egnatia. We spend two nights here.
Day 15: Thessalonica/Philippi/Kavala We begin the day by following the massive battlement Byzantine wall to the citadel for a panoramic view of the city. Next, we will visit Philippi and Kavala. Kavala is Greece's prettiest mainland port with a most elegant harbor. Paul landed here with his disci - ples, Timothy and Silas. Luke, the Evangelist, also came here from Troas. This ancient city of Neapolis was later renamed Chris - toupolis because it was the first European city to accept Christian - s
ity. Imagine walking on the same sod as these men of the Bible! u s
We will see the Roman Aqueduct and the ruins of the Acropolis in e this beautifully located city, known since the 5th century as h p
Kavala. Continue on to Philippi where Paul preached his first E evangelical sermon and baptized the first Christians on European soil. We will view the baptismal site where Lydia surrendered her life to Christ and visit a crypt dating from the Roman period that is thought to have served as a prison for Paul. See the famous Acropolis, the Market Place, Basilica, and the Theatre. We return to Thessalonica and visit St. Demetrius Basilica, dedicated to a distinguished member of the Roman army and a martyred Chris - tian convert, before returning to the hotel for our final night.
Day 16: Homeward Bound We transfer to the Thessalonica airport for our flight home.
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