Tralles in Christian History
According to Acts 18:23, the Apostle Paul passed through Galatia and Phrygia “strengthening all the disciples” before reaching his destination in Ephesus. He probably would have followed the Meander River Valley, which means he likely could have stopped to encourage the believers in Tralles. If the Christian community there did not originate with Paul, it probably began with students from the apostle’s school of Tyrannus in Ephesus, or with Epaphras, who went beyond Tralles to evangelize in Colossae.
Ignatius’ letter to Christians in Tralles in 108 A.D. suggests that a church had been established there for some time. The Bishop of Tralles, Polybius, ...
Thyatira in Christian History
The Apostle Paul probably visited Thyatira several times and established a strong Christian community through his ministry. Paul met Lydia of Thyatira while in Philippi where God “opened her heart” and she believed (Acts 16:13-15). Lydia sold purple goods and must have been a wealthy business woman. Evidently a Gentile who had been attracted to Judaism in Thyatira, Lydia worshipped God even before Paul shared the gospel with her.
The church at Thyatira was one of the Seven Churches named in Revelation (Rev. 2:18-29). The letter to the angel of the church in Thyatira refers to “the Son of God, ...
SMYRNA IN CHRISTIAN HISTORY
A significant Jewish population set the cultural and religious groundwork for the Apostle Paul to spread the Christian gospel. Like much of the Aegean, we can assume Paul’s ministry, which started in Ephesus, evangelized Smyrna. But the city rose in importance after the time of the apostles. John’s Revelation is the only place in scripture that mentions it. Writing his apocalyptic letter to Christians in Smyrna during a time of persecution, he reminds them of the promise of resurrection and escape from the second death. Believers in Smyrna most likely ...
Sardis in Christian History
The sizable and prosperous Jewish community in Sardis built the largest ancient synagogue outside of Palestine. Christianity arrived in the first century A.D., and Sardis was one of the churches addressed in the book of Revelation. Probably Jews from the Babylonian exile settled in the city. In the Bible Obadiah 20 mentions the exiles of Jerusalem who were in “Sepharad”—another name for Sardis. The historian Josephus claimed that the Seleucid King Antiochus III relocated 2,000 Jewish families from Mesopotamia to Lydia at the end of the third century B.C. Josephus also referred to two decrees during the time of...
Since the Apostle Paul does not mention the church at Philadelphia in any of his letters, we can assume the Christian community was established there later than the cluster of churches in Hieropolis, Colossae, and Laodicea. However, the Philadelphia church probably grew quickly in prominence since the Apostle John makes reference to it in Revelation as does Ignatius, bishop of Syrian Antioch, in his letters written right before he was martyred. This church is one of three addressed by both ancient leaders. ...
We do not know how the Christian gospel came to Pergamum, but we do know that an established Christian community existed there when the Apostle John wrote his apocalyptic letter. It seems the believers in Pergamum experienced the most intense opposition of any church addressed in John’s Revelation. John recognized their difficulty of living in “Satan's throne,” most likely referring to the Asklepion, which was dedicated to Apollos’ son, Asclepius. Asclepius was ...
Perga in Christian History
The Via Sebaste, linking the coast to the interior over the mountains of Pisidia, was completed in 6 AD, only one year after the traditional date for the Birth of Paul the Apostle. Sailing from Paphos on Cyprus to the port of Attaleia, Paul and Barnabas would have found Perga a wealthy and influential city at the head of this important road. It was likely due to this position at the access point to the interior of Asia Minor that brought Paul and Barnabas here.
Acts 13 tells us nothing other than the fact that Paul and Barnabas journeyed through Perga on their way to Antioch in Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. However, in the end of the next chapter (Acts 14:25), ...
Patmos (Rev. 1:9) is the island where the Apostle John received a vision recorded in the book of Revelation. Enjoy Tours showcases the ancient lands once known as Asia Minor (Modern Turkey) as well as the better-known sites in Israel. From Mt. Ararat, where Noah’s ark rested after the flood, to the Apostle Paul’s hometown of Tarsus, historic sites and cities throughout Turkey mark milestone moments of the Christian faith. Encounter life as it was known to ancient believers of Asia Minor, and view the ruins and landscapes that played a role in their day-to-day lives. Underlying the Christian history, we’ll also explore layers of empires, emperors, and battles that helped to bring this region and her cities to the world stage.
Historical Spotlights
A calm and beautiful location some 20 miles south of present day Soke, Miletus sits at the mouth of the Menderes (Büyükmenderes) River. Once known as an economic behemoth on the Aegean coast, the city produced philosophers, city planners, architects, and rebels. It hosted emperors, conquerors, ancient founders of cities and apostles. But its undoing occurred because of slow-moving deposits of silting sand produced by the Meander River beneath city foundations, which distanced it from the coast, shut down its seaport, and diminished its importance.
Miletus was one of the oldest, most powerful settlements among the Ionian League, along with Ephesus. Archeological evidence suggests Minoans from Crete settled Miletus in the sixteenth century ...
Magnesia in Christian History
The origin of the church in Magnesia ad Maeandrum likely began at the Apostle Paul’s School of Tyrannus in Ephesus. There he trained and sent out evangelists and church planters throughout the Aegean Region, most notably to the Lycus River Valley, but we can assume he also sent them to nearby Magnesia. Around 108 A.D., Ignatius called upon church leaders to come to him as delegates representing Christians from Magnesia. They met him in Smyrna as did delegates he summoned from nearby Ephesus (located only 15 miles away).
Ignatius specifically requested the young Bishop of Magnesia, Damas, whom he was trying to support and encourage. In his letter Ignatius instructs the believers not to presume upon the youthfulness of their bishop, ...
Laodicea in Christian History
Of the ancient, tri-city area that included Colossae and Hierapolis, Laodicea stood between its two neighboring cities. Cold mountain springs flowed through Colossae on one side, and the hot springs of Hierapolis created the calcium travertine-capped hills on the other. This natural landscape provided a picturesque reminder of the “lukewarm” critique Christ gave the Laodicean church in Revelation 3.
Trained by Paul in Ephesus, Epaphrus was the one most likely to have shared the gospel in Laodicea. He was sent out as a church planter to the Lycus River Valley ...
Hierapolis in Christian History
In Revelation Hierapolis is not directly referenced. But John rebukes Laodicea’s “lukewarm” spiritual state, even as the city stood between hot and cold, geographically, at the center of Hierapolis’ hot springs and the cold, mountain springs behind Colossae. As in Colossae and Laodicea, Epaphras probably planted the church in Hierapolis.
Before the year A.D. 70 either Philip, the apostle, or Philip, the evangelist, moved to Hierapolis where he was eventually martyred. The church historian Eusebius wrote that Philip, the evangelist, and his four daughters were buried in Hierapolis. A different inscription claims Philip, the apostle, is buried there. ...
Ephesus in Christian History
The city of Ephesus played a crucial role in the growth of the early Christian church. The Apostle Paul planted the first church there, Timothy was its pastor for a time, and the Apostle John spent his final years in and around the city. Though Paul visited other regions of Turkey, he spent more time in Ephesus than any other city on his three missionary journeys. He went to Ephesus with Priscilla and Aquila on his second journey (Acts 18:18-20). As was his custom, he engaged in a discussion in the synagogue before leaving the city abruptly. After Paul left, ...
Derbe in Christian History
While the Biblical account tells us little about Derbe, the city holds a special place in the story of the early spread of the Gospel. In Acts 14 we see Paul and Barnabas narrowly escape Iconium where a Jewish faction had plotted to stone them. Paul and Barnabas flee from Iconium to the nearby city of Lystra where, after being taken for a god, Paul is stoned by the crowds, stirred up by Jews from Antioch and Iconium. Narrowly surviving, Paul and Barnabas go on to Derbe where they simply preached the Gospel and made many disciples. In stark contrast to the cities of Iconium and Lystra, the city of Derbe is ...
Colossae in Christian History
Paul’s school of Tyrannus in Ephesus probably sent Epaphras to plant churches in the Lycus River Valley (Acts 19:8-10; Colossians 1:7; 4:12), resulting in the establishment of a Christian community in Colossae. From Paul’s letter to Philemon, we can conclude that Onesimus (the slave of Philemon) and Philemon himself were from Colossae, and Epaphras likely was too, since Paul refers to him as “one of you” (Colossians 4:12).
Paul wrote his letters to the Colossians and Philemon in 60-62 A.D. while in prison in Rome, thus known, along with Ephesians, as the “prison letters.” It appears that Paul never visited the city ...
Antioch in Pisidia in Christian History
After the founding of the city, the Seleucids brought in settlers from the western reaches of their territories on the Aegean Sea, though whether the significant Jewish population of Antioch in Pisidia was brought from west or other Seleucid territories such as Syria or Babylon is uncertain.
In Acts 13 we see Paul and Barnabas, after seeing the Proconsul Sergius-Paulus accept Christianity, make their way north across the Mediterranean, through the mountains of Pamphilia and Pisidia and arrive at the city of Antioch. Home to a significant Jewish community we see in Acts 13:14 that Paul enters the Synagogue on the Sabbath where he preaches a sermon that is recorded in the latter half of chapter 13. ...
ANTIOCH IN CHRISTIAN HISTORY
While Jerusalem is the undisputed epicenter of Christianity, the place where it began and where the Gospel went out from, frequent mentions throughout the New Testament show that Antioch was also an incredibly important center for the growth and spread of the faith.
In the first century Antioch was at the height of its wealth and significance, a bustling metropolis at a crossroads of trade and culture. Among the many inhabitants of Antioch there was a significant Jewish population among which the Gospel spread early. After the martyrdom of Stephen and the scattering of the Jerusalem church, many ...
