DAY 01:  USA / EUROPE. Depart USA en route to Frankfurt, Germany and on to Istanbul, Turkey.

DAY 02: ISTANBUL / ADANA.  Arrive in Istanbul and board our domestic flight to Adana.  Due to its being in the heart of that fertile center Adana has been an important city for many civilizations for centuries dating back to the Hittites. The precious River Seyhan is spanned by the ancient Taskopru (Stone Bridge) which was built by Hadrian and then repaired by Justinian. After our orientation tour we drive to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

DAY 03: ADANA / TARSUS / DERBE / KONYA.  Breakfast will be served at the hotel and we begin our tour in Tarsus – the birthplace of St. Paul. It’s believed that the water of the well in the house of St. Paul is holy.  We head to Derbe, one of the famous cities where St. Paul and St. Barnabas preached Christianity (Acts 14:21). Derbe is famed today for the Manazan Caves, where the neglected ancient city with it's churches lie at the foot of Karadag.. Then on to Konya where  St. Paul and St Barnabas had to flee due to persecution.  Visit the tomb of Mevlana, the great mystic poet and Islamic spiritual leader who founded the sect of “Whirling Dervishes”, Ince Minare Medrese (muslim theological school) and Karatay Medrese museum.  Continue to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

DAY 04:  PISIDIAN ANTIOCH / COLOSSAE / HIERAPOLIS / PAMUKKALE. After breakfast we travel to Antioch in the province of Pisidia.  Antioch became one of the first Anatolian cities to accept Christianity.  St. Paul came to Antioch in the 1st century AD and chose it as a centre for his missionary activities. Having proclaimed the  in the city, St. Paul gave his first sermon to the congregation of a synagogue, on the site of which the first and largest church dedicated to St. Paul was later constructed.  Then continue to Collosae, known from the letters of St. Paul.  On to Pamukkale, the cotton fortress, which rises above the fertile Menderes valley.  Upon arrival visit the ruins of ancient Hierapolis.  Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

DAY 05: LAODICEA / MILETUS / KUSADASI. We begin this morning with a tour of Laodicea, one of the seven churches of Revelations.  Then on to ancient Miletus, once a harbor city, today inland because of the silting process of the Meander river. Miletus was home to many ancient scientists and philosophers, among whom Thales was first to set the principles to understand the world.

“And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus; and finding certain disciples.. " (Act 19:01).

Continue to Kusadasi, a lively Turkish port and gateway to ancient Ephessos. Our tour takes us to visit Ancient Ephessos, the Greek colony founded by the Athenians. Here history truly comes to life; walking towards the ancient harbor down a marble road rutted by the wheels of countless chariots.  You pass architectural masterpieces like the Magnesian Gate and the Library of Celsus before arriving to the Great Amphitheater where Paul spoke to the Ephesians.  Some time at leisure here. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

DAY 06: KUSADASI / PATMOS /  KUSADASI.  In the morning transfer to the harbor for the Patmos tour.  Patmos is a sacred island for the Christian religion.  It was here that St. John lived and wrote the Book of Revelations. In the afternoon return back to Kusadasi and transfer to the hotel.  Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

DAY 07: SARDIS / PHILADELPHIA / THYRATIRA / IZMIR.  After breakfast, we begin in Sardis, which was the capital of Lydian Empire. Referred to in the Book of Revelations, with Sardis remaining “one of the most picturesque of any of the Seven Churches”. Then on to the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia,  founded by Pergamon king Attalos II for his brother Eumenes. Attalos wanted his new city to become the center of the Greco- Roman Civilization.   The sixth letter of the Apostle John to the Seven Churches of Asia Minor was the letter to Philadelphia. Continue to Thyatira, the fourth of the seven Churches of Asia Minor to receive an epistle from the Apostle John (Rev. 2:18-29). The letter written to this church is the longest letter of 7 letters. Dinner and overnight at our hotel in Izmir.

DAY 08: SMYRNA / PERGAMUM / TROAS / CANNAKKALE.  Drive to Smyrna which holds a significant place in early church history. It was the home of several early martyr-saints, including Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna.  Continue to Pergamum.  Here we will visit Asklepion and the Acropolis.  Continue to Troy, the immortal city of the legendary Helen of Troy and Trojan House which was destroyed and rebuilt nine times.  Then on to Canakkale along the straights of Dardanelles for dinner and overnight at our hotel.

DAY 09: GREEK / TURKISH BORDER CROSSING / PHILIPPI / KAVALA.  After breakfast, we depart to Philippi, which was a Roman garrison town and the chief city in the province of Macedonia. It was here that Paul won his first European convert, a woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods. Visit the Baptistery of Lydia., the market place (where Paul and Silas were brought before the rulers), the cistern which tradition identifies as the place where St. Paul was imprisoned. We then continue to the beautiful city of Kavala for a short visit and then to Thessaloniki for dinner and overnight. overnight.

DAY 10: THESSALONIKI / VERIA / ATHENS.  Today we begin our travels with a short tour of Thessaloniki, the “Queen of the North”, where Paul wrote two epistles to the ancient Thessalonians.  Built by King Cassandros and named after the sister of Alexander the Great, the city flourished under the Byzantine Empire and it’s most important buildings date from those days.  We depart through the beautiful countryside of Northern Greece, going through Veria where Paul stopped and preached. Arrival in Athens in the late afternoon and on to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

DAY 11: ATHENS CITY TOUR. Your sightseeing will begin with an Athens city tour.  Athens is one of the most glorious cities in the world and the cradle of western civilization as we know it today. For twenty five centuries, the panorama of this city is dominated by the rock of the Acropolis; we see the ruins of the Parthenon, the Erectheum and the Propylae. Thereafter, we will ascend Mars Hill where Paul spoke to the ancient Athenians about the one and only God.  From here we have an excellent view of the ancient agora; former center of the Athenian public life. We continue for a drive through the city to see the House of Parliament on Syntagma Square, the evzones in their picturesque uniforms guarding the Presidential Palace and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We also see the Library, the University, the Panathenaic Stadium where the first Olympics of the modern era were held, the temple of the Olympian Zeus and Adrian's Arch. Afternoon is at leisure for shopping or time on your own.  Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

DAY 12: ATHENS / CORINTH / PATRAS.  After breakfast We board our coach for Corinth, taking the coastal road along the Saronic Gulf to the Corinth Canal, which connects the Aegean Sea with the Ionian Sea.  Short stop for pictures and continue to the site of ancient Corinth, Paul's beloved city and site of his most extensive ministry. Dominated by the Acro-Corinth rising 1700 feet above the ruins, the marketplace is laid out exactly as it stood in the days of the great Apostle.  We see the bema (the judgment seat) where Paul stood before Galilo and preached (Acts 18).  The museum contains a superb collection of artifacts portraying life in ancient Corinth.  We then drive to the port of Patros to board our overnight ferry to Bari, Italy.  Dinner and breakfast served on board. 

DAY 13: BARI / ROME.  Upon arrival we will be met and transferred to our bus for our drive to Rome, Italy. This afternoon we tour the Roman Forum and the Coliseum - site of early Christian martyrdom.  Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

DAY 14:  ROME.  Our full day tour includes a morning visit to the Vatican City includes the Museum, the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Square, Church of St. Peter, Basilica of St. Paul, the ancient Appian Way and the catacombs of St. Caliztus.  Return to our hotel for overnight. 

DAY 15:  ROME / NORTH AMERICA.  Today after breakfast we depart Rome for North America - the end of a most enjoyable journey.