enjoy tour

Upon arrival at Istanbul's Ataturk International Airport, you will be met by one of our bilingual guides, who will assist you during your transfer to the hotel. Orientation walks. Dinner and overnight in Istanbul. Includes Day 2: Adana - Tarsus - Seleucia - Antioch. Early morning flight to Adana, the country's fourth largest city. Adana is situated some thirty miles east of Tarsus, birthplace of the Apostle Paul. Enjoy breakfast in your hotel, then drive to Tarsus and visit the Apostle Paul's well, the Gate of Cleopatra, and the latest excavations. Then we visit the archaeological remains of Seleucia, the port from which Paul, Barnabas and John Mark departed from Antioch on the first missionary journey (Acts 13:4). Drive to Antioch for overnight. Day 3: Antioch - Cappadocia. It was here at Antioch on the Orontes that believers were first called “Christians” (Acts 11:26). Visit the cave where they met in secret. Paul and Silas departed from here on the second missionary journey (Acts 15:35-36). Discover the impact of leaders such as Ignatius of Antioch and John Chrysostom. In Acts 2:9, pilgrims from Cappadocia were assembled with the thousands in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost when they received the initial baptism of the Holy Spirit and heard the Apostle Peter preach his powerful message. We will travel to Cappadocia scenic Ihlara Valley, where early Christians carved some 3,500 cave churches from the tufa rock. The beauty and quaintness of these chapels, with numerous wall paintings and Christian symbols, is astonishing. Persecuted Christians - tens of thousands of them - escaping into the earth to flee Arab invaders in the tenth century, tunneled out more than twenty underground cities of refuge here in Cappadocia. Such cities, with carved rooms for kitchens, sleeping quarters, stables, and chapels for worship, descend five to ten stories into the earth. At Kaymakli, one of the best preserved of these cities, you will enjoy your own guided tour into this amazing region. Overnight in a Cappadocia. Day 4: Cappadocia. Cappadocia, with its centre in Caesarea (Kayseri), was once the heart of the Hittite Kingdom of the Old Testament. This vast area is one of the most photogenic landscapes in the world. Extraordinary rock formations have become symbolic of this region, where you will enjoy the Valley of the Fairy Chimneys and Goreme’s breathtaking Open Air Museum. Watch the potters at their craft, in the famous pottery producing town of Avanos. Finally, savour the natural wonders of the Citadel of Uchisar and Zelve Valley. Overnight in a Cappadocia. READ MORE ...http://www.ephesustour.cc