Smyrna
The hometown of the ancient author Homer, although Alexander the Great is regarded as the founder of the city, it is actually believed that the history of the city goes back to the third millenium BC.
St. Policarp, who had been converted to christianity by St. John, functioned as the archbishop of the city in the first century when the city had a population of 100,000. This is also where he was matryed.
In the Booelation by St. John, this was one of the seven churches and from his letter it is known that there was a synagogue here in the first century.

Pergamum
The first time that the name Pergamon occurs in the religious history is when the Pergamane jews sent gold to the temple of Jerusalem in the year 60 BC. One of the letters of St John in the Book of Revelations speaks directly of the City: ' I know that you live, where Satan's throne is' (Rv. 2:13). There are so many Paganistic items that can still be viewed today, that one cannot specify which one St John referred to.
The city became important after the death of Alexander the Great, when one of his successors came into power, and the city was inherited to the Empire in the second century BC. There are very many artifacts from the pre-christian period, and one can plainly see that various buildings were used as basilicias from the 3rd century AD.

Thyatir
The church at Thyatira is one of the seven churches which was mentioned in the Book of Revelations.Although the history of the church is insignificant, it is known that it did constitute a stronghold for the Roman Empire, and that the bishop of Thyatira did attend the council in Nicaea in 325AD.

Sardis
The capital city of the Lydians, the church of Sardis is one of the churches of the Revelations in the Book of St. John. There was a jewish community living in the city as early as the 5th century BC, and the community enjoyed compete religious freedom.
Interestings points to vsit in the city are the synagogue (one of the earliest and biggest synagogues of the world ), the Gymnasium, the ancient shops of the jews, and a church.

Philadelphia
St John addressed one of his letters to the church at Philadelphia. St Paul spent three years in Philadelphia although it is not mentioned in the Acts. The ruins of Philadelphia are now located in the modern town of Alasehir.

Laodicea
The city was, most probably, a banking center in the 1st century BC, because it is known that the jewish community sent 200 pounds of gold for the construction of the Jerusalem Temple.
Famous for its black sheep even in antiquity, today the theatre, some parts of the stadium, and aquaducts remain.

Antioch on the Orontes (Antakya)
It is believed that a large jewish community was located in the area, and that is the reason why christianity started to exist relatively early in the city. This was the third largest city of the Roman Empire during the time of St. Paul after Rome and Alexandria. When christianity came to the city, Antioch was the capital city of the Syrian province of the Roman Empire.
The church of St.Pierre and the mosaic museum are two sites that must be visited.

Antioch in Psidia (Yalvaç)
During his first journey St.Paul preffered to preach in Psidian Antioch rather than on the Pamphylian coast.( Acts 13:14). He converted Jews and Gentiles to Christianity. At that time, Psidian Antioch was a colony of the Roman Empire.
Today, St.Peter's church and the colonnaded street can be seen in Psidian Antioch.

Assos
The city is mentioned in the Bible once (Acts 20:13) as the point from which Paul took the boat to cross over to the island of Lesbos. Judging by the ancient city adorned with a theatre, a temple of Athena and a cemetary, it is certain that the city existed during the time of Paul.

Patara
Patara was the port town of the Lycians, and one of the six important cities of Lycia. After it was conquered by Alexander the Great, it became a very important naval base. St.Paul changed ships here on his way to Jerusalem during his third missionary journey. This is also the birthplace of St.Nicholas ( Santa Claus) who became the archbishop of Myra.
The Triumphal Gate is in excellent condition, the sarcophagi and the granarium are also remarkable. The beautiful beach of Patara is renowned as a natural habitat for the Caretta Caretta turtles, who lay their eggs here.

Hierapolis
The city was founded in the second century BC by the Pergamon King Eumenes ll. The city has always attracted a great number of visitors due to it's natural hot springs. It is believed that Philippe the Apostle spent the later part of his life in Hierapolis. Although there was a Jewish community in the city, Christianity came to the area relatively late.
The ancient city of Hierapolis attracts visitors from all parts of the world not only for the temples, the ancient cemetary, the theatre, and the matryium of St.Philippe but also for the unique white travertens and small lagoons.

Colossae

Colossae was one of the most important cities of Phrigia located along the Lycus River. St Paul addressed the city in a letter, and although he never visited the city himself, one of his converts, Ephaphras, was bishop of Colossae.

Edessa (Sanliurfa)
It is believed that the city was built by Nimrod after he migrated from Babylon. Nimrod is reagrded as tha enemy of Abraham, who may also have lived in Edessa. Edessa is the first kingdom which adopted Christianity as their official religion. A form of East Aramic, the dialect of Edessa was used in Christian literature between the third and thirteenth centuries.
The sacred pool of Abraham and the coppersmiths' market are only two of the interesting places to visit.

Cappadocia
The fascinating region was created by violent eruptions of the volcanoes Mt. Erciyes (3,916 m.) and Mt. Hasan (3,268 m.) three million years ago. It took millions of years for the ash from these volcanoes to form a layer of tuff, covered in places by a further layer of basalt lava. The basalt was then naturally eroded, the andesite remained.
As the whole region is formed of volcanic ash, it became a shelter for the early Christians. The Christians cut churches into the rock, enlarged the natural underground caves and formed a city they lived in.
The frescoes in the rock-cut churches, fascinating underground cities, adventurous hikes in the valleys, local wine, flaming sunsets, baloon rides are the highlights of the region.

Nicaea
The city was founded around 1000 BC, but was rebuilt by Lysimachus who was one of the successors of Alexander the Great. He rebuilt the city as a tribute to his wife, Nikeia. It became the capital city of Bythinia. This is where the first Ecumenical Council was held in 325 AD. It became a very important tile producing center under the Turkish rule.
The church of Ayasofya, the Yesil Mosque and the Archaeological Museum are the places of interest.

Istanbul
According to a legend the city was founded by Byzas the Megarian in 667 BC. After being ruled by various kingdoms, it came under the Roman rule. In 324 AD Constantine came into power and during his reign the city was beautified and new city walls were added to the architecture. In 1453, the Ottoman Empire, under the rule of Mehmet II, conquered the city and made the city their capital.
A city that has been the capital of three important empires has a lot to offer. We would like to describe some highlights of the Christian period.

Church of Ayasofya
The first church, which burnt down during the reign of Constantinus in 404 AD, was built on the site in 360 AD. The second church, built between the years 404-415, shared the same destiny as the first one. It burnt down during the Nika revolt in 532 when Justinian was in power. After the riot, two famous architects, Isidorus and Anthemeios, were commissioned with building the edifice which still stands today. The church was completed and opened to the public on December 26th 537 on St. Stephen's day. After being used as a mosque for many centuries, the building may be visited as a museum today.

The church of Chora
The existing church was first built in the 11th century, and remodeled in the 12th century. Two hundred years later the church was remodeled again after the Latin occupation. In the last remodeling process, the inner narthex was rebuilt and the outer narthex and paracclesion were added.

Istanbul is a city with a multicultural population of 14 million people. The Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox church resides here, and among others the St.Stephen Church Of Bulgarians may be visited as well as numerous Catholic, Armenian, and Assyrian churches.