May 29 Sat DEPART CHICAGO (ORD) – FLY ATHENS (ATH)
May 30 Sun ARRIVE ATHENS
Upon arrival at the Athens Airport, our representatives will meet you after the customs and baggage claim with a sign “BETHEL UNIVERSITY – TUTKU TOURS” on it. Transfer to your hotel in Athens for dinner and overnight. (D)
May 31 Mon ATHENS
Follow your guide to the world-renowned Acropolis, the Propylaea, the Parthenon, and the Erectheum. View Mars Hill where the apostle Paul stood spoke to the Athenian people and shared the Gospel (Acts 17:15-34). See the Agora, the ancient market place and center of the Athenian public life, where the apostle Paul preached “Jesus and the resurrection” (Acts 17:18) to the skeptical Athenians. Also see the House of Parliament, the Presidential Palace & the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Overnight Athens. (B=Breakfast, D=Dinner)
June 1 Tue CORINTH, CENCHRAEAE – ATHENS
In Corinth, see the ancient city where Paul met Aquila and Priscilla, the tent makers, and where the apostle spent eighteen months sharing the Gospel (Acts 18: 1-18). Visit the Archaeological Museum, the Market Place, the Acrocorinth and Temples. Walk among the ruins and stand on the Bema where Paul stood before Gallio facing charges brought by the Jews. Visit the ancient port of Cenchrea where Paul departed when he returned to Syria (Acts 18:12-18). Overnight in Athens. (B,D)
June 2 Wed DELPHI – BEREA – THESSALONIKI
Travel to the scenic and historic oracle at Delphi, the religious center of the ancient Greek world. Walk the Sacra Via to the Athenian Treasury, the Theatre, and the Temple of Apollo where the oracle enacted its prophetic rituals. Visit the Museum at Delphi. Drive to Thessaloniki. We will stop shortly in Berea where Paul shared the gospel in a synagogue and the audience ‘diligently searched the Scriptures’ (Acts 17:11) in order to determine the truth. Dinner and overnight at Thessaloniki. (B,D)
June 3 Thu THESSALONIKI
We continue our journey to Thessaloniki, the city where Paul shared the gospel message and experienced much opposition (Acts 17: 1-9). Here Paul established a church to which he addressed his Thessalonian epistles. Visit St. George’s Basilica, which tradition claims is built over the synagogue where Paul preached. View the Old City Ramparts, and the Galerius Arch that rises over the Via Egnatia. Visit the Archaeological Museum and the ancient agora. See two of the most beautiful basilicas in the city, St. Sophia and St. Demetrios, dedicated to a distinguished member of the Roman army and a martyred Christian convert. Dinner and overnight in Thessaloniki. (B,D)
June 4 Fri AMPHIPOLIS – PHILIPPI – KAVALA
Drive to Amphipolis, a city that Paul visited on his second mission. Continue to Philippi, where Paul met and converted Lydia, a woman from Thyatira who sold purple garments (Acts 16:13-15). Lydia was the first Christian to be baptized on European soil. See the theater, agora, latrines and several early Byzantine basilicas of the city. Also visit a cistern, which was thought to have served as a prison for the apostle Paul. Overnight in the Kavala area. (B,D)
June 5 Sat TURKEY BORDER – DRIVE ISTANBUL
Depart Kavala. Walk a portion of the Via Egnatia, the great Roman road traversed by Paul and Silas as they traveled from Neapolis to Philippi, Thesslonica and onward. Drive to the Greece-Turkey border. Transfer to your Turkish bus and guide, and continue to Istanbul (about a 5 hour drive after the border) for dinner and overnight. Istanbul is the only city in the world spanning on two continents. Overnight in Istanbul. (B,D)
June 6 Sun ISTANBUL
Full day Istanbul tour; visit the Roman Hippodrome, Basilica Cistern, the Hagia Sophia, the great basilica built by Constantine the Great and reconstructed by Justinian in the 6th century, one of the world’s greatest architectural marvels and a designated World Heritage site. Then visit the Istanbul Archaeological Museum, and Hagia Irene Church, the site of the second ecumenical council. Take bus to Suleymaniye Mosque, the largest mosque in Istanbul, and discuss the important history of Islam and the enduring legacy of the Ottoman empire. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight. (B,D)
Jun 7 Mon ISTANBUL – TROY – ALEXANDER TROAS (Acts 16:8-11; 20:5, 6, II Tim. 4:13, II Cor. 2:12) - ASSOS
Drive to Çanakkale. Cross the Dardanelles Strait by car ferry. Proceed to Troy to see the legendary city of Homer’s Iliad. Continue to Alexandrian Troas, the important port founded by Alexander the Great. Paul visited here at least twice (Acts 16:8-11, 20:5-13). Dinner and overnight in Assos. (B,D)
Jun 8 Tue ASSOS – PERGAMON (Rev. 1:11; 2:12) – BERGAMA
We will enjoy a morning tour of Assos and then leave for Pergamon where we will visit the Acropolis with the steepest theater of the ancient world and the Temple of Trajan. We will also visit the Red Basilica which was an Egyptian Temple, later converted to a church and the Asclepion, the ancient healing center. Dinner and overnight in Bergama. (B,D)
Jun 9 Wed BERGAMA – THYATIRA – SMYRNA (Rev. 1:11; 2:8) – IZMIR
Drive to Akhisar town to visit the remaining of the Thyatira Church. Then, continue to Izmir to see the Smyrna Agora and its latest excavations. We will also visit the graffiti section which is closed to public. Dinner and overnight in Izmir. (B,D)
Jun 10 Thu EPHESUS – IZMIR
Visit the famous ancient city of Ephesus (Acts 18:19-24; 19:1-35; 20:16-17; 21:29, 1 Cor. 15:32; 16:8, I Tim. 1:3 II Tim. 1:18; 4:12, Rev. 1:11, 2:1), with its spectacular Terrace Houses, Basilica of John, the Ephesus Archaeological Museum and the ancient Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Dinner and overnight Izmir. (B,D)
Jun 11 Fri
SARDIS (Rev. 1:11; 3:1-4) –PHILADELPHIA (Rev. 1:11; 3:7) – PAMUKKALE
Drive to Sardis, capital of the ancient Lydia where first coin of the world was invented. See the remains of another massive Artemis Temple. We’ll visit St. Jean’s Church on the site of the ancient city of ‘Brotherly love’−Philadelphia. Continue to Hierapolis, a World Heritage site and site of the church mentioned in Colossians 4. Dinner and overnight at hotel in Pamukkale. (B,D)
Jun 12 Sat HIERAPOLIS – LAODICEA (Col 2:1; 4:13-16, Rev. 1:11; 3:14) – COLOSSAE – PAMUKKALE
Morning tour of Hierapolis. See St. Philip’s Tomb. Drive to nearby Laodicea to see the latest excavations. Then, drive to Colossae to see the unexcavated site. Return to Pamukkale for dinner and overnight. (B,D)
Jun 13 Sun DIDYMA – PRIENE – MILETUS – KUSADASI
Drive to Didyma, famous for its temple to Apollo, one of the most important religious shrines of ancient Ionia. Continue to Miletus which, due to its four harbors and strategic location on the Aegean coast of Asia Minor, became one of the great cities of commerce in the ancient world. Paul stopped in Miletus on the return leg of his third missionary journey where he summoned the elders from Ephesus to meet with him and hear his poignant farewell speech (Acts 20:17-35). After Miletus, we will visit the nearby city of Priene located on a cliff-side. In the late afternoon, we drive back to Kusadasi. (B,D)
Jun 14 Mon PATMOS – KUSADASI
We will take the 06:30 am ferry to Patmos. Arrive Patmos at 11:00 am. Visit the Cave of Revelation and the Basilica of John. Return to Kusadasi at 7:00 pm. Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Kusadasi. (B,D)
Jun 15 Tue TRANSFER TO IZMIR AIRPORT – FLY BACK TO CHICAGO
