Faith Tourism

The tourism activity emanating from mass visits of sacred sites by the followers of a religion can be defined as “Faith Tourism.” Efforts were launched to promote faith tourism and the first such tours began in 1995. A large number of foreign tour operators, members of the press and experts met in a variety of faith tours organised between 1995 and 1998. There is a myriad of important Islamic, Christian and Jewish sites scattered around Turkey, making the country an attractive destination for faith tourism. Some of these sites are as follows:

Istanbul: This is one of the most important cities for both of Muslims and Christians. Istanbul is a world centre that can shed light on studies of religious concepts and the sociology of religion. St. Sophia, one of the most important examples of Byzantium architecture, as well as the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, one of the most influential bodies of Orthodoxy, are also located in Istanbul.

Iznik: Eight ecumenical councils of early Christianity were held in today’s Turkey. Iznik hosted the First and Seventh Ecumenical Councils in St. Sophia and the Council Palace.

Sanlıurfa: Known as the “City of Prophets,” Sanlıurfa houses the Fish (Balıklı) Pool, the cave where the Prophet Abraham was born, the tomb of the Prophet Job and other religious sites such as the town of Shuayib.

Harran: This small town in a fertile land is mentioned in the Holy Books and it is one of the focal points of faith tourism in Turkey. According to the Holy Books, the Prophet Abra-ham rested here while he was on his way to the south and Terah, the father of the Prophet Abraham, died here.

Icel-Tarsus: This is the place where St. Paul was born. The St. Paul Church and the St. Paul Well are located in Tarsus, too. In addition, the St. Thecla Church, the Olba Temple Church, the Church of the Virgin Mary and the Alahan Mon-astery are in the province of Icel.

Manisa-Thyatira (Akhisar) Church: Studying the remains and bricks in the city show that there used to be a church located in this pretty little town. This is one of the Seven Churches of Revelation referred to in the Bible. Its name means “holding strongly” or “constant sacrifice.”

The Philadelphia (Alasehir) Church: This is also one of the Seven Church-es of Revelation men-tioned in the Bible. Its name means, “that re-mains” and “walk with me.”

Hatay-Antakya: Accord-ing to tradition, the “St. Matthew Gospel” was written in Antakya (ancient Antioch on the Orontes). It was in Antakya that the followers of Jesus Christ were called Christians for the first time. Antioch is the second most important city for Christians for St. John Chysostom was a native of this city, the Holy Book School was located here and the Church of St. Peter, one of the first churches of early Christianity was located on the outskirts of the city.

The Church of St. Peter: This is one of the first churches in the world. It was here at this church that the followers of Jesus were called Christians for the first time. Pope Paul VI declared this church a site of religious pilgrimage in 1963. Every year the Catholic Church holds a special ceremony here on June 29.

Izmir-Selcuk:The House of the Virgin Mary is situated on Bulbul (Nightingale) Mountain at an altitude of 420 metres and 9 kilometres away from Selcuk. The Papacy declared this place a sacred site for Christians in 1967 and a ceremony is held here on the first Sunday following August 15 of each year. Furthermore, the St. John Basilica and three of the Seven Churches of Revelation (Smyrna, Pergamum and Ephesus) are also located in the vicinity of Izmir.

Nevsehir-Cappadocia: Cappadocia is probably one of the most important places through which St. Paul travelled dur-ing his 30 years of missionary journeys. It was here that St. Paul established the first churches. Cappadocia is one of Turkey’s prime attractions with natural rock formations, numerous churches carved into soft rock and splendid fres-coes on the walls of these churches. There are more than 2,200 troglodyte churches in Goreme Valley, Zelve, Cavusin, Ortahisar, Ibrahimpasa, Mustafapasa, Yesiloz and Akcasaray.

Derinkuyu Orthodox Church: According to the inscription on the western portal, this church was dedicated to St. The-odoros Trion. It was built in 1858 during the reign of Sultan Abdulmejid (1839-1861) by the master architect Kyriaco Papadopoulos of Haldias with the encouragement of Konya Metropolitan Neofitos and the financial contributions of the people of Malakpoi.

Isparta-Yalvac: The St. Paul Church in ancient Pisidian An-tioch is one of the first Christian churches in the world. St. Paul arrived here in 46 A.D. with St. Barnabas and de-liv-ered his first sermon in the synagogue of this ancient city. Later on, the St. Paul Church was built over the founda-tions of this synagogue.

Antalya: Antalya is mentioned in the Bible as another city St. Paul had visited.

Antalya-Demre: St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, is generally known as Santa Claus or Father Christmas in the Christian world. St. Nicholas lived and died in Demre where a church was consecrated in his memory in the sixth century. The International Santa Claus Festival in Demre and Kas, takes place between December 6 and 8 every year

Denizli-Laodicea (Goncalı) Church: The antique city of Laodicea, six kilometres north of Denizli, is named after Laodike, the wife of the Seleucid King, Antiochos II who ruled the region during the Hellenistic Period. Laodicea was an important diocese where a sub-Ecumenical Council con-vened in 380 A.D. One of the Seven Churches of Revela-tion mentioned in the Bible was located here.

Ayvalık-Taxiyarhis & St. Nicholas Churches: The Taxiyarhis Church, decorated with Biblical scenes from the Old and New Testaments, is visited as a sacred site by Or-thodox
Christians.

In addition to the sites already mentioned, the Dayr-ul Zaferan Monas-tery in Mardin, the Sumela Monastery in Trabzon, the Akdamar Island and Church as well as the Carpanak churches in Van, Deyle, Der-be and the Thousand and One Churches in Karaman, Ani ruins in Kars and Mount Ararat are among the myriad of sites which make Turkey an excellent destination for faith tourism.