This underground cistern is the most impressive part of the Roman network of waterways built to supply Constantinople. 336 marble columns which rise 8 m. to support arches and domes lend a haunting, almost cathedral-like beauty and provide a cool, serene refuge from the bustle of city streets.

This massive structure, officially called the Sultan Ahmet Camii-the Mosque of Sultan Ahmet I, is studded with domes and surrounded by six minarets. Only after entering do you understand the name. The interior is decorated with 21,043 shimmering blue Iznik tiles and interspersed with 260 stained-glass windows, an airy arabesque pattern is painted on the ceiling.

This early version of a mall consists of a maze of 65 winding, covered streets crammed with 4,000 tiny shops, cafés, and restaurants. It is reputedly the largest number of stores under one roof anywhere in the world.

This chariot track was built in AD 203 by the Roman Emperor Septimus Severus on the model of the Circus Maximus in Rome. No stadium, ancient or modern, was ever so famous in its time, or played such an important role in its city’s public life. Much more went on here than just chariot races and the athletic events.

The greatest church in Christendom for more than a millennium with a huge dome, massive pillars, and magnificent wall mosaics, the 1,500-year-old Hagia Sophia is one of the most magnificent buildings ever constructed.

Istanbul's number one attraction sits on Seraglio Point, where the Bosphorus meets the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara. The heart of the Ottoman Istanbul for more than four centuries, this former imperial palace of the sultans holds priceless jewels, porcelain, paintings, costumes, royal armory and holy relics.

The Green Bursa as the Turks lovingly call their old capital, is a jewel of a city nestled against the verdant foothills of Uludag, the Mount Olympos of the ancients. King Prusias I of Bithynia founded Bursa, then Proussa, in the second century BC. Later it was controlled by the Romans and became a prosperous spa. In the sixth century AD, two monks succeeded in stealing some quantity of precious silkworm eggs, smuggled their treasure out of China in a bamboo staff and brought the ‘golden eggs’ to the Byzantine Empire. The city has been silk cultivation center since then. The Ottomans made this beautiful city their capital in AD 1326.

This is the first congregational mosque erected by the Ottomans during the reign of the Sultan Bayezit I in AD 1399. With 20 domes, hence the term multi-domed mosque set over on 12 piers, this is the largest of the Ottoman piered mosques.

This mosque is one of the finest mosques in the country. A marvel not only in the perfection of its form and decoration but for the way these two elements, the simple structure and the lavish stonecarving and colored tiles, are combined into a harmonious work of art. Interesting enough, this mosque was never completed. As it was the Ottoman custom, work that began in AD 1413 ceased at the time of Sultan Mehmet I who dedicated it to his beloved city, in AD 1421.

This is the tomb of Sultan Mehmet I who died in AD 1421. Its perfect proportions, its position between cypress trees and its decorations inside and out combine to make this one of the most beautiful buildings in the country.

Iznik was founded in BC 326 by Antigonos I and named Antigonia in his honor. Lysimachos, after defeating Antigonos I, named the city after his wife, Nicaea. The first and the seventh Ecumenical Councils of Christianity were held in here. The world famous Iznik tiles came from this town between the 15th and the 18th centuries AD.

This is one of the early Ottoman mosques which was built between AD 1378 – 1391 by Halil Pasa. It has one of the prettiest minarets in the country.

The Church was built originally during the era of Justinian and renovated during the 11th century AD. It housed the seventh Ecumenical Council of Christianity. The Ottomans converted the church into a mosque during the 14th century AD.

This is one of the several Ottoman stone complexes with shops and storerooms built around a courtyard with trees and fountains. The Koza Han was built in 1490s in accordance with the requirements of inner city commerce: a courtyard with a tiny octagonal mosque built over a fountain. Koza Han, whose name means cocoon in Turkish, has been the ground for the annual silk cocoon fair in July. Villagers from around Bursa who have nurtured the silkworms for the past six weeks bring in sacks of white cocoons to sell.

A 14th century hospice for travellers and the poor, it serves today as a museum with archaeological and ethnographic pieces, and especially the world famous Iznik tiles.

Lying on the northern slope of Bozdag-Mount Tmolos, this “City of Brotherly Love” was first founded by the King Attalos II of the Pergamon Kingdom in the 2^nd century BC to defend his kingdom against Phrygia. The king Attalos II had the title of “Philadelphus”, for he was loyal and loving toward his brother Eumenes II who had been king before him. In the Roman era, the city suffered from major devastating earthquakes twice during the reign of the Emperor Tiberius. Philadelphians had built temples to the Roman emperors Tiberius, Calligula, and Vespasian as means of thanks to their help for rebuilding their city after each earthquake. Those temples created enough tourist business that the people did not give up their paganism. During early Christian era, one of the Seven Churches of Revelation was established here as addressed by St. John in the Book of Revelation. The church in Philadelphia was the least distinguished by St. John for it was the only one about which he had no real criticism. (Revelation 3:7-13)

This was the capital city of the Lydian Kingdom and the commercial center of the Roman province of Asia Minor. The city owed much of its wealth to the gold that was taken from the Pactolos stream- Sart Cayi which comes down from the Mt. Tmolos- Bozdag. In the Old Testament Sardis- Sfard in Lydian, is probably the place called Sepharad where there were exiles from Jerusalem (Obadiah 20). These may have been people who had left Jerusalem after the destruction of the Temple in BC 586, or those slaves who were sold to the Lydian Kingdom by one of Nebuchadnezzar’s ministers, Nabuzaradan (II Kings 25:11-12). During the 6th century BC, the Lydians invented coinage and printed first coins of electrum- mixture of gold and silver, and they guaranteed their value with gold in the state treasury.The Pactolos stream was said to have been affected by Midas’s “golden touch” when he bathed in its headwaters. The expression “rich as Croesos” is applied to someone who flaunts his riches, as Croesos, the last king of the Lydian Kingdom did. According to Herodotos, the father of history, Croesos gave away at last 10000 kilos of pure gold and funded the building and decoration of the lavish Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

This is a 4th century AD church lying in the northeastern corner of the Temple of Artemis. The early Christians have established one of the Seven Churches of Revelation in Sardis. In the Book of Revelation (Rev. 3:1-6), St. John stated that Sardis needed to wake up. He complained that their acts did not live up to their reputation, that they did not finish what they started. However, he held out the hope to those who were not polluted that they should have robes of white, which was the color of righteousness and immortality.

This is within a complex of buildings together with the associated baths and the athletic facilities. The most impressive of these is the Marble Court, which was dedicated in AD 211 – 212 to Julia Donna, wife of the Roman Emperor Septimus Severus, and to their sons Caracalla and Geta. Much of the eastern part of the gymnasium is a palaestra, the ground for physical exercises.

It occupies the southern wing of the palaestra of the gymnasium. This is the largest ancient synagogue known, and it was built between AD 220 – 250. From the ground plan, it seems that it was originally erected as part of the gymnasium but converted into a synagogue later. Its size and decorations show how large, wealthy and successful Jewish community in Sardis was. The synagogue was partially reconstructed together with the gymnasium by the Sardis American Excavation Fund.

This is the most spectacular structure of Sardis. The Temple is massive in scale, about 45 m. by 99 m. while the Parthenon in Athens is 30 m. by 70 m. , and it rivals the three great Ionian temples at Ephesus, Samos and Didyma. The construction of the temple began in BC 334 during the time of prosperity but has never been completed during the next 5 centuries. Being an Ionic temple in origin, its Ionic capitals are the most beautiful in existence.

The remains of the ancient city lie on the site of an ancient city known originally as Pelopia. During the wars of the Diadochi following the death of Alexander the Great, the city was refounded by Lysimachos who renamed the city Thyatira, meaning the city of Thya-perhaps a reference to the sun god of the city, Tyrimnos. It became part of the Pergamene Kingdom after the battle of Magnesia ad Spylum in BC 189, and then it came under the Roman rule in BC 129 after the establishment of the Province of Asia.Christianity came early to Thyatira, which was one of the Seven Churches of Revelation. But apparently some of the Thyatirans kept worshipping the older gods of Anatolia, for the letter of St. John to the Christian community there warns them against a “Jezebel”, who was believed by scholars to have been “a prophetess and priestess of the Temple of Chaldaean Sibyl in Thyatira, where a mixture of pagan rites with Jewish ideas was practised”. (Revelation 2:18-29)

This was a commercial city along the main trade route from Sardis to Iconium during the 5^th century BC but the city lost its importance by the first century BC when the city of Laodiceia began flourishing as the principal city along the route not far from Colossae. This city was well known in the history for the dark red wool cloth that carried its name, Colossinum. Colossae did not have one of the Seven Churches of the Revelation, but its importance in Christian history is due to the first century AD letter of St. Paul in the New Testament. Christianity was brought to Colossae by Epaphras, the friend and companion of St. Paul who was imprisoned with the Apostle either in Caesarea or in Rome. Although it is unlikely that St. Paul ever visited the city, it is clear that he took a deep interest in the growth and development of the Christian community there. In his letter to the Colossians he warns its members of the dangers posed by paganism. (Colossians 2:18)

The ancient city was founded by the Pergamene King Eumenes II and he established a border fortress for a military colony in BC 190. He called it after Hiera, the wife of the mythical Pergamene founding father Telephos. When the town was taken over by the Romans in BC 129, the name of this city was mistakenly understood as the Holy City, as the Greek word “hieros” means holy and the city had many temples. Most of the ruins date back to the extension of the city by the Romans in the Imperial period. Hierapolis had constantly to be extended and rebuilt after numerous earthquakes on this still geologically unstable site. The thermal spa was also popular in the Imperial period, and flourished in the 2^nd and the 3rd centuries AD under the Roman Emperors Septimus Severus and Caracalla. The city was on the borders of ancient Caria, Lycia and Phrygia, thus the population was always mixed. Its citizens tended to be employed in the wool industry as shearers, washers, dyers, spinners and weavers. The strong Jewish community developed into a Christian one at an early stage, and the Apostle Philip is said to have passed his last days here before being martyred in AD 87.

This was a Hellenistic settlement which had replaced an earlier settlement called Diospolis.History of foundation of the city dates back to the 3^rd century BC. Either the Syrian kings Antiochos I Soter (BC 280-261) in honor of his sister Laodice, or Antiochos II Theos (BC 261-246) in honor of his wife Laodice established the city at the junction of the main routes from North to South and from West to East. The city came under the Pergamon rule in BC 188 and under the Roman rule in BC 129. In its history the wealth of the city came from wool and cloth produced from it. Laodiceian wool was known as very soft with a fine texture and with deep black color. According to historians, it owed its distinctive color to the presence of certain minerals in the sheep’s drinking water. The population of the city was of very mixed origin, including those from Syria and a large and wealthy Jewish community whose members were guaranteed freedom of worship.Christianity was introduced to Laodiceia by Epaphras of Colossae, the friend and companion of St. Paul who was imprisoned with the Apostle either in Caesarea or in Rome. One of the Seven Churches of Revelation was established here during the first century AD. The presence of a large Jewish community helped the new faith spread rapidly. There were also those who hesitated about it, whom St. John commented in his letter as “neither hot nor cold”. (Revelation 3:15-17)

This is the name of the area that means the “Cotton Castle”. It refers to the ruins of a Selcuk period fortress which has only survived in fragments by the world famous stalactite terraces falling over 100 m. from the plateau of the ancient city Hierapolis, and which shine from the steep cliffs far down into the plain of Curuksu, a tributary of the Meander river. They are formed by the warm springs, at a temperature of 33 degrees Centigrade and containing calcium bicarbonate. The waters flow out of the terrace at various points. The deposits are formed when the water loses its carbon dioxide while cooling down and the limestone, or calcium carbonate, is deposited in various shapes and forms a complex system of basins, gutters, overhanging surfaces and beard-like stalactite formations.

The site of the ancient city lies by the village of Geyre, not far from the Baba Dag- Mount Baba, 2400 m., that is snow covered for a large proportion of the year. The earliest name of the city, Ninoe, may suggest an early Assyrian settlement possibly with a shrine to Isthar, the goddess of love and planet Venus in Mesopotamia-the Land of the Two Rivers, who under the Greeks became Aphrodite, hence the name Aphrodisias. Excavations in the theatre hill have revealed layers of settlement, like the city Troy, going back to the 3^rd millennium BC. The city flourished under the Romans and it was granted particular privileges in the 2nd century AD. Aphrodisias became an artistic and spiritual center with a school of sculpture that was known throughout the Roman Empire. There are records of a philosophical academy and a medical school. After the 5th century AD, in the Byzantine period, the city was called Stavropolis- the city of the cross, and was first the seat of a bishop, then of the metropolitan of Caria. It was finally called as Caria, which then became Geyre in Turkish. The vast and beautiful ruins of the city were excavated first by Professor Kenan Erim under the patronage of the University of New York and the National Geographic Society. The Roman Stadium is one of the best preserved of the history with everything still intact, including the seats for 30 000 spectators.

The remains from once the Cathedral Church of St. John lie on the Ayasuluk Hill. This 6th century AD church by the Emperor Justinian had replaced an earlier chapel that just covered the grave of St. John. St. John is believed to have lived in Ephesus before and after his exile on the island of Patmos. He wrote the Revelation and scolded Ephesians saying that they cooled in their early faith. St. John promised them the fruit of the tree of life in order to inspire them to repentance (Revelation 2:1-7). Ephesians were the first congregation of the Christians St. John addressed. He seems to have known specific details about each of those early churches but there is no evidence that he had been to all of them in person. St. Paul had also preached and taught in Ephesus for more than two years.

The legend has it that seven young men escaped religious persecution by sleeping a miraculously long time with their dog in this natural cave near Ephesus. The Roman Emperor Decius started to persecute Christians during AD 250. 7 young Christians fled from Ephesus to a rocky cave on a nearby mountain. When they woke up from their sleep and wanted to buy food in the town it became clear that they had slept for more than 100 years. The Roman Emperor Theodosius II came specially from the capital Constantinople for this reason, and felt that the miracle was proof of the doctrine of the resurrection of the flesh. After their death the Seven, as they were incorruptible, were laid in gold-embroidered garments on biers in their cave, and a church was built above the site. Some of the graffiti found around the cave date from the years when Crusaders passed through the city.

This site is unmatched by any archaeological site anywhere in terms of sheer magnitude. Being a city of pure white marble and offering a full range of business and entertainment opportunities, the city of Ephesus rivaled Rome and Alexandria in its glory. For pagans, one of the Seven Wonders of ancient world- the Artemis Temple drew the pilgrims. About a quarter of a million people lived here at its height during the Roman and the early Byzantine Periods. The Council building, the City Hall, the Temple of Hadrian, the Public Toilets, the Brothel, the Celsus Library, the Marble Road, the Agora, the Theater and the Arcadian street are some of the highlights of the city to be seen.

This temple was the first built during the 6th century BC of pure white marble in the largest size possible on earth, and it was dedicated to the chief cult figure of the Ephesians, the Goddess Artemis. Counted among the Seven Wonders of the ancient world, the Temple had attracted thousands of pilgrims and suppliants from the ancient world known to those days, and it was a big source of cashflow into Ephesus.

This is a sanctuary where according to the belief of people of different religious faiths, the Virgin Mary lived her last days. According to the Biblical traditions Jesus, while he was on the cross, entrusted his mother to St. John and St. John took her with him to Ephesus (John 19:27)

The present day church of St. Polycarp dates back to AD 1625. The church building had severe damages from several earthquakes and fires in the history. Present day church was restored in AD 1929. With the adoption of Christianity as the state religion Smyrna played a vital part in the development of the church. It became an important episcopal see. The words of St. John to the first small group of Christians-one of the Seven Churches of Revelation, “Only be faithful till death, and I will give you the crown of life”(Revelation 2:10-11) must have been recalled by those who witnessed the martyrdom of St. Polycarp, the Bishop of Smyrna, in AD 155. Betrayed by the authorities, he was brought to the arena where a pagan festival was taking place. Ordered by the proconsul- governor, Statius Quadratus to deny his faith St. Polycarp refused saying, “Eighty and six years I have served Him and He has done me no ill; how then can I blaspheme my King who hath served me?”. The enraged crowd in the arena shouted, “This is the teacher of Asia; this is the destroyer of our gods; his is the Father of the Christians”, and placing him on a pyre burned him to death.The church of Smyrna is the only one of the Seven Churches of Revelation still standing.

The old city of Smyrna was first inhabited during the 3rd millennium BC. The Aeolians colonized the city in the 10th century BC. The most famous native, Homeros, lived here during the 8th century BC. Alexander the Great while hunting on Mt. Pagos, dreamt that he should found a city there and he founded the Hellenistic City in BC 334. Later in the first century AD, the early Christians established one of the Seven Churches of Revelation here.

According to the ancient traveler Pausanias, in 334 BC, Alexander the Great visited Smyrna and went hunting on Mount Pagos. Then he got exhausted and fell asleep under a plane-tree next to the Nemesis temple. In his dream, the Goddess Nemesis asked him to establish a city there and bring the people of the old city of Smyrna- Bayrakli, to this city. But in those days there was a tradition to ask for an oracle before a new city was to be established. So the Smyrnians went to the ancient city Claros and asked for help from the oracle at the Temple of Apollo. He replied with the following words: "There and four times happy shall those men be hereafter Who shall dwell on Pagos beyond the sacred Meles." Encouraged, the people of Smyrna settled on the slopes of Mount Pagos and the new city was established. When Alexander the Great died in 323 BC, the establishment of the city was continued by Antigonos and was finally completed by Lysimachus. For this reason, the newly established Smyrna at Mount Pagos, Kadifekale today, was called by the name of Lysimachus’s daughter as Eurydikeia- the city of Eurydike, but the name was abandoned shortly after. Alexander the Great has always been regarded as the founder of the city.

This was the governing and commercial center of ancient Smyrna. Present remains in the area date back to the Roman era, the second century AD.

Once the Hellenistic capital city with magnificent white marble buildings, this is the ground of the Altar of Zeus, the Temple of Athena, the library, the theater and the Roman Temple of Trajan.

Although first it was set up during the Hellenistic era, this medical center flourished as the primary medical complex and cult center for the god of medicine- Asclepios, during the Roman period. This center of medicine was the second after that of Epidauros in Greece in its reputation for healing. The famous physician of the Roman age, Galenus, practiced medicine here during the second century AD.

Pergamon was established during the 4th century BC by the Hellenistic people, and was converted into the capital city of the Pergamon Kingdom in the 3rd century BC. The rulers of the capital city were both great warriors and patrons of art. The city had established one of the largest libraries in the ancient world. It was here that a new sort of paper, pergament then parchment, was invented after the Egyptians had banned the exportation of papyrus to Pergamon because of jealousy.One of the Seven Churches of the Revelation was established here by early Christians. St. John in the Book of Revelation characterized Pergamon as the place where Satan was enthroned. (Revelation 2:12-17).

From the time of Alexander the Great, many travellers have come expressly to see Troy. No place is so highly charged in the Western imagination; for three and a half millennia it has intrigued, inspired and became a metaphor. The tale of the Trojan War- the wrath of Achilles, the beauty of Helen, the death of Hector, the ploy of the wooden horse and the sack of the high walled city, the misfortunes that dogged the victors on their journey home- all are stuff the western culture was born of.

At the tip of the Gallipoli peninsula, the site is dotted with the British, the French, the Commonwealth and the Turkish cemeteries and war memorials erected for the memory of those soldiers who lost their lives during the most bitter WW I battle. Over a hundred and fifty thousand young men and the hearts of those who loved them lie buried in this thin pine-clad strip of land.