Thornleigh Travel - Christian Holidays overseas

Once Byzantium, then Constantinople, Istanbul is a fascinating city both historically and culturally. Recent discoveries have dated the earliest settlements to about 8,000 years ago, making Istanbul one of the oldest still-inhabited cities in the world. There is water to the north, east and south (Golden Horn, Bosphorus and Sea of Marmara) and the whole peninsula is a UNESCO World Heritage site. You stay in a 4-star hotel, with buffet breakfast, in the exciting Old City, Sultanahmet. Dinner is included on one evening.

Many of Istanbul’s historical gems, mostly consisting of Byzantine and Ottoman-built monuments are in the Old City, including the 6th century Hagia Sophia, a masterwork of Roman engineering, the Basilica Cistern, built by Justinian in 532 AD, the site of the Hippodrome and the famous Blue Mosque. The Grand Bazaar is a hive of activity, with bargain hunters bartering and haggling at the stalls. We include a trip to Chora to see one of the finest examples of a Byzantine church, the Holy Saviour. Originally built in the early 5th century, the majority of the present building is from 1077-81. The church is small but, what it lacks in size, it makes up in the beauty of its interior. Istanbul is where ‘East’ meets ‘West’, and you will see the terminus of the celebrated Orient Express. We include a ferry ride, across the Bosphorus to Kadicöy, in Asia.

If you choose to extend your holiday, you will fly to Izmir before being transferred to Kuşadasi, a pleasant town on the Aegean Sea, where you stay in the Grand Onder Hotel, or similar, with dinner and breakfast (half board) included. A visit is included to Ephesus, at one time capital of Asia Minor, a leading seaport of its day, and one of the seven churches in the Book of Revelation. It was the home, in his later years, of St John “the Divine”, disciple of Jesus who died in Ephesus in c.100AD at the age of c.94, and St Paul spent at least two years here (Acts 19; 8-9) teaching in the Tyrannus Hall and synagogue.

Ephesus is the most preserved classical city of the eastern Mediterranean, and among the best places in the world to genuinely soak in the atmosphere of Roman times. You will walk down its main street, wondering at the magnificent columns and temples, taking a look at the stone which gave ‘Nike’ its logo and seeing the Celsus Library which was third richest to Alexandra and Pergamum. Marvel, too, at the Theatre, which held 24,000 spectators. Nearby was the colossal temple dedicated to Artemis, the fertility goddess, built by the Greeks around 560BC, and one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world.