“If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.”Romans 12:18
Almost a thousand years after Paul's missionary journeys, armies from the West marched through the same landscapes of Asia Minor – under the sign of the cross, but often with the sword in hand. This study tour follows their routes from the Bosphorus to the Mediterranean coast and asks an uncomfortable question along the way: what happened here in the name of Christ, and what does the gospel say to us about it?
Along the way lie sites where the Bible itself speaks: Antioch in Pisidia and Iconium, where Paul and Barnabas preached, Seleucia as the port of the first missionary journey, Tarsus as the apostle's home town, and Antioch on the Orontes, where the believers first bore the name Christians. In between stand Nicaea, the rock churches of Cappadocia, Edessa as the first Crusader state, and the Saleph, in which Frederick Barbarossa drowned in 1190.
We do not pass over the sack of Constantinople in 1204, nor the experiences of Byzantines, Armenians and Muslims. Devotions at selected places gather what has been seen into prayer and reflection on guilt, forgiveness and peace. A state-licensed, English-speaking tour guide accompanies you through all twelve days.
Paul's great synagogue sermon – read at the basilica built over this place.
Paul and Barnabas proclaim the word and have to move on in the face of hostility.
The apostle greets the strangers in Cappadocia – the rock churches of Göreme show how deeply the faith took root here.
Barnabas brings Paul to Antioch, and here the disciples are called Christians for the first time.
The dispute between Paul and Peter over table fellowship – an early struggle for the unity of the church.
From Antioch's port Paul and Barnabas sail to Cyprus – the beginning of the first missionary journey.
Paul calls himself a citizen of this “no mean city” in Cilicia.
Here John Mark parts from the apostles and returns to Jerusalem.
After preaching in Perge, Paul and Barnabas go on board at Attalia – back to Antioch.
Tip: bring your own Bible – at each place we open the relevant passage together.
Bible quotations: King James Version.
Istanbul Airport → hotel
At the airport your tour guide, who is at home in Turkey, awaits you and accompanies you to the hotel. At the welcome drink in the evening the big picture of the journey emerges: Emperor Alexios I's call to the West for help in 1095, the appeal of Clermont and the People's Crusade of Peter the Hermit. A word of blessing places the days together under God's guidance before dinner concludes the day of arrival.
Hagia Sophia → Hippodrome → Land walls → Fener
The first Crusader armies camped before the walls of this city in 1096/97 – and in 1204 it was conquered and plundered by Crusaders themselves. In Hagia Sophia, a mosque again since 2020, your guide shows you the memorial stone of Doge Enrico Dandolo in the gallery; at the Hippodrome we recall the Quadriga that ended up in Venice. At midday follow the Theodosian land walls and the Blachernae quarter, where Alexios I made the leaders swear an oath. In the Cathedral of St George in Fener rest relics that returned from Rome in 2004 as a sign of reconciliation.
Istanbul → İzmit → İznik → Eskişehir
Like the armies in the spring of 1097, we cross over to Asia. In İzmit, ancient Nicomedia, Emperor Diocletian had his residence; his edicts of 303 launched the last great persecution of Christians. Not far away the People's Crusade was wiped out in 1096. At midday we reach Nicaea with the walls and gates besieged in 1097 and Hagia Sophia, venue of the council of 787 – an occasion also to remember the creed of 325. Near Eskişehir lies the battlefield of Dorylaeum, where the Crusaders were victorious in 1097 and Conrad III was defeated in 1147.
Eskişehir → Afyon → Yalvaç → Akşehir → Konya
Today the path of the Crusaders crosses that of the apostle. Near Yalvaç lies the Roman colony of Antioch in Pisidia with the Temple of Augustus and the Basilica of St Paul above the site of the synagogue in which Paul preached. The chronicler Albert of Aachen reports that Godfrey of Bouillon was badly injured by a bear here in 1097. At the foot of the Sultan Mountains we drive via Akşehir, ancient Philomelion, where Barbarossa was victorious in 1190, to Konya – Iconium, where Paul and Barnabas proclaimed the gospel despite opposition.
Konya → Sultanhanı → Göreme
In the morning we visit the Alaeddin Mosque on Konya's citadel hill – at its foot Barbarossa took the city in May 1190 and afterwards made peace with Sultan Kılıç Arslan II – as well as the Mevlana Museum with the tomb of Rumi. Across the plateau that the thirsty army crossed in 1097, we follow the Silk Road to the Sultanhanı caravanserai of 1229. In the afternoon the Göreme Open-Air Museum opens its rock churches with Byzantine frescoes, including the Tokalı Church – traces of the Christians of Cappadocia, whom the First Epistle of Peter already greets.
Göreme → Kaymaklı → Kayseri → Göksun → Kahramanmaraş
In the underground city of Kaymaklı we descend several storeys deep into the tuff, where the population sought shelter in troubled times. At midday we reach Kayseri, ancient Caesarea, where Basil the Great was bishop; the citadel and Seljuk buildings lie here at the foot of Mount Erciyes. Then begins the stretch that the chroniclers in October 1097 called the “Devil's Mountain”: via Göksun, the Coxon of the Crusaders, and over the passes of the Anti-Taurus down to Marash, where Armenian princes received the exhausted army.
Kahramanmaraş → Gaziantep → Şanlıurfa
In the Zeugma Mosaic Museum in Gaziantep you encounter the Roman mosaic floors of the city at the crossing of the Euphrates, above all the famous “Gypsy Girl”. In the afternoon we reach Şanlıurfa, ancient Edessa: in 1098 Baldwin of Boulogne became count here, and when the county fell to Zengi at Christmas 1144, it provoked the Second Crusade. From the citadel with its two columns we look down on the fish ponds where tradition places Abraham; the story of King Abgar and the image of Christ, the Mandylion, is also at home here. In the evening we walk through the bazaar.
Şanlıurfa → Gaziantep → Antakya
The drive leads across the Euphrates through the land over which Baldwin, Bohemond and Tancred once fought, to the Orontes. For eight months the Crusaders lay before Antioch, until they broke into the city on 3 June 1098. Long before, however, it had been the starting point of the mission to the Gentiles: in the Grotto of St Peter on Mount Staurin, by tradition the meeting place of the first church, we read how the disciples were first called Christians here. To finish, a look at the earthquake-stricken old town being rebuilt and – depending on opening – the Archaeological Museum.
Antakya → Seleucia Pieria → Bagras → Yılankale → Tarsus → Kızkalesi
Early in the morning we stand in Seleucia Pieria, the port of Antioch from which Paul and Barnabas set out on the first missionary journey; Roman engineers cut the Titus Tunnel into the rock here. Above the Belen Pass the Templar castle of Bagras keeps watch, with the plain of Issus below. After a photo stop at the Armenian “Snake Castle” Yılankale we reach Tarsus with St Paul's Well, the St Paul Memorial Church and Cleopatra's Gate – here, in 1198, Leon I was also crowned King of Lesser Armenia. In the evening, arrival by the sea in Kızkalesi.
Kızkalesi → Hagia Thekla → Saleph → Mamure → Alanya
In front of the hotel rise the land and sea castles of Corycus, fortresses of the Armenians and later of the Lusignans. Then we visit the cave church of Thekla, by tradition a disciple of Paul, and the remains of her great basilica, which the pilgrim Egeria visited as early as 384. On the bank of the Göksu, the ancient Saleph, a memorial stone recalls Frederick Barbarossa, who drowned here on 10 June 1190 – space for a devotion on transience and hope. Along the cliffs of Rough Cilicia we travel to Mamure Castle and on to Alanya.
Alanya → Aspendos → Perge → Antalya
In Aspendos stands the best-preserved theatre of antiquity, with the remains of the aqueduct nearby. In Perge, the colonnaded street, agora and city gate lead back to the time when Paul and Barnabas preached the word here. In the afternoon in Antalya: Hadrian's Gate, Kaleiçi and the harbour of ancient Attalia. Here the apostle went on board for Antioch – and here King Louis VII sailed away with his nobles in 1148, while many pilgrims were left behind. At the farewell evening we ask together what this journey teaches about faith, power and reconciliation.
Antalya → Antalya Airport
Depending on your departure time, the transfer takes you to Antalya airport. If you would like to stay longer, you can extend the tour with beach days on the Turkish Riviera or the Aegean. What stays with you is a route from Constantinople to Attalia that has laid bare the light and shadow of church history – and the prayer for peace between peoples and religions, which Jesus promised to the peacemakers.
The tour price depends on dates, group size and room allocation. You will receive your personal offer – free of charge and without obligation.
Enquire →⛔ No shopping stops: carpet, jewellery or leather showrooms are not part of this tour.
No. We speak openly about the events – including the sack of Constantinople in 1204 – and let Byzantine, Armenian, Muslim and Latin voices be heard. Biblical reflections on guilt, forgiveness and peace accompany the visits.
On some days 400 to 480 kilometres by coach lie ahead of you, with regular breaks. The walks are mostly short; at the castles and in the underground city it can get steep or narrow.
Yes. Both cities are being rebuilt. Hotels and visits are adapted to the current situation; individual sites may at times be only partly accessible.
Yes. Churches, home groups and Christian associations travel as a group from 9 people; as a private tour it is possible from just one person. As a contact office we put you in direct contact with our partners in Turkey.
The price is available on request, as it depends on dates, group size and room allocation. You will receive a personal offer – free of charge and without obligation.
No, the flight is not included; you arrive in Istanbul and depart from Antalya. On request we will enquire about suitable connections for you.
On the Routes of the Crusaders – from Constantinople to Attalia
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