Acts 16 · 8 days · Istanbul – Izmir

Troas – Where the Gospel Crossed into Europe

“And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.”Acts 16:9

8 days7 nights

IstanbulStart

IzmirEnd

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In the north-western corner of Asia Minor lies a stretch of coast where world history and salvation history intersect. Here Xerxes had a bridge of ships built across to Europe, Alexander crossed in the opposite direction – and in the port city of Troas Paul saw in a vision the man who called him to Macedonia. From there the message of Christ reached European soil for the first time.

The tour opens in Istanbul: in the Archaeology Museums you encounter inscriptions from the land of the Bible, among them the stone tablet that forbade foreigners to enter the inner court of the Temple. Then the route crosses the Dardanelles to Troy, Alexandria Troas and Assos, where a day of walking in the footsteps of the apostle awaits you. Those who prefer not to walk travel on ahead in comfort by coach.

The second half leads down the Aegean: to Adramyttium, to the Maeander cities of Magnesia, Tralles and Nysa, and finally to Miletus with Priene and Didyma. Each day has its key text, read on site; sources from outside the Bible, such as Herodotus or the letters of Ignatius, are explained as such. Christians of all denominations are warmly welcome.

What makes this tour special

The warning inscription from the Temple in Jerusalem, Hezekiah’s Siloam inscription and the Gezer Calendar – the originals, in the Istanbul Archaeology Museums
The Hellespont and the Troad: where Xerxes and Alexander crossed between the continents and Paul heard the call to Macedonia
A stretch of the road from Troas to Assos on foot – just as Paul walked it alone according to Acts 20:13
Magnesia and Tralles, to whose churches Ignatius of Antioch wrote around 110 – extra-biblical testimonies, carefully placed in context
The farewell address to the elders from Ephesus read at Miletus, with Priene and the sanctuary of Apollo at Didyma on the same day

Who is it for?For churches, home groups and Bible readers who wish to trace the Acts of the Apostles at its turning points – and for all who would like to walk part of Paul’s route themselves.

The Bible reading path

Passages you will read on site

Matt 28:19–20Istanbul (welcome evening)

The commission to all nations – the common thread of a journey to the border between two continents.

2 Kgs 20:20Archaeology Museums

Hezekiah’s conduit – read before the inscription left by the tunnel builders themselves.

Acts 21:27–29Archaeology Museums

The uproar in the Temple: it was supposed that Paul had brought Greeks inside.

Eph 2:14–18Archaeology Museums

Christ has broken down the middle wall – read before the tablet that marked that very wall.

Dan 8:5–8, 21Hellespont

The he goat from the west and the king of Grecia – with the history of interpretation.

Acts 16:6–10Alexandria Troas

Forbidden in Asia and Bithynia, called to Macedonia.

Acts 20:6–12Alexandria Troas

Breaking bread on the first day of the week, and the young man Eutychus.

2 Cor 2:12–13Start of the walk

An open door in Troas – and the restlessness because Titus did not come.

Acts 20:13–14Assos

Paul goes by land and comes aboard at Assos.

2 Tim 4:13Assos (evening devotion)

The cloak left at Troas with Carpus, the books and the parchments.

Acts 27:1–2Adramyttium

The voyage to Rome begins on a ship from this city.

John 17:20–23Magnesia on the Maeander

The prayer for unity – read alongside the exhortations of Ignatius.

Acts 20:17–38Miletus

The farewell address to the elders from Ephesus.

Acts 20:15Dilek Peninsula

The voyage past Samos – and the stop at Trogyllium mentioned in the King James Version.

Tip: bring your own Bible – at each place we open the relevant passage together.
Bible quotations: King James Version.

Day by day

Itinerary

Day1

Arrival in Istanbul – at the gateway between the continents

Istanbul Airport → Istanbul

Your tour guide meets you at Istanbul Airport and takes you to the Old City on the European side of the Bosphorus. In the late afternoon a first walk leads from the Hippodrome past Hagia Sophia to Gülhane Park, on whose edge the Archaeology Museums stand – the next morning’s destination. At the welcome evening your guide introduces the route and the key texts of the week. To begin, you read the commission of the risen Lord: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations.” The days ahead lead to the very coast where this commission first reached across the sea to Europe.

Matt 28:19–20Overnight: Istanbul

Day2

The Bible in display cases – and across the Dardanelles

Istanbul → Gelibolu → Eceabat → Çanakkale

The day begins with a “Bible in display cases”. In the Istanbul Archaeology Museums you see the inscription with which Hezekiah’s workers recorded, around 700 BC, the breakthrough of their water tunnel in Jerusalem, and the Gezer Calendar, one of the oldest Hebrew written records. Then you stand before the warning inscription from the Temple: any foreigner who crossed the barrier would have only himself to blame for his death. Because it was supposed that Paul had brought Trophimus the Ephesian inside, he was arrested – and yet he writes that Christ “hath broken down the middle wall of partition”. At midday the route leads through Thrace to Gelibolu and by ferry across the Dardanelles, which, according to Herodotus, Xerxes once had bridged with ships.

2 Kgs 20:20Acts 21:27–29Eph 2:14–18Overnight: Çanakkale

Day3

Hellespont, Troy and Troas – the call to Macedonia

Çanakkale → Troy → Alexandria Troas → Assos

Early in the morning, on the shore of the Hellespont, you read the vision of the he goat that comes from the west; Daniel 8 itself calls him the “king of Grecia”, and since ancient times the great horn has been interpreted as Alexander, who crossed into Asia here in 334 BC. Your guide explains how differently the date of the book’s composition is judged. At Troy you climb through nine layers of settlement. At midday you reach Alexandria Troas: here Paul saw the man of Macedonia who besought him, “Come over … and help us.” Among the ruins you also read of Eutychus, who fell from the window during the long night of breaking bread and was taken up alive. In the evening you reach Assos.

Dan 8:5–8, 21Acts 16:8–11Acts 20:6–12Overnight: Assos

Day4

On foot to Assos – on the apostle’s road

Assos → Paul walk → Assos → Smintheion → Babakale → Assos

According to Acts 20, Paul let his companions go ahead by ship and walked the road from Troas to Assos alone. Today you walk part of it yourself: some eight to ten kilometres through olive groves and along coastal paths, until the volcanic cone of Assos rises before you. Those who prefer not to walk travel ahead by coach and await the group at the harbour where the companions took Paul on board. In the afternoon you stand at the Doric temple of Athena and look across to Lesbos, where the ship sailed on. Then follow the sanctuary of Apollo Smintheus and Cape Babakale. In the evening you read the aged apostle’s request for the cloak he had left at Troas.

2 Cor 2:12–13Acts 20:13–142 Tim 4:13Overnight: Assos

Day5

Adramyttium and the coast of Aeolis – a ship bound for Rome

Assos → Edremit → Kyme → Izmir

Between Mount Ida and the sea the road leads to the Gulf of Edremit. Here lay Adramyttium, whose remains are being excavated near Burhaniye-Ören. According to Acts 27, it was on a ship from this city that the voyage of the prisoner Paul towards Rome began, accompanied by Luke and Aristarchus of Thessalonica. At the midday stop you talk about the days when the Spirit barred Paul’s way to Bithynia in Mysia and so led him to Troas. In the afternoon you reach Kyme, the largest city of Aeolis, whose harbour tells of the coastal shipping of antiquity. Psalm 139 accompanies the day: even in the uttermost parts of the sea God’s hand holds fast. In the evening you arrive in Izmir.

Acts 27:1–2Acts 16:7Psalm 139:9–10Overnight: Izmir

Day6

Nysa, Tralles, Magnesia – the churches of the letters of Ignatius

Izmir → Nysa → Tralles → Magnesia → Kuşadası

The day belongs to three cities in the Maeander valley. At Nysa you see the theatre and library of a city built over a vaulted stream tunnel. Tralles, today Aydın, was the home of Anthemius, who helped design Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. Around 110, Ignatius of Antioch, a prisoner on his way to Rome, wrote to the churches of Tralles and Magnesia. His letters are not part of the Bible and are read as extra-biblical testimonies: they urge unity with the bishop and elders and confess that Christ was truly born and suffered. At Magnesia, where according to Thucydides Themistocles once died, to whom the Persian king had granted the city, you read Jesus’ prayer “that they all may be one”.

John 17:20–23Overnight: Kuşadası

Day7

Priene, Miletus, Didyma – Paul’s farewell

Kuşadası → Priene → Miletus → Didyma → Dilek Peninsula → Kuşadası

Early in the morning at Priene you climb through the right-angled lanes to the temple of Athena which, according to an inscription, Alexander the Great dedicated. At Miletus you take your seat in the great theatre, where a seat inscription names Jews and God-fearers. At the old Lion Harbour you read the farewell address Paul gave to the elders from Ephesus: “I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace.” Here, too, Trophimus was later left behind sick – the Ephesian on whose account Paul had been arrested in Jerusalem. In the afternoon you stand among the giant columns of Didyma, where according to Lactantius Diocletian consulted the oracle before the persecution of 303. On the Dilek Peninsula, ancient Trogyllium, you look out to Samos to close the day.

Acts 20:15Acts 20:17–382 Tim 4:20Overnight: Kuşadası

Day8

Departure from Izmir

Kuşadası → Izmir Airport

Depending on your flight time, there is still time in the morning for a stroll along the waterfront promenade of Kuşadası. Then the transfer takes you to Izmir Airport in about an hour. You take with you what has come together over these days: the warning inscription from the Temple, the strait of the Hellespont, the call from Macedonia at Troas, the road to Assos and the farewell at Miletus. If you would like to stay longer, you can extend with beach days on the Aegean or with Ephesus and the seven churches of Revelation.

The route

On the map

1Istanbul Airport2Istanbul (Archaeology Museums)3Gelibolu4Eceabat5Çanakkale6Troy7Alexandria Troas8Assos9Smintheion (Gülpınar)10Babakale11Edremit (Adramyttium)12Kyme13Izmir14Nysa15Tralles (Aydın)16Magnesia on the Maeander17Kuşadası18Priene19Miletus20Didyma21Dilek Peninsula (Mycale)22Izmir Airport

Inclusions & price

What the tour price includes

Price on request

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.

Included

7 nights in good mid-range and 4-star hotels with half board
All journeys in an air-conditioned coach, airport transfers in Istanbul and Izmir
Ferry crossing of the Dardanelles
State-licensed tour guide
Admission fees as per itinerary
Coach escort for non-walkers on the walking day
Welcome and farewell evenings

Not included

Flight
Lunches and drinks
Tips
Travel insurance
Personal expenses

Good to know

Frequently asked questions

Where was biblical Troas?

It refers to Alexandria Troas, a Roman harbour colony on the coast of the region of the Troad, some 45 kilometres south of Troy. From here Paul sailed to Macedonia (Acts 16:11).

Do I have to take part in the Paul walk?

No. The walk of 8–10 kilometres on field and coastal paths is optional. Those who prefer not to walk travel ahead by coach and await the group in Assos.

Can all the pieces mentioned be seen in the museum?

The Museum of the Ancient Orient is at times closed for restoration. We check before your tour which pieces – such as the Treaty of Kadesh – are currently on display, and tell you frankly.

How strenuous is the tour?

The excavation sites have uneven paths and steps, especially in Assos and Priene; an average level of fitness is sufficient. Day 2 is a long travel day including a ferry.

When is the best time to travel?

April to June and September to October. In high summer it is very hot on the Aegean, which is rather unfavourable for the walking day.

Is the flight included in the tour price?

No. You fly into Istanbul and out of Izmir. On request we can enquire about a suitable connection for you.

How much does the tour cost?

The price depends on the dates, group size and room allocation. After your enquiry you will receive a personal quotation – free of charge and without obligation.

In which language is the tour guided?

A state-licensed tour guide accompanies you – in your language or in one of 25 languages. We have been guiding guests since 1989.

Enquiry & booking

Enquire about this tour

Troas – Where the Gospel Crossed into Europe

Troas – Where the Gospel Crossed into Europe

Passages you will read on site

Itinerary

Arrival in Istanbul – at the gateway between the continents

The Bible in display cases – and across the Dardanelles

Hellespont, Troy and Troas – the call to Macedonia

On foot to Assos – on the apostle’s road

Adramyttium and the coast of Aeolis – a ship bound for Rome

Nysa, Tralles, Magnesia – the churches of the letters of Ignatius

Priene, Miletus, Didyma – Paul’s farewell

Departure from Izmir

On the map

What the tour price includes

Price on request

Included

Not included

Frequently asked questions

Enquire about this tour

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