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Turkey Study Tour with Anthem Community Church
October 21 - November 1, 2024
Led by Marty Williams
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Trip Blog Posts
Day 09 - Western Coast: Ephesus, Ephesus Museum
posted on Thursday October 31 2024 at 8:00 pm UTC
Our tour culminated in a visit to the ancient city of Ephesus. The location of Ephesus was unknown until the temple of Artemis (one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) was discovered in the 1860's, indicating that the area ruins were Ephesus. Once a bustling harbor City, Ephesus now lies 6 miles...
Day 08 - Western Coast: Priene, Miletus, Didyma
posted on Wednesday October 30 2024 at 8:00 pm UTC
Today we got an early start and headed to a fantastic site named Priene. It is perched high up on a mountain slope overlooking a beautiful fertile valley. Built by the Greeks in 300 BC, it featured a busy seaport at the time and had a fortified wall. It functioned as a village until 600 AD. Over that...
Day 07 - Western Coast: Pergamum, Weaving Center, Evening Cruise on the Aegean
posted on Tuesday October 29 2024 at 6:00 pm UTC
We had an early breakfast start this morning-6:30am. By the time we boarded the bus at 8:00am it was a cool 46 degrees. While on the bus driving to our first stop, Ozan started to play the Turkish national anthem on the loud speaker. Today, October 29th is independence day in Turkey. Ozan explained that...
Day 06 - West Central Turkey: Sardis, Pergamum
posted on Monday October 28 2024 at 7:00 pm UTC
As I reflect on the day behind and waning days ahead, I cannot help but fixate on the word "perspective". So many things about the days leading up to today have been filled with the terms blessing, awe-inspiring, peaceful, thankful, etc. Yet the culmination of biblical scripture being read in the places...
Day 05 - West Central Turkey: Aphrodisias, Philadelphia
posted on Sunday October 27 2024 at 9:00 pm UTC
This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. We are leaving the Doga Thermal Health Spa today. It's been lovely here. We take with us the excitement and delight of our first hot air balloon ride and Turkish bath. The temperature is cool in our room because...
Day 04 - West Central Turkey: Laodicea, Hierapolis
posted on Saturday October 26 2024 at 10:00 pm UTC
Today marks the fourth day of our amazing Turkey trip. For some we were up before the sun, standing in 40 degree weather while we watched our hot air balloon being inflated. We started to lift on the ground & away we went. Each basket held about 16/18 people. As the sun began to rise over the...
Day 03 - Central Turkey: Pisidian Antioch, Pamukkale
posted on Friday October 25 2024 at 9:00 pm UTC
Our third day in Turkey began early, with a filling breakfast at the Ramada Hotel in Isparta. By 8:05am, we were off to Pisidian Antioch, our first destination of the day. As we traveled, we were treated to a stunning view of Lake Eğirdir, its serene beauty a perfect start to our morning. Pisidian...
Day 02 - Southern Coast: Aspendos, Perga
posted on Thursday October 24 2024 at 9:00 pm UTC
After another delicious kahvalti (Turkish breakfast) overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, we drove about 10 miles east of Antalya to the ruins of Perga. Founded in 1209 BC as a Lydian settlement, it later became a Greek city in Pamphylia, and eventually part of the Roman Empire. Under the Romans from the...
Day 01 - Southern Coast: Antalya Harbor, Antalya Museum, Roman Road
posted on Thursday October 24 2024 at 12:00 am UTC
After our breakfast, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, we walked from our hotel in Antalya down to the port where Paul came in on his first missionary journey to spread the gospel to the Gentiles. Pastor Marty read to us Paul's conversion story and reminded us that for any of us God will show up when...
Day 00 - ARRIVAL
posted on Tuesday October 22 2024 at 7:00 pm UTC
The group has arrived safely to Turkey! We look forward to a good night's sleep and will begin our tour in the morning!...
Preparing for Turkey
posted on Saturday June 22 2024 at 7:21 pm UTC
Our trip will be here before you know it! Once we're on the ground we'll post periodic updates and photos. Check back often or get update notifications using the subscribe options on this page. We'll be sharing our travel experiences online with you, our friends and family, to not only bring you along...