Religious Tours in Turkey
History has been incredibly generous to Turkey, which has been vital in the history of the three major Western religions - Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Turkey is one of a few countries where all three religions have co-existed peacefully for centuries. There are many important sites of interest in Turkey to people of all faiths.
Turkey is visited by thousands of religious pilgrims from all corners of the world every year, and they are all welcomed in the tradition of Celaleddin Rumi, who wrote:
Come, come again, come! Infidel, fire-worshipper, pagan,
Whoever you are, however often you have sinned, Come!
Our gates are not the gates of hopelessness.
Whatever your condition, Come!
Hagia Sophia is a former patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, now a museum, in Istanbul, Turkey. Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture. It was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a tho
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Pamukkale is a famous tourist attraction of Turkey. Tourists travel from the coast of Antalya and the Aegean Sea to Pamukkale, it is also recognized as a World Heritage Sites together with Hierapolis.
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Aphrodisias was named after Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of Love, who had here her unique cult image, the Aphrodite of Aphrodisias.
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Ephesus hosted one of the seven churches of Asia, addressed in the Book of Revelation of The Bible, and the Gospel of John might have been written here. It is also the site of a large gladiator graveyard.
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Jewish Museum of Turkey (officially Quincentennial Foundation Museum of Turkish Jews) is a cultural center established by the Quincentennial Foundation to inform the society of the traditions and history of Turkish Jewry.
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When the Jewish population in the old Pera and Galata districts increased in late 1930s, a Jewish primary school in the area was torn down in 1949 in order to build a new synagogue and the construction was completed in 1951.
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The library was built to store 12,000 scrolls and to serve as a monumental tomb for Celsus. It was unusual to be buried within a library or even within city limits, so this was a special honor for Celsus.
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These excavations unearthed perhaps the most impressive synagogue in the western diaspora yet discovered from antiquity, yielding over eighty Greek and seven Hebrew inscriptions as well as numerous mosaic floors.
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The mosque is one of several mosques known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior. It was built between 1609 and 1616, during the rule of Ahmed I.
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The Selimiye Mosque was commissioned by Sultan Selim II and was built by architect Mimar Sinan between 1568 and 1574. It was considered by Sinan to be his masterpiece and is one of the highest achievements of Islamic architecture.
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Ulu Camii is the major mosque of Bursa and a landmark of early Ottoman architecture. It was built by Ali Neccar in 1396-1399, at Sultan Bayezid I's command.
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The city is frequently cited as "Yeşil Bursa" (meaning "Green Bursa") in a reference to the beautiful parks and gardens located across its urban tissue, as well as to the vast forests in rich variety that extend in its surrounding region.
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View of St Sophia Museum from Bosphorus.
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Amphitheatre at Ephesus.
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The Aphrodisias stadium is the largest and the best maintained building of the city. This stadium which is situated in the north of the city is one of the most important 'antique buildings of the world.
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Since ancient times the springs of Pamukkale have been said to be beneficial. The first spa dates back at least to the founding of Hierapolis by Eumenes, king of Pergamum in the second century B.C.
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