Seven Churches of Revelation

Turkey is the cradle of many civilizations, hosts a lot of ancient cities and is cradle of the whole religions.

Turkey, Asia Minor or Anatolia has a very important role for the early Christianity. For sure Seven Churches is the most important of them which is stated in the Book of Revelation. St. John is not only one of the Apostles but also one of the Evangelists and we know that when Jesus Christ was crucified, he entrusted The Virgin Mary to St. John. Both the Virgin Mary and St. John are buried in different hills near by Ancient Ephesus. St. John most of his life in Ephesus, wrote famous Apocalypse and died in Ephesus. Basilica of St. John was built by the Byzantium Emperor Justinian in 6th AD only 2 miles away from Ancient Ephesus where St. John lived. The ruins of the Basilica are still standing and are visible for the visitors. The restoration work is still going on.

St. John also had an important role for establishing the Seven Churches in Turkey which are on the Aegean region. We learn more about these Churches, especially in his letters to these Churches in Book of Revolution.  These Seven Churches are Ephesus, Laodicea, Sardis, Smyrna, Philadelphia, Pergamum and Thyatira. They very close to each other and can be visited in 2 days.

Today there are big ancient cities where Ephesus, Pergamum , Laodicea and Sardis Churches are. But Smyrna, Philadelphia and Thyatira used as a church later and there are old ruins left.

It is possible to take private Seven Churches Tours all year round because the weather is warm also in winter time in this region. Izmir airport is the best starting point for this tour. Also there are flights from Istanbul to Izmir every hour. So it is also ideal to make Seven Churches tour from Istanbul.