The origin of the church in Turkey goes back to the events immediately following the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ in Judea. On the Day of Pentecost Jews from Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia were gathered in Jerusalem (Acts 2:9–10). Many of these became eyewitnesses […]
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Two of the four rivers in the Creation account have their source in eastern Turkey. The Euphrates and Tigris Rivers flowed through the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:13). Some traditions suggest that this garden in which Adam and Eve lived was located in southeastern Turkey. After the […]
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According to the historian Strabo, Troas was a renowned city. It was founded by Antigonus and Lysi-machus at the command of Alexander the Great, and its fortifications date from that time. The city had a good but artificial harbor which helped it become a thriving commercial center. […]
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Myra is one of the ancient coastal cities of the Guif of Antalya visited by Paul, Luke, and Aristarchus (Acts 27:5-6). It is where as prisoners they changed boats on their way to Rome in 60 or 61 AD. In Myra the centurion Julius found a ship […]
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South of the Taurus Mountains lies the fertile plain of Cilicia ( Kilikya )known today as Çukurova. The main entrances to the plain from the central highland were either down the Calycadnus (Gôksu) River or through the Cilician Gates, a narrow rock pass on the Cydnus (Tarsus […]
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Van was once the center of the Kingdom of Urartu; it was known as Tushpa. It is located on the eastern shore of Lake Van in eastern Turkey. It became the center of an Armenian kingdom founded by Tigranes the Great in the first century B.C. There […]
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Gordium, the capital of what may have been Meshech, is an archeological site just west of Polatli and near the Sakarya River. Among the ruins Is a Phrygian palace in which may be seen the earliest known geometrical patterns in mosaic. A great tumulus there may be […]
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Between the Taurus Mountains and the Euphrates River was the district of Commagene, the farthest northeastern part of ancient Syria. The Assyrian general, Sargon II (or Sarru-Kinu), who waged a number of wars from 722 to 705 B.C., was one of its early kings. Commagene was about […]
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In ancient geography this was the mountainous area north of Antalya with two fair-sized lakes, Karalis (Beysehir Gölü) and Limnai (Eğridir Gölü). Termessus in the south, Sagalassus (Aglasun) to the north, and Antioch of Pisidia (Yalvac) are some of the early important towns. History The area of […]
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The Bithynia were a tribe that migrated from Thrace to Asia Minor and gave their name to the southwest shores of the Black Sea, the Bosphorus, and the Sea of Marmara. The most Important mountain of the area is Mt Olympus, known now as Ulu Dağ; the […]
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