This church was carved into the rock at the right side of the road passed the Girl’s convent while going to the region of Churches. A dome was placed over four pillars. It has one big and two small apsises. Although the frescoes of the Ikonoclastic Age […]
Read more →Tokali Kilise (Turkish; Buckle Church) was the principal sanctuary of a large monastic center in Byzantine Cappadocia, now central Turkey. This cave church was carved into the soft volcanic stone of the region and decorated with frescoes in several stages between the mid-ninth and mid-tenth centuries, and […]
Read more →At the time of Paul’s travels, Nicea shared with Nicomedia (İznik) the rivalry for the most important city of Bithynia. In 74 A.D. it was incorporated into the Roman province of Asia and, in spite of being levelled In the earthquake of 123 A.D., it continued to […]
Read more →The area of Old Smyrna near Bayraklı across the bay from the present Izmir was inhabited during the first half of the third millennium B.C. Strabo says that the settlers were Leleges, but for that period of time he is not reliable. Hittite remains in the area […]
Read more →One of the most picturesque areas of any of the Seven Churches is the site of Sardis. The spur of Mt. Tmolus (Boz Dağ) protrudes from the base of the mountain like the prow of a ship and constitutes the nigh impregnable citadel of the once famous […]
Read more →Akhisar, the site of ancient Thyatira, is a thriving modern city, but with almost no remains of its old self to be seen except the ruins of an ancient temple, possibly to Apollo, a colonnaded road, and a large church. The city is on the main road […]
Read more →Philadelphia was the least distinguished of the cities of the Seven Churches. It was the latest to take on importance as a city, and only a few ruins are visible now. However, on the positive side, it was located on the outer edge of Hellenistic civilization and […]
Read more →The origin of Pergamon (Pergamum) is unknown, but such an easily defended hill would have been inhabited at a very early date. The main weakness of its defense was a lack of water. We ourselves can begin to sympathize with the plight of besieged soldiers as we […]
Read more →Pamphylia, the narrow coastal area between the Taurus Mountains and the northern extent of the Mediterranean Sea is the district of Pamphylia. Side, Perga, Aspendos, and Attalia (Antalya) are among the cities important in antiquity; Antalya is still an important port. The region of Pamphylia first enters […]
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