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TOURS OF FAITH AND WHY TURKEY? |
In Turkey, as a country teeming with
heritages of Mouslim , Christian and Jewish religions, much more than any other place in
the world, we have started to organize tours of faith as a travelling agency specialized
extensively in this particular field of tourism when the second millenium is two years
ahead of us.
Each year thousands of people discover that Turkey is the home of legends and
history taught in classrooms the world over. Visit the legendary Troy of Homer's
'Iliad',
exotic Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. Travel to the reputed landing
place of Noah's Ark or Garden of Eden. Or the place where Mark Antony and Cleopatra met
and married, Santa Claus lived, Home of Virgin Mary, Seven
Churches mentioned in the testament are located. Travel along the Old Silk Road of Marco Polo, sail the in comparable turquoise
waters of the Mediterranean and sample food fit for a Sultan. And do it all in style and
comfort. Modern, sophisticated resorts and casinos are
plentiful.
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These things are here to be shared in a a way that only the Turkish people can. The
people of Turkey are as varied as their landscape, from black hair to
blonde, from brown
eyes to blue; all combine to make Turkey unique. The one thing that is uniform through out
this fascinating country is the hospitality of its people. We hereby assure you that as devouted visitors of any of the aforesaid
religions,
you will be guided to so many sites of faith abounding within the borders of Turkey at a
scale unparalled in any other parts of the world. During such cultivating and exiting
tours, you will enjoy the opportunity of visiting many
sites, each of which manifests
unique features of heritages of different faiths.
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| THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF REVELATION
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ASIA MINOR |
The
land known to the Romans as Asia Minor and which now forms the greater part of Turkey is
anextraordinary mosaic of culture, history and geography. At the beginning of the year
2000 it seemed appropriate to take a look at an aspect of this historic diversity which
contributes to the universal significance of Asia Minor. The last book in the New Testament of the Bible records the revelation of St
John, also known as St John of Asia Minor. The Book of Revelation's main subject is the
end of the world, and it relates messages sent by Christ to the seven churches as
the apocalypse approaches. All seven of these first Christian important churches are
located in the western part of Anatolia. Three of these seven places are still occupied by
people :
Philadelphia (Alažehir)
, Smyrna (Izmir)
, Thyatira (Akhisar). All the others are also very near to current cities in
Turkey.
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In the Book of Revelation, also known as the
Apocalypse of St John, fascinating symbolic images are used. The Jewish symbol of the
seven branched candlesticks representing the seven churches of Asia
Minor:
The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand,
and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angel of seven churches, and
the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches'
(1:7).
Jesus Christ appears to St. John and messages to each of angels
(priests) of the
churches, which are cited in order of their importance as
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Tours of one to four
days can be arranged to see several or all of the churches :
The word
church as employed here does not refer to a building but a community of Christians. In the
early years Christians were persecuted by Jews and pagans who felt threatened by the new
faith, and they were forced to worship secretly in the mountains, graveyards and
catacombs. Even in the smallest town of Asia Minor, new converts to the
Christian faith were visible. Apocalypse was written around
the year 95, when Emperor Domitian ordered that Christians should be punished by
severe torture methods. The
number of churches is significant , not in itself, but because of the underlying symbolism
of the number seven. All religions and traditional beliefs attach significance to particular
numbers, such as one, three, four, seven, nine, twelve, thirtythree and forty.
The number seven has mystic meaning in many cultures, as illustrated
by the seven heavens, The story of Seven
Sleepers, the conbination of squares and
triangles in the Egyptian pyramids, The seven days of the week, and the seven
branched candlestick.
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Mentioned
by St. John in the Book of Revelation, formed separate and distinct
communities, and are all found in Turkey :
In
Rome and it's environs anti-Christian feeling was motivated largely by political
factors,
where as in Jerusalem and the Holy Land economic factors predominated. Asia Minor however, although also part of the Roman Empire, offered
relative safety because it was remote from both these areas. There were large communities of underprivileged here, and in
addition, it was a place which had traditionally been home to very mixed ethnic and
religious communities which had learned to coexist in tolerance or at least indifference. This combination of conditions meant that the new faith was able to
spread more easily in Asia Minor than anywhere else.
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NOW let us travel to the
Aegean region to visit the locations of the seven churches,
starting with the last mentioned in the BIBLE.
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Ephesus is the
most renovated and impressive of them. The book of Revelation, written by
St. John, was
intended to be heard by all Christians not only by these addressed seven churches of
Anatolia. He wanted to prevent the disintegration of Christianity by clarifying and making
clear the alternatives facing the followers of Jesus :
The choices of worshipping Roman gods or the almighty God of Christianity.
St. John
wrote
revelation in the apocalyptic form to persuade the intended community
clearly.
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