We will enjoy the architectural splendors of the ancient
city of Athens as we travel to the world renowned
Acropolis, the Propylaea, the Parthenon, and the
Erectheum. We will visit Mars Hill where the apostle
Paul stood and said, "I found an altar with this
inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore
you ignorantly worship, him I declare to you" (Acts
17:23). We will see the Agora, the ancient market place
and center of the Athenian public life, where the apostle
Paul preached "Jesus and the resurrection" (Acts 17:18)
to the skeptical Athenians. The afternoon is free to
explore Athens on your own.
May 30 Corinth
Corinth is the city where Paul met Aquilla and Priscilla,
the tent makers, and where the Lord spoke to Paul by a
vision saying, "I am with you, and no one shall set upon
you to hurt you: for I have many people in this city" (Acts
18:10). Here, Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue,
believed in the Lord, along with many others who
believed and were baptized (Acts 18:8). This was the
beginning of the church at Corinth to whom Paul wrote
many epistles. We will visit the Archaeological Museum,
the Market Place and Temples. We will walk among the
ruins and stand on the Bema where Paul stood before
Gallio facing charges brought by the Jews that were
dropped. Paul stayed a while in Corinth before leaving
for Syria from the port at Cenchraeae (Acts 18:12-18).
We will return to Athens in the afternoon for some free
time.
May 31
Join us as we visit and explore the cities in
which the Christian religion was born! Encounter the material world of the early Church
through an immersion experience that will:
1) illumine various aspects of the New Testament;
2) provide a real sense of the geography
and history of early Christianity;
3) heighten awareness of the pagan world in
which Christianity was born; and
4) help you understand the subsequent history of Turkey after the rise of Christianity.
Summer I, 2016
Study Abroad: Turkey and Greece
May 10 – 31
The Birth of the Early Church:
Following in the Footsteps
of Paul
Course Credit:
6 hours (Religion 4100: Holy Lands)
Cost of Trip:

Tuition for 6 hours: $3,930

Summer School Fee: $12

Program Fee: $2,230
-Housing (21 nights)
-21 Breakfasts and Dinners
Fly home from Athens!
-Insurance
-Air and Land Transportation
within Turkey and Greece
-All entry fees, tips, service
charges and local taxes

Books: $100

Visa: $20

Airfare: Not included, variable

Lunches: approximately $250
For more information, contact Dr. White:
[email protected]
Faculty Trip Leader:
Study Abroad Partner: Tutku Tours
www.tutkutours.com
Application Deadline:
**March 1, 2016**
Dr. Benjamin L. White
Assistant Professor of Religion
Three-Week Itinerary
May 10
Fly to Istanbul, Turkey
May 11 Arrive in Istanbul
Transfer to our hotel, get an orientation to the city, and
explore the sights and sounds of this city on two
continents.
May 12 Istanbul
Before embarking on our Pauline journey, we’ll spend
two days visiting some of the most prominent sites in
Istanbul. Today we’ll visit the ancient Chora Church
with its beautiful Byzantine frescoes, the Greek
Orthodox Patriarchate (the “Vatican” of the Greek
Orthodox Church), and then take a leisurely Boat Tour
along the Bosphorus. Dinner at an outside Sea Food
Restaurant in Kumkapı district.
May 13 Istanbul
Today we’ll visit Hippodrome Square, the center of
ancient Constantinople, with its magnificent Hagia
Sophia and Blue Mosque. Then we’ll visit the
incomparable Istanbul Archaeological Museum to see
many Biblical treasures.
May 14 Istanbul to Cappadocia
We’ll catch an early morning flight to Kayseri, in the
heart of beautiful Cappadocia. We will drive through
the breathtaking Zelve valley on our way to Kaymaklý,
an underground early Christian city that extended
downward in the earth for at least eight floors and
housed several thousand people in the eighth and ninth
centuries.
May 15 Cappadocia
We will visit Göreme, where we will see remains of
several hundred early churches, with rooms hollowed
out of the cones of volcanic ash. Some of them are
decorated with scratched frescoes depicting scenes
from the Bible. We’ll continue to Uçhisar, another of
these early Christian communities.
May 16 Cappadocia to Antalya
Travel Day! After an early breakfast you will depart
and drive to Antalya, from which Paul set sail at the
end of his first missionary journey.
May 17 Antalya and Environs
After breakfast we will begin with a visit to Perga, an
ancient city even when Paul visited there. He and
Barnabas went through Perga on their way from and to
Antioch on their first journey. We will visit the Perga
Theater, the Agora Stadium, and the colonnaded
streets. We will also visit Aspendos, one of the best
preserved theaters in the world, and Side where you
will see the museum, theater, and temple.
May 18
Antalya
Free day to explore the beautiful coastal city of Antalya. Can
you say “relaxing on the beach”?
May 19 Antalya to Laodicea and Hierapolis/Pamukkale
After an early breakfast, we will travel to Laodicea, one of the
Seven Churches of Revelation. It is also the location that
some early Christians and modern scholars think that what
we call Paul’s letter to the “Ephesians” was originally sent.
Paul mentions the Christians in Laodicea in Colossians and
asks that these two cities swap letters. We will then travel to
Hierapolis, another city of the Lycus Valley mentioned in
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians/Laodiceans, where we will visit
the monuments, thermal baths and the theater with its well
preserved stage and Temple of Apollo. We’ll take an evening
hike to the breathtaking Pamukkale and its thermal pools.
May 20 Miletus and Didyma to Kusadasi
After breakfast we’ll drive to Miletus, the site of Paul’s final
words to the Ephesian elders. We will stand in the theater
where Paul spoke to them. We’ll then make a visit to the
ancient oracle of Apollo in Didyma. Dinner and overnight in
Kusadasi.
May 21 Kusadasi, Ephesus and Izmir (Smyrna)
Free half-day in the beautiful coastal town of Kusadasi. We
will then head for Ephesus, where we will see the amazing
ruins of this great city: the theater, the library, the Temple of
Hadrian and the newly excavated Roman Terrace Houses,
along with the Grotto of Saint Paul, which preserves a very
early (6th century) depiction of Paul. We will also visit the
Basilica of St. John, the traditional burial place of St. John.
We’ll spend the night in Izmir, ancient Smyrna, which is also
the third largest city in Turkey.
May 22 Izmir
Free day to explore the beautiful and modern Izmir, which sits
on the Aegean Sea.
May 23 Pergamum, Troy and Canakkale
After breakfast we will leave for Bergama, which is the site of
ancient Pergamum, one of the Seven Churches of Revelation. We will travel by cable car to its Acropolis and see the
impressive theater, the Temple of Athena, and its great Temple to the Emperor Trajan. In the afternoon we will visit Troy,
the site of the famous Trojan War. Dinner and overnight in
Canakkale.
May 24 Transfer to Greece
After breakfast, we will cross the Dardanelles Strait by car
ferry. We will cross into Greece, transfer to our Greek bus
and guide, and then continue to Kavala (Neapolis)for an
afternoon of swimming and free time.
May 25 Neapolis, Philippi, and Thessaloniki
We will briefly explore Neapolis (Kavala), one of
Greece's most picturesque mainland ports. Paul landed
here with his disciples, Timothy and Silas. We will see
the Roman Aqueduct and Acropolis. We will then travel
to Philippi, where Paul, intending to find a place to pray
by the riverside, spoke to women who had gathered
there among whom was Lydia, the seller of purple and
whose heart the Lord opened to hear the words that he
spoke (Acts 16:13-15). Lydia was the first Christian to be
baptized on European soil. Visit the place where this
event is remembered and see a crypt dating from the
Roman period, which is thought to have served as a
prison for the apostle Paul. We will visit the Market
Place, the Basilica, and the Theater. Travel to
Thessaoliniki for overnight lodging.
May 26 Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki is the city where Paul was accused of
turning the world upside down by his preaching of Christ
(Acts 17: 3-6) and to which he addressed his
Thessalonian epistles. We will visit St. George's
Basilica. Tradition holds that it is built over the
synagogue where Paul preached. We will also visit the
excavated forum, including the Odeon, the place where
Jason, one of Paul’s followers, was dragged before the
city council. View the Old City Ramparts, and the
Galerius Arch that rises over the Via Egnatia. Free
afternoon in Thessaloniki with an optional visit the
Archaeological Museum.
May 27 Meteora
After breakfast we will travel to Meteora (Kalambaka),
where we will visit the rock forest of Meteora in western
Thessaly and ponder the rough terrain in which the
apostle Paul walked during his missionary journey. See
famous Byzantine monasteries perch precariously on
summits of soaring, sheer-sided grey rock pinnacles of
varied and spectacular shapes. We will visit one of these
monasteries. Dinner and overnight in Kalambaka
May 28 Delphi and Athens
We will travel to scenic Delphi, the religious center of the
ancient Greek world, considered by early Greeks to be
the center of the world and marked by the conical stone,
called the omphalos or navel. We will walk the Sacra Via
to the Athenian Treasury, the Theatre, and the Temple of
Apollo where the oracle performed his or her prophetic
rituals. With pagan ruins surrounding your walk, we will
capture a glimpse of the challenge the apostle Paul
incurred in preaching the Gospel of Christ in Macedonia.
We will visit the Museum where we will view many
ancient treasures, the chief of which is the 5th century
bronzed Charioteer, complete with eyelashes. We will
then travel to Athens for Dinner and overnight in Athens.
May 29
Athens