Calendar

Turkey Trip

4 December 2012 12:00 to 15 December 2012
From Istanbul to Bursda via Iznik, on to Selçuk then Konya

Istanbul

The first port of call upon arrival in Istanbul lies in Uskudar on the Eastern side of the Bosphorus where we visit the tomb of Aziz Mahmud Huda’i, Pir of the Jelveti order of dervishes. We then head back across the Bosphorus where the visits include:

St Savior in Chora, the Kariye Camii: a Byzantine church, now a museum, whose ceilings are covered with exquisite 14th century mosaics depicting the life of Christ and the Virgin Mary including portrayals and text depicting Mary as the “Container of the Uncontainable”, and the famous fresco of the Harrowing of Hell. 

The Ayazma and Church of St. Mary of Blachernae: an ancient church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The first church was built here in the 5th Century, but the spring, that still flows, was already known to be sacred. The original church was totally destroyed by fire in 1434 and the building that stands there today was constructed in 1867.

Haghia Sophia: The Haghia Sophia, completed in 537, maintained its title as the largest Christian Church in the world for over a thousand years. When Sultan Mehmet II finally breached the walls of Constantinople in 1453 he converted the church to a mosque, which it remained until its conversion to a museum by Ataturk in 1935. It contains gorgeous mosaics, marble work and frescoes.

Bursa

Travel from Istanbul to Bursa, visiting Iznik along the way. Iznik, once Nicaea, hosted the First Council of Nicaea, where Christian Bishops convened by the Emperor Constantine in AD 325 met to discuss the nature of Christ and his relation to God the Father. Iznik later gave rise to the great Ottoman ceramic industry of the 17th century, which produced many of the tiles that cover the interior of the mosques in Turkey and Bursa. A visit is made to the Iznik Museum and also to the Hagia Sofia, built as a church in the 6th Century, converted to a mosque under Ottoman rule, then a museum and since late 2011 a mosque again.

Sample sample sample.Within Bursa visits are made to the resting places of Hazreti Uftade and Ismail Hakki Bursevi. The tour takes in a delicious lunch at the famous restaurant, home to the original Iskendar Kebab, a visit the spectacular 20 domed mosque the Ulu Cami, filled with almost 200 examples of fine calligraphy, and the gorgeous, richly decorated Green Mosque covered with rare and lustrous Iznik tiles.

Selçuk

The coach trip from Bursa to Selçuk is broken by a visit to the ruined ancient Greek city of Pergamon, which commands a beautiful position atop a hill overlooking the river Caicus. In the valley South of Pergamon lies the sanctuary of Asclepius, a centre of healing, where the renowned physician Galen worked for many years. It contains many structures dedicated to healing and treatment processes.And on to charming Selçuk, close to the Mediterranean coast.

The first visit is made to the House of the Virgin Mary, built for Mary by the Apostle John, with whom she travelled to Ephesus after the crucifixion. The small stone house and nearby spring was rediscovered after its location was revealed to a German nun, Anne Catherine Emmerich, in her dreams in the nineteenth century.

Ephesus, lying ruined on the plains below, was home to over 250 000 people in the 1st century, one of the most populous cities of its time. It contains magnificent temples, the largest known amphitheatre of the ancient world (seating up to 2400) and the library of Celsus. Of the temple of Artemis, one of the Seven wonders of the ancient world, but one solitary column remains, standing alone in a field on the outskirts of Selçuk.

Within Selçuk itself a visit is made to the tomb of St John the Apostle, inside the 6th century Basilica of St John, then the 14th century Isa Bey mosque and the Selcuk museum. A second day in Selçuk takes in more ancient ruins including those of Priene, Miletus and Didyma. Didyma, a huge, unfinished temple to Apollo, was once the precinct of an oracle, renowned throughout the ancient world. The temple was never finished and the power of the oracle disappeared after the arrival of Christianity.

Konya

The visit to Konya begins, in accordance with Rumi’s instructions, with visits to the resting places of Sadreddin Konevi, the direct spiritual heir of Ibn ‘Arabi, and then Shams of Tabriz. Finally we pay our respects at the tomb of Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi, the great 14th century poet and mystic. After these visits we attend the Sema, the zikr ceremony of the Mevlevi Order (whirling dervishes) that was founded by Rumi’s followers after his death is also attended.

Ankara

From Konya we travel due north across the Anatolian plains to Ankara, Turkey’s capital since 1923. A visit is first made to the tomb of Haci Bayram Veli, whose spiritual influence since the fifteenth century could scarcely be underestimated. Finally we visit one of the world’s finest archaeological collections, the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations, which covers vast tracts of Anatolian history and prehistory, with artefacts from Paleolithic times, through the Hittite, Phrygian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman periods.

Istanbul

Back to Istanbul for a final day to visit more of its treasures, wander the bazaar, gaze across the Bosphorus and sip one last Turkish coffee with a sweet bite of baklava.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Istanbul

The first port of call upon arrival in Istanbul lies in Uskudar on the Eastern side of the Bosphorus where we visit the tomb of Aziz Mahmud Huda’i, Pir of the Jelveti order of dervishes. We then head back across the Bosphorus where the visits include:

St Savior in Chora, the Kariye Camii: a Byzantine church, now a museum, whose ceilings are covered with exquisite 14th century mosaics depicting the life of Christ and the Virgin Mary including portrayals and text depicting Mary as the “Container of the Uncontainable”, and the famous fresco of the Harrowing of Hell. 

The Ayazma and Church of St. Mary of Blachernae: an ancient church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The first church was built here in the 5th Century, but the spring, that still flows, was already known to be sacred. The original church was totally destroyed by fire in 1434 and the building that stands there today was constructed in 1867.

Haghia Sophia: The Haghia Sophia, completed in 537, maintained its title as the largest Christian Church in the world for over a thousand years. When Sultan Mehmet II finally breached the walls of Constantinople in 1453 he converted the church to a mosque, which it remained until its conversion to a museum by Ataturk in 1935. It contains gorgeous mosaics, marble work and frescoes.

Bursa

Travel from Istanbul to Bursa, visiting Iznik along the way. Iznik, once Nicaea, hosted the First Council of Nicaea, where Christian Bishops convened by the Emperor Constantine in AD 325 met to discuss the nature of Christ and his relation to God the Father. Iznik later gave rise to the great Ottoman ceramic industry of the 17th century, which produced many of the tiles that cover the interior of the mosques in Turkey and Bursa. A visit is made to the Iznik Museum and also to the Hagia Sofia, built as a church in the 6th Century, converted to a mosque under Ottoman rule, then a museum and since late 2011 a mosque again.

Sample sample sample.Within Bursa visits are made to the resting places of Hazreti Uftade and Ismail Hakki Bursevi. The tour takes in a delicious lunch at the famous restaurant, home to the original Iskendar Kebab, a visit the spectacular 20 domed mosque the Ulu Cami, filled with almost 200 examples of fine calligraphy, and the gorgeous, richly decorated Green Mosque covered with rare and lustrous Iznik tiles.

Selçuk

The coach trip from Bursa to Selçuk is broken by a visit to the ruined ancient Greek city of Pergamon, which commands a beautiful position atop a hill overlooking the river Caicus. In the valley South of Pergamon lies the sanctuary of Asclepius, a centre of healing, where the renowned physician Galen worked for many years. It contains many structures dedicated to healing and treatment processes.And on to charming Selçuk, close to the Mediterranean coast.

The first visit is made to the House of the Virgin Mary, built for Mary by the Apostle John, with whom she travelled to Ephesus after the crucifixion. The small stone house and nearby spring was rediscovered after its location was revealed to a German nun, Anne Catherine Emmerich, in her dreams in the nineteenth century.

Ephesus, lying ruined on the plains below, was home to over 250 000 people in the 1st century, one of the most populous cities of its time. It contains magnificent temples, the largest known amphitheatre of the ancient world (seating up to 2400) and the library of Celsus. Of the temple of Artemis, one of the Seven wonders of the ancient world, but one solitary column remains, standing alone in a field on the outskirts of Selçuk.

Within Selçuk itself a visit is made to the tomb of St John the Apostle, inside the 6th century Basilica of St John, then the 14th century Isa Bey mosque and the Selcuk museum. A second day in Selçuk takes in more ancient ruins including those of Priene, Miletus and Didyma. Didyma, a huge, unfinished temple to Apollo, was once the precinct of an oracle, renowned throughout the ancient world. The temple was never finished and the power of the oracle disappeared after the arrival of Christianity.

Konya

The visit to Konya begins, in accordance with Rumi’s instructions, with visits to the resting places of Sadreddin Konevi, the direct spiritual heir of Ibn ‘Arabi, and then Shams of Tabriz. Finally we pay our respects at the tomb of Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi, the great 14th century poet and mystic. After these visits we attend the Sema, the zikr ceremony of the Mevlevi Order (whirling dervishes) that was founded by Rumi’s followers after his death is also attended.

Ankara

From Konya we travel due north across the Anatolian plains to Ankara, Turkey’s capital since 1923. A visit is first made to the tomb of Haci Bayram Veli, whose spiritual influence since the fifteenth century could scarcely be underestimated. Finally we visit one of the world’s finest archaeological collections, the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations, which covers vast tracts of Anatolian history and prehistory, with artefacts from Paleolithic times, through the Hittite, Phrygian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman periods.

Istanbul

Back to Istanbul for a final day to visit more of its treasures, wander the bazaar, gaze across the Bosphorus and sip one last Turkish coffee with a sweet bite of baklava.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Go Back