Turkey 2021 Study Tour | Whitworth University

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Turkey 2021 Study Tour

Core 650 Study Tour to Turkey

With Whitworth Theology Professor Emeritus Jerry Sittser

Sept. 10-25, 2021

Modern Turkey links east and west like no other place on earth. Its major city, Istanbul, half in Europe and half in Asia, symbolizes this link. The region is home to a history that shaped the major cultures of Europe and the Middle East. Much of the human story has somehow passed through Turkey.

Turkey is a place of natural beauty and cultural magnificence. Water borders three sides, creating a long and rugged coastline of unspeakable beauty. Mountain ranges dominate much of the interior, and waterways snake their way from the interior to the coast. Temples still tower over the ruins of ancient cities like Ephesus and Pergamum, which are archeological wonders that once boasted populations into the hundreds of thousands. The modern city of Istanbul unites ancient and modern into one whole. The country teems with life.

Turkey is also a religious crossroad. The traditional religion of Rome once flourished in Turkey, then known as Asia Minor. Christianity worked its way into the culture, too. After the first Christian emperor, Constantine, assumed the throne in 312 and founded the Byzantine Empire, the religion of Christianity dominated the land for over a thousand years, only to be replaced by Islam after the Seljuk Turks conquered the city of Constantinople in 1453. The Ottoman Empire eventually took control, surviving into the 20th century. Today Turkey boasts a population that self-identifies as 99 percent Muslim.

Paul traveled through much of southern Asia Minor, planting churches in cities like Ephesus, Colossae and Pisidian Antioch. Both the apostle John and Mary, the mother of Jesus, might very well have spent the last years of their lives in Ephesus. Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, traveled through Asia Minor on his journey to Rome, where he was martyred around AD 110. Polycarp became the bishop of Smyrna around the turn of the first century, a post at which he remained until he was martyred in 155 at the age of 86. Gregory Thaumaturgis worked miracles and planted churches in north central Asia Minor. The Cappadocian Fathers (Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa and Gregory of Nazianzus) served as bishops, monastic leaders and theologians, helping to establish what we now call historic orthodoxy. John Chrysostom, known as the greatest preacher of the ancient world, dazzled the city of Constantinople with his sermons. Christians founded monastic communities that attracted thousands of monks to practice ascetic disciplines and live in the caves of the Cappadocian region. Christian architects and artisans built magnificent churches, like the Hagia Sophia, and Christian artists "wrote" stunning icons to create liminal places between heaven and earth.

On this tour we will walk through the ruins of civilizations that date back to the Bronze Age. We will explore ancient cities, temples, stadiums, marketplaces, houses, tombs, statues and art from the classical period into the modern period and investigate how traditional Roman religion, Christianity and Islam each shaped the culture. We will trace the steps of the apostle Paul in his church-planting endeavor. We will visit churches, monasteries and mosques; wander through marketplaces and bazaars; and view stunning Turkish coastland and mountains. We will gaze at the wonders of Byzantine art. And we will also enjoy the warm hospitality of the Turkish people and eat their excellent food.

Finally, we will ponder how the fledgling religion of Christianity flourished against all odds in a world that was clearly suspicious of and hostile to it, and we will reflect, as a community together, on what we can learn from the early Christians and apply it to our own time and place. This tour will challenge us to consider how ancient and modern can speak to us, engaging us intellectually, dazzling us with beauty, and inviting us to set a course for our lives that is faithful to the gospel.

Throughout our study tour, we will learn from daily on-site instruction provided by acclaimed teacher and author Jerry Sittser. Aydin Aygun, a longtime friend of Whitworth, will serve as our Turkish guide.

Itinerary

Day 1: Friday, Sept. 10 – Flight Day

Depart the U.S. on a flight to Istanbul.

Day 2: Saturday, Sept. 11 – Istanbul

Arrive in Istanbul Airport and transfer to the hotel in the old city. Enjoy your rest in the hotel after check-in. Orientation walk around Sultanahmet Square followed by our welcome dinner.

Meals: Welcome Dinner

Accommodation: Vogue Hotel Supreme

Day 3: Sunday, Sept. 12 – Istanbul

After breakfast we explore the great imperial landmarks of Istanbul in Sultanahmet Square. Visit the Roman Hippodrome and the church of Hagia Sophia, the religious center of the Byzantine Empire and Eastern Orthodoxy, and the Underground Cistern. After a lunch break on your own around our hotel, explore the Blue Mosque, Mosaic Museum and Arasta Bazaar. Enjoy your rest in the hotel before Bosporus Cruise and our group dinner in a local restaurant.

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

Accommodation: Hagia Sophia Mansions Istanbul

Day 4: Monday, Sept. 13 – Istanbul to Cappadocia

After breakfast we dedicate our morning to Topkapi Palace-Harem, the royal residence of the sultans and the administration center of the Ottoman Empire and the church of Hagia Eirene. Discover Istanbul Archeological Museum and artifacts related to Biblical Archeology. Walk to the Golden Horn and after lunch visit the Spice Market and Rustem Pasa Mosque. Transfer to the airport and fly to Nevsehir at 6:35 p.m. and arrive in Cappadocia at 7:45 p.m. Transfer to the hotel and enjoy a late dinner in the hotel.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Utopia Cave Hotel

Day 5: Tuesday, Sept. 14 – Cappadocia

Explore the lunar and surrealistic landscape of the region with its valleys and churches. Visit the Goreme Open-Air Museum and its churches with vivid frescoes depicting Biblical scenes as the best example of local Byzantine art. Stroll through the fairy-chimneys of the Red and Pasabag Valleys and hike through the valleys in the afternoon.