Biblical Sites in Turkey: Map, Verses, Tickets and Hours

“This continued for two years, so that all those who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.”

Acts 19:10

1. 1

   Ephesus Archaeological Site

   Library of Celsus, Odeum, theatre, bathhouses, Agora

   €40 · 08:00–18:00 · ticket office closes 17:30

   Aegean ✓ · Türkiye ✓ · Mediterranean –

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2. 2

   Terrace Houses

   7 Roman houses, 1st century AD: mosaic floors, marble walls, frescoes, fountains

   €15 · 09:00–17:00 · ticket office closes 16:30

   Aegean ✓ · Türkiye ✓ · Mediterranean –

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3. 3

   Basilica of St John

   on Ayasuluk Hill, six domes

   €6 · 08:00–18:00 · ticket office closes 17:30

   Aegean ✓ · Türkiye ✓ · Mediterranean –

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4. 4

   Ephesus Museum

   halls arranged by subject: fountains, Terrace Houses, coins, cult of Cybele, Temple of Artemis, Ephesus through the ages

   €10 · 08:30–17:30 · ticket office closes 17:00

   Aegean ✓ · Türkiye ✓ · Mediterranean –

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• Capital of the Roman province of Asia, and a key city in the spread of Christianity
• St Paul launched many missions from here
• By tradition: John wrote his Gospel at Ephesus

1. After the 7th centurythe people of Ephesus moved to Ayasuluk and the basilica became the church of the bishops
2. Since 2015a World Heritage site

“Don’t be afraid of the things which you are about to suffer.”

Revelation 2:10

1. 1Basilica 165 × 28 m, on the north side
2. 2Monumental gate where an east–west street crosses; Faustina relief on its northern arch
3. 3Colonnaded galleries ring the rectangular courtyard

• Smyrna Agora

  €6 · 08:30–17:30 · ticket office closes 17:00

  Aegean ✓ · Türkiye ✓ · Mediterranean –

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• Graffiti on the plastered basement walls and arch piers, in ink or scratched; those in the basilica also show early Christianity

• Love games
• Gladiator fights
• Sailing boats
• Birds
• Ships
• Riddles

1. In the 4th century BCthe city was founded on the northern slope of Pagos (Kadifekale) Hill
2. In 178 ADan earthquake struck; most of what stands was built afterwards, with the support of Marcus Aurelius

“I know your works and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is.”

Revelation 2:13

1. 1

   Bergama Acropolis

   steep theatre, Trajan Temple, Serapeum, amphitheatre

   €15 · 08:30–17:30 · ticket office closes 17:00

   Aegean ✓ · Türkiye ✓ · Mediterranean –

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2. 2

   Bergama Asklepion

   sacred way of about 1 km, theatre for 3,500, library hall, healing springs, round treatment centre

   €13 · 08:30–17:30 · ticket office closes 17:00

   Aegean ✓ · Türkiye ✓ · Mediterranean –

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• Serapeum: a Roman sanctuary of an Egyptian deity; part of it, the building called the Church of St John, became a mosque and also served as a synagogue
• In the Byzantine period the city was home to one of the seven churches of Asia
• Asklepion: built in the 4th century BC; the ruins date from Hadrian’s works in the 2nd century AD
• Aelius Aristides, the orator, was treated here and wrote about the treatments
• Galen, the famous physician of Pergamon

1. From the 3rd century BCPergamon was the capital of the Attalid dynasty
2. In 133 BCthe city passed to Rome and became capital of the Roman province of Asia
3. Since 2014a World Heritage site

“A certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, one who worshiped God, heard us.”

Acts 16:14

1. 1Basilica a rectangular building, 2nd to 6th century AD; about 10 m wide, 43 m of its length preserved, walls 4–5 m high
2. 2Apse inside the north end of the building
3. 3Rooms square and rectangular rooms and spaces west of the building
4. 4Colonnaded street a Roman street running north–south, 2nd to 4th century AD; its columns stand on a rubble-stone foundation in sand-and-lime mortar
5. 5Ticket office and WC

• Akhisar Museum and Akhisar Tepe Mezarlığı

  €3

• The city goes back to the Early Bronze Age
• A notable weaving centre
• At a crossing of the roads to the main centres of the region
• One of the most important settlements of the Lydian state and the Kingdom of Pergamon
• Tepe Mezarlığı is in the town centre; finds include architectural fragments and coins
• The excavation has uncovered a courtyard of the 2nd–4th century and, later, the remains of an apsidal building of the 5th–6th century
• The Church of Thyateira is one of the seven churches of the Aegean region, visited by faith tourists

“I know your works, that you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.”

Revelation 3:1

1. 1Temple of Artemis
2. 2Sanctuary precinct with Church M inside it
3. 3Bath-Gymnasium Complex 23,000 m², probably completed in the late 2nd or early 3rd century AD
4. 4Synagogue a hall of the bath converted in a later century; the bath fell into ruin in the 7th century AD
5. 5Stadium and theatre
6. 6Acropolis
7. 7Necropolis of Sardis more than 1,100 tombs; one mound = 100 tombs

• Sardes Archaeological Site

  €3

• The Marble Court and the Synagogue were restored between 1964 and 1973

1. In 1910–1914 and 1922Howard Crosby Butler (Princeton) uncovered the Temple of Artemis, much of its precinct and the tombs
2. In 1958George Hanfmann (Harvard) and Henry Detweiler (Cornell) founded the Archaeological Exploration of Sardis
3. Since 2008the expedition has been directed by Nicholas Cahill (Wisconsin–Madison)
4. Todayexcavation and conservation go on in the Sanctuary of Artemis, and conservation of Church M is planned

“… behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one can shut …”

Revelation 3:8

1. 1Church of St John 6th century; its piers suggest a once magnificent building

• Alaşehir Archaeological Site

  Free entry · 08:00–17:00 · ticket office closes 16:30

  Aegean – · Türkiye ✓ · Mediterranean –

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• Founded by Attalos II Philadelphos, a king of Pergamon
• “Little Athens” was its name in the Roman period, for its temples and festivals
• The Church of St John is one of the seven churches of early Christianity in the Aegean region; it is now a museum, with finds from Alaşehir in the garden
• Other remains: the Byzantine walls, a solid wall round the town; the Eastern gate; temple ruins on the Toptepe plain; the former acropolis

“So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of my mouth.”

Revelation 3:16

1. 1Stadium the largest in Anatolia
2. 2Northern Theatre
3. 3Western Theatre
4. 4Southern Bath-Gymnasium
5. 5Central Bath
6. 6Western Bath
7. 7Eastern Bath
8. 8Northern (Sacred) Agora about 296 × 128 m
9. 9Syria Street the main street, 900 m long in all; 400 m of it excavated
10. 10Temple A to Artemis, Apollo and the Imperial Cult; 2nd century AD
11. 11Caracalla Nymphaeum a monumental fountain

• Laodikeia Archaeological Site

  €12 · 08:00–17:30 · ticket office closes 17:00

  Aegean ✓ · Türkiye ✓ · Mediterranean ✓

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• Settled from about 5500 BC to the 7th century AD
• A grid plan with a monumental street; trade, mostly in textiles, was the main income

1. In 261–253 BCAntiochos II founded the city and named it for his wife Laodike
2. In 130–129 BCthe city came under Roman rule
3. In 306–337 ADin Constantine’s reign, the Church of Laodikea was built; it is one of the seven churches of Asia
4. In 602–610 ADan earthquake in Phocas’ reign made the citizens leave for Denizli and Hisarköy

“For I testify about him that he has great zeal for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for those in Hierapolis.”

Colossians 4:13

1. 1Theatre
2. 2Plutonium
3. 3Temple of Apollo
4. 4Nymphaeum
5. 5Martyrium of St Philip an octagonal church

• Hierapolis (Pamukkale)

  €30 · 08:00–18:00 · ticket office closes 17:00

  Aegean ✓ · Türkiye ✓ · Mediterranean ✓

  South and North gates close at 18:00; the pedestrian entrance at 17:00. The Antique Pool may be closed; check before you go. The Mediterranean pass is not valid there.

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• Hierapolis Archaeology Museum

  Free entry · 08:00–17:30 · ticket office closes 17:00

  Aegean ✓ · Türkiye ✓ · Mediterranean –

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• Hierapolis lies 18 km north of Denizli
• The Martyrium was built in memory of the apostle Philip; the ministry dates his crucifixion to AD 80
• Hierapolis and the Pamukkale travertines are a World Heritage site, both cultural and natural
• The Archaeology Museum is in the Roman baths and holds finds from Hierapolis, Laodikeia and Tripolis
• Also among the ruins: the Basilica Bath

1. In the 2nd century BCEumenes II of Pergamon founded the city
2. In 60 ADan earthquake struck, and the city was rebuilt on a grid plan

More on the ancient city: Hierapolis and Pamukkale

“The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.”

Acts 11:26

1. 1Gothic front added by the Crusaders, 12th–13th century
2. 2Cave church
3. 3Mosaic remains 4th–5th century, at the base of the cave

• St Pierre Church

  €8 · Listed as closed on the ministry fee list (23.10.2026). Check before you go.

  Aegean – · Türkiye ✓ · Mediterranean –

• On the western slope of Mount Stauris, on the road between Antakya and Reyhanlı
• By tradition: the first cave church in the world, and where the name “Christian” was first given to a community
• In 1963 Pope Paul VI declared it a place of pilgrimage
• On 29 June the Catholic Church holds a ceremony here every year

“Barnabas went out to Tarsus to look for Saul.”

Acts 11:25

1. 1

   St Paul Memorial Museum

   a church; registered 1994, restored 1997–2001

   €3

2. 2

   St Paul’s Well

   held to be where Paul was born and lived

   €3

3. 3

   Tarsus Museum

   opened to visitors on 22 December 2020

   €3

• The church front has a vaulted porch on four columns, an arched door and a window at each side
• In 1862 a large repair gave the church its present form

“on the mountains of Ararat”

Genesis 8:4

1. 1Greater Ararat Atatürk Peak, 5,137 m
2. 2Lesser Ararat İnönü Peak, 3,896 m
3. 3Ağrı Dağı National Park Doğubayazıt district (Ağrı), Aralık and Karakoyunlu districts (Iğdır)

• In 2004 the mountain and the land round it were declared a national park
• The park has three main parts: Greater Ararat, Lesser Ararat, and the areas of the Meteor Crater and Noah’s Ark
• Türkiye’s largest glacier lies in the park
• 21 plant species grow only on Ararat; endemic and endangered animals such as the Süphan lizard and the Apollo butterfly live there
• Climbing is possible on certain routes

More on the mountain: Mount Ararat