Turkey is an epic drama, an awesome land with a rich culture that forever charms and delights. History has been incredibly generous to Turkey, which has been vital in the history of the three major religions; Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. Turkey is one of the few countries where all three religions have co-existed peacefully for centuries.
There are many important sites in Turkey of interest to people of all faiths. Turkey is a secular democracy which guarantees freedom of religion for all people, and Islam is the country's predominant religion. People of all faiths may visit Turkey's mosques.
In every corner of today's Turkey there is hidden a piece of history, archaeology and a Biblical story. Among the earliest people of Asia Minor mentioned in the Bible we note the Hittites that created an ultimate level of civilization both culturally and economically which was one of the two leading nations of the Old Testament in the 2nd and 1st millennium BC. Travelers can also discover many magnificent churches, some nearly as old as Christianity itself and can retrace the footsteps of Saints Peter and Paul from the Biblical city of Antioch to the underground churches of Cappadocia. Antakya (Antioch) was founded around 300 B.C. and was home to the first important Christian community, founded in 42 AD by St. Paul. Jesus' followers were first called "Christians" in Antioch and from here Christianity spread to the world.
The "Seven Churches of Asia Minor," a series of communities located near the Aegean coast, is where St. Paul visited, preached and built the early church. Their ancient names - Ephesus (Efes), Smyrna (Izmir), Thyatira (Akhisar), Sardis (Sart), Philadelphia (Alasehir), Laodecia (Eskihisar) and Pergamum (Bergama) are familiar from the New Testament's Book of Revelation.
The stunning Monastery of the Virgin Mary located near the Black Sea in Trabzon is a well-known monastic centre dating back to the 4th century. Built on the edge of a l200 foot cliff and accessible only by foot, it housed some of the Orthodox Church's greatest priests.
Istanbul became the centre of Christianity in 330 AD and Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in Constantinople. It was here that the largest church in Christendom at the time, Hagia Sophia or the Church of the Divine Wisdom, was dedicated by Emperor Justinian in 536 AD.
The Kariye Museum, a Greek Orthodox Church from the 11th and 14th centuries, is famous for its incomparable Byzantine frescoes and mosaics. Judaism has had a continuous presence in Turkey since ancient times.
Signs written in Hebrew and menorahs carved into stone at historical sites such as Ephesus, Kusadasi, Priene, Hierapolis and Pamukkale attest to long history of Jews in Turkey. In Sardis, near Izmir, the remains of the largest ancient synagogue in existence date to the 3rd century AD. Its frescoes and mosaics suggest a large, well-established and successful Jewish community in Sardis.
Various minor tribes got settled and developed sophisticated life styles on the shores of Euphrates and Tigris that both rise in Eastern regions of Asia Minor where Mount Ararat became the scene of landing of Noah's Ark after the Great Flood. According to the legend of the great flood, Noah's Ark ran aground at Mount Agri (Ararat). When the floodwaters receded, Noah and his family descended from the mountain to the fertile Igdir Plain and repopulated the world.
Jewish Patriarchs Abraham and Job also made their mark in eastern Turkey. Sanli Urfa in South Eastern Turkey is known as the city of Prophets. A cave there is said to be the birthplace of the prophet Abraham. It has become a place of pilgrimage and is now surrounded by the Halil Rahman Mosque.
Jews have enjoyed tolerance and peace in Turkey for centuries. After the Jewish communities in Spain and Portugal were exiled in 1492 during the Inquisition, Sultan Beyazit II welcomed them to the Ottoman Empire. As a result, many Jewish communities still thrive in modern Turkey.
Istanbul is of particular significance to Jewish and Christian visitors. In the city's old Jewish Quarter is the 19th century Neve Shalom Synagogue, the Zulfaris Jewish Museum and nearby, the 15th century Ahrida Synagogue. The first Jewish printing press began operating in Istanbul in 1493 and Jewish literature and music flourished during this period.
The legacies of the Hittites, Greeks, Romans, Christian apostles, Byzantines, Ottoman Turks and the other civilizations that have called this land ''home'' have made Turkey into a vast outdoor museum full of beautiful, intriguing sites.
Today territories of Republic of Turkey resting on the Asia continent are determining the boundaries of Asia Minor and it can be so surprising for someone who may not have done any research about Asia Minor to comprehend how much of both historical and Biblical value that it holds. In most of the guidebooks Asia Minor is defined as "melting pot of the civilizations" which is a true statement to make when you think that mankind started living on this portion of land as early as 7th millennia BC.