JW Bible Tours in Turkey: Ephesus, the Seven Congregations, Paul

A Bible-history tour of Turkey takes 3 to 7 days for Ephesus and the seven congregations named in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, and about 10 days if you add the apostle Paul's route inland and along the south coast. Our routes start from $1,640 per person for the 3-day Seven Churches tour, and each can be run privately around your own reading plan.

This page is written for Jehovah's Witnesses and other Bible readers who want to see the places named in the Scriptures, with the focus on history and archaeology. Get Turkey Tours is a licensed tour operator. We are not affiliated with, and this page is not endorsed by, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Watch Tower organisation or any other religious body.

What a Bible-history tour of Turkey covers

Many of the places named in the Christian Greek Scriptures lie in modern Türkiye. The Roman province of Asia, where Paul preached and where the seven congregations of Revelation met, covered much of today's western Türkiye. Galatia, Cappadocia, Pontus and Bithynia, the regions Peter wrote to in 1 Peter 1:1, are also inside Türkiye.

A tour usually covers three groups of sites:

1. Ephesus, where Paul stayed longer than anywhere else on his journeys.
2. The seven congregations of Revelation: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea, all within reach of Izmir.
3. Paul's journeys through Pamphylia, Pisidia, Lycaonia and the Aegean coast, from Perga to Troas.

Some translations call the seven "churches" and others "congregations"; both render the same Greek word, ekklēsia. We use "congregations" on this page. For a wider overview that also covers later church history, see our page on Christian tours of Turkey.

Ephesus in Acts and the letters

Ephesus is the centre of any Bible-history route. The account in Acts gives a clear sequence that a guide can follow on the ground:

• Acts 18:19-21: Paul's first short visit, with Priscilla and Aquila, on his way back from Corinth.
• Acts 19:8-10: three months speaking in the synagogue, then two years in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. In Acts 20:31 Paul tells the Ephesian elders he spent three years with them.
• Acts 19:23-41: the riot led by Demetrius the silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis. The crowd rushed into the theatre and shouted "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians" for about two hours. The theatre still stands, and you can sit in it.
• 1 Corinthians 16:8-9: Paul writes that he will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost.
• 1 Timothy 1:3: Timothy is asked to remain in Ephesus.
• Revelation 2:1-7: the first of the seven messages, to the congregation that had "left the love you had at first."

On site you walk the marble street from the upper agora down past the Library of Celsus to the theatre. Many groups read Acts 19 in the theatre itself. The Terrace Houses, houses of wealthy families from the Roman period, show how people in a city like this lived. Near Selçuk, a single re-erected column marks the site of the Temple of Artemis, the temple that made Demetrius's trade so profitable, and the Ephesus Archaeological Museum in Selçuk holds statues of the Ephesian Artemis.

The seven congregations of Revelation 2 and 3

The seven cities lie in a rough loop in western Türkiye, in the order the messages were written, which follows a natural road route from the coast inland.

Notes a guide will add on site:

• Pergamum: the "throne of Satan" in Revelation 2:13 is often linked by historians to the city's altar of Zeus or to its temples of emperor worship. The altar itself was taken to Berlin in the 19th century; only its foundation remains on the acropolis.
• Thyatira: Lydia, the seller of purple whom Paul met in Philippi, came from this city (Acts 16:14).
• Laodicea: the "lukewarm" water of Revelation 3:16 is often explained by the city's water supply, set against the hot springs of Hierapolis and the cold water of Colossae nearby. It is one interpretation, and a guide should present it as one.

Laodicea is close to Pamukkale and Hierapolis, which Paul mentions alongside Laodicea in Colossians 4:13. Our page on the Seven Churches of Revelation tour explains the driving order and overnight stops in more detail.

Paul's route through Asia Minor

Paul was born in Tarsus, in today's southern Türkiye (Acts 21:39), and his first two missionary journeys crossed the country. The places below can be visited, though some are far apart and a few have little left above ground.

First journey (Acts 13 and 14)

• Perga (Acts 13:13; 14:25): where John Mark left the group. The ancient city near Antalya has a long colonnaded street and a stadium.
• Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:14-50): near Yalvaç, where Paul's long speech in the synagogue is recorded.
• Iconium (Acts 14:1-6): today's Konya.
• Lystra and Derbe (Acts 14:6-21): mounds in the countryside south of Konya. Lystra was Timothy's home town (Acts 16:1-2).
• Attalia (Acts 14:25-26): today's Antalya, where Paul sailed back to Antioch.

Second and third journeys, and the voyage to Rome

• Troas (Acts 16:8-11; 20:6-12): where Paul saw the vision of the man from Macedonia, and where Eutychus fell from the window. The ruins of Alexandria Troas lie on the Aegean coast south of Çanakkale.
• Assos (Acts 20:13-14): Paul walked here from Troas while the others sailed.
• Miletus (Acts 20:15-38): where Paul called the Ephesian elders and said goodbye to them. The theatre and harbour area survive.
• Patara (Acts 21:1-2): where Paul changed ships on the way to Jerusalem.
• Myra (Acts 27:5-6): where the prisoner Paul was moved to an Alexandrian grain ship bound for Italy. The site is at Demre; see Myra.

Antioch in Syria, where "the disciples were by divine providence first called Christians" (Acts 11:26), is today's Antakya. The city is still rebuilding after the February 2023 earthquakes, so check conditions before including it.

Choosing a route length

Paul's inland route (Pisidian Antioch, Konya, Lystra) and the south coast (Perga, Myra) are best added as extra days on a private itinerary. From Antalya, day trips such as the Demre, Myra and Kekova tour from $140 per person, or the Perge, Aspendos and Side tour from $90 per person, cover two of Paul's stops.

A tour built around your reading plan

On a private tour, the guide works to your plan rather than a standard script. Points that groups of Bible readers often ask for, and which we can arrange:

• Focus on the first century. Many sites also have later Byzantine churches, relics or traditions, such as the House of the Virgin Mary near Ephesus. If your group prefers to concentrate on what the Bible record and archaeology show, tell us and the route can skip those stops.
• Time to read on site. Allow 15 to 20 minutes at each key place to read the relevant passage together. The theatre at Ephesus, the harbour at Miletus and the colonnaded street at Laodicea all work well for this.
• A guide who keeps to the facts. Licensed guides in Türkiye are trained in the history and archaeology of the sites. Ask them to separate what the excavations show from what later tradition claims.
• No religious services. We are a tour operator; we do not organise worship or religious meetings. Your group decides its own programme.

Practical notes for the route

• Walking: Ephesus is downhill if you enter at the upper gate, which most private tours do. Laodicea, Hierapolis and the Pergamum acropolis involve uneven stone paths. Wear shoes with grip.
• Heat: July and August are very hot inland at Laodicea, Sardis and Philadelphia. April to early June and September to October are the most comfortable months.
• Where to stay: Selçuk or Kuşadası for Ephesus, İzmir or Bergama for Pergamum, and Pamukkale village or Denizli for Laodicea. Our guide to Kuşadası hotels near Ephesus helps with the first stop.
• Cruise passengers: if you arrive by ship at Kuşadası, a private Ephesus tour from $300 per person covers the main site in a day. The Laodicea tour from Pamukkale, from $414 per person, adds the last of the seven for overland travellers.

Tours that cover this

• Seven Churches tour: 3 days with full board: all seven congregations, from $1,640 per person.
• Seven Churches of Revelation tour: 5 days, private: the seven at a reading pace, from $1,800 per person.
• Seven Churches of Revelation tour: 7 days: adds Istanbul, from $2,050 per person.
• Seven Churches, Cappadocia and Istanbul: 10 days: the widest route, from $2,750 per person.

More options are listed under religious tours.

Frequently Asked Questions