Following in the footsteps of sultans and saints, we tread the carpeted floors of the Blue Mosque, marvel before the ancient Egyptian obelisk in the center of Istanbul’s Hippodrome, walk under the gate at Topkapi Palace through which dignitaries passed on their way to audiences with the Sultan and through the passages of Cappadocia’s subterranean cities, built by Byzantine Christians as shelter from the Abbasid Caliphate. Under the arching canopy of Hagia Sophia’s enormous dome, or in the labyrinthine passages of the Grand Bazaar, we discover the rich multiplicity of peoples who came before us.

In Cappadocia, visitors feel as if they have stepped back in time to witness history unfold. Cappadocia’s lunar landscape of soft volcanic tuff has been shaped by nature into marvellous fairy chimneys and by man into beautiful homes, churches and even entire cities carved into the living rock. In this magical landscape, Byzantine Christians sheltered themselves from the armies of the Abbasid Caliphate and built the frescoed churches and monasteries that enchant visitors today. Set against the backdrop of the towering volcanic peaks which created the fairy chimneys are scores of quaint villages with beautiful houses built by the Greek inhabitants of Anatolia.

The Roman city of Ephesus is renowned for its Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Its library and other buildings, its colonnaded streets make it one of the Mediterranean’s most dazzling archaeological sites. Pergamum (known as Bergama) was an important city in Anatolia before Christianity, it is believed that a huge Roman temple, built by the secret River of Selinus, turned into a church after the spread of Christianity. This church; that was probably presented to Ioannes in old times, can be seen in the centre of the municipality today. Pergamum was home to the Aesclepion, the ancient center of medical learning and parchment was invented upon its acropolis. It boasted the contents of a fabulous library, given by Anthony to Cleopatra and later lost in a fire at Alexandria. The Temple of Zeus was another ancient marvel although much of it is now in a specially constructed Museum in Berlin. The Aesclepion was the centre of healing and one of its great doctors was Gelen.

We also visit the ancient city of Aphrodisias, whose acres of marble testify to what was once the most cultured Asian city in the Roman Empire.

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