Grace Episcopal Church Youth Pilgrimage to Turkey

A “Taste of the Second Holy Land”

Led by:

The Rev. Steve Wilson

May 28 - June 4, 2007

DAY 1, Monday, May 28, 2007 - Depart the United States for our trans-Atlantic flight.  Your flight will depart from Springfield and connect in Chicago to your flight bound for Munich, Germany.  Dinner and Snack on board the aircraft. DS

DAY 2, Tuesday, May 29, 2007 – You will depart Munich and arrive in Izmir (Ancient Biblical Smyrna).  You will meet your guide and driver after obtaining your luggage and a visa for Turkey. Visas are $20 and must be paid in cash upon arrival.  Please have $20 in US currency available.  Then, eager to begin, we board our luxury motor coach and proceed to a point high above the city offering us a grand panoramic overview of Smyrna.  We will visit the “Velvet Castle”, the walls of which may have been partly constructed by the soldiers/builders of Alexander the Great.  We will deliver clothing and toys to a Turkish orphanage before we proceed to our hotel in Kusadasi for overnight and a welcome dinner.  Overnight in Kusadasi. BLD

DAY 3, Wednesday May 30, 2997 - After a buffet breakfast we will begin a full day of exploration.  We begin with Ephesus where we will explore “The Most Excavated City in the World”.  Dedicated to the virgin goddess of the chase, the city's Temple of Diana (Artemis) is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  We will visit the remains of the magnificent library and sit in the amphitheater where Paul preached to the Ephesians.  We will continue to the Double Church of St. Mary (Site of the Ecumenical Council).  We will have dinner and overnight in Kusadasi. BD

DAY 4, Thursday May 31, 2007 - We will begin our day with a visit to what many people believe is “The Last Abode of the Virgin Mary”.  We will continue to the Basilica of St. John the Beloved Disciple.  We will visit the Seljuk Museum of Archaeology, which contains exquisite pieces from the nearby excavations.  We will spend the remainder of the day at the beach enjoying the glorious clear waters of the Mediterranean Sea.  Dinner and overnight at Kusadasi. BD

DAY 5, Friday, June 1, 2007 - We drive inland through the Turkish countryside to Pamukkale which first appears as a towering white chalky cliff rising from the plains.  Mineral-rich volcanic spring water cascades over basins and natural terraces, crystallizing into white curtains of solidified water.  We will visit the Hierapolis founded by the King of Pergamum, where, among the sites, you will see the huge necropolis with over a 1,000 sarcophagi.  We will have time to enjoy the thermal waters and have dinner and overnight in Pamukkale. BD

DAY 6, Saturday, June 2, 2007. - We will spend the morning enjoying the thermal waters at Pamukkale and then we will return to our hotel in Kusadasi for dinner and overnight. BD

DAY 7, Sunday June 2, 2007 - An early wake-up call and then we drive to Izmir where we will board our flight to Istanbul.  Upon arrival, we will meet our guide and driver and start our exploration of this exotic city.  We will visit the world famous Hagia Sophia, (means the church of the Holy Wisdom) thought by many to be the best example of Byzantine architecture in the world.  The dome of the church was the largest in the world until St. Peter’s was built in Rome.  The church has been through many changes.  It was once the largest and most important Christian church for over 900 years.  Then, it was converted into a mosque and finally into the museum that you will see today.  We will visit Yerebatan Saray (Sunken Palace) also known as the Basilica Cistern, the underground waterway built at the order of Emperor Constatine in the 3rd century.  We will visit the Church of Chora in Saviour where we will see the mosaics and frescoes.  We will end our day with a visit to the world famous Grand Bazaar before enjoying our “farewell to Turkey” dinner and overnight in Istanbul. BD

DAY 8, Monday, June 4, 2007 – We board our flight that will take us from Istanbul to Frankfurt and Chicago before our final arrival back into Springfield this afternoon.  We will have time to reflect on the people we have met and the sites we have seen in the beautiful land of Turkey.  We will remember walking in the footsteps of Paul at Ephesus, seeing Mary’s last home, visiting St. John’s Basilica, seeing the Hagia Sophia, once the most magnificent church in Christendom, and much more.  We especially remember that we have enjoyed a culture that is different but, in so many ways, so very similar to our own. B

Price: $1,799.00.  Price is based on double occupancy without airline taxes and fuel surcharges.  You must pay for your own Turkish visa upon arrival in Turkey.  The cost is $20.00 in US currency.  Air from Springfield, MO.  Air transportation available from other cities.  Single supplement costs available on request.

An application for travel insurance will be included with the receipt for your deposit.  We strongly recommend that you seriously consider this coverage.

Meals: B Breakfast, L Lunch, D Dinner, S Snack

The itinerary is subject to change due to local conditions or at the discretion and direction of the leader or guide.