• Turkey's ancient Hagia Sophia is a must-see.hagia sophia in istanbul, turkey image by ?¡ãbrahim KARKINO??LU from Fotolia.com
  
  Many travel agencies offer tours of Turkey for small groups or will customize tours for small groups if asked. Once known as Byzantium and later as Constantinople, after Constantine the Great, Turkey's largest city, Istanbul, holds much Christian history and is the site of the Hagia Sophia. The magnificent, domed church built during the rule of Byzantine Emperor Justinian has served alternately as a cathedral, a mosque and a museum. Other Turkish cities have a rich Christian heritage as well, and quite a few tours feature stops at locations where the Apostle Paul preached.
  
  

Churches of Revelations

• Formed in 1990, New York-based Journeys Unlimited states as its mission "serving the church through travel." As of 2010, the company offered a seven-day, seven churches of Asia Minor tour that ran from March through November. Travelers are greeted in Istanbul by a Journeys Unlimited representative and transported to their hotel. Participants spend a day savoring some of Istanbul's earliest Christian churches, including the Church of St. Saviour at Chora and the Hagia Sophia. Tour participants then visit Troy and Canakkale before driving to Izmir, where they visit sites the Apostle Paul is believed to have visited. Travelers also tour Sardes, Laodicea, Pammukkale, Ephesus, Hierapolis and Miletus before returning to Izmir and flying back to New York the next day. Round-trip airfare from New York, airport-hotel transportation, hotel accommodations, daily breakfast and dinner, sightseeing, baggage handling and motor coach tours are included in the cost of the tour. Tour group sizes range from 15 to 40; tours can be customized to accommodate those wishing to book small groups.
  
  

Greek Orthodox Expedition

• Based in Turkey, Mediterra Holidays offers a full-day tour of Istanbul that explores its early Christian heritage. The tour begins with a visit to the patriarchate at Fener, historically recognized as the Greek Ecumenical patriarch of the region. From there, participants head to the Church of Panagia of Blachernae, renowned for its fountain of holy water and its sacred bath. Travelers then visit the Church of St. Saviour at Chora before moving on to the Pantocrator, a Byzantine monastic complex, the Church of St. Mary Pammacaristos, the Zoodochos Pege at Balikli, the St. Sergius and Bacchus building, the Hagia Eirene and its next-door neighbor, the Hagia Sophia. Included in the tour price is transportation to and from hotels, tour guides, entrance fees, transportation from site to site, lunch at a local restaurant and local taxes. Tours can be customized for small groups.
  
  

Paul's Path

• Based in Pennsylvania, Pilgrim Tours provides a 12-day tour of Turkey that traces the Apostle Paul's movements there during biblical times. Participants begin their tour in Cappadocia, with forays into the underground cities early Christians built to avoid Roman persecution and the natural rock citadel of Uchisar. Group members then move westward to Lystra, where Paul preached, and to Konya, where a museum houses the remains of Rumi, the founder of an Islamic mystic sect known for its whirling dervishes. Other highlights include trips to the coastal mountains, Antalya, Perge and a jaunt along the coastline to Demre to see the Church of St. Nicholas. After winding through Hierapolis, Laodicea, Philadelphia, Sardis, Thyatira, Smyrna and Ephesus, the tour concludes in Pergamum. Tour prices include lodging, daily breakfast and dinner, transportation and sightseeing. Discounts are available for pastors, Christian educators and custom groups of all sizes.