By Ben Padley

While Turkey is perhaps best known to British holidaymakers for its budget beach resorts, it offers rich pickings for history buffs.

As the setting for some of the key events in the history of Christianity, it contains some of the religion’s most holy shrines. And many can be visited by following in the footsteps of St Paul, who spread the word of Jesus to the Jewish diaspora during four journeys between 46 and 64 AD before he was captured and executed by the Romans.

Without him, Christianity might have been wiped out when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70.

Visitors can retrace St Paul’s footsteps on routes devised by Kate Clow, an English woman who went to Turkey in 1989 to work on computer sales in Istanbul. St Paul’s Trail, over 300 miles long, goes from Perge, east of Antalya, to Yalvac, Insparta, north-east of Lake Egirdir.

A second branch from Aspendos, east of Antalya, joins the main route at the ancient Roman site of Adada.

My own eight-day, 1,500-mile journey began in Istanbul, a vast city of 12 million people.

Istanbul has some spectacular sights and some of the most famous are located within easy walking distance of each other in Sultanahmet.

The Hagia Sophia, which is dominated by a huge dome, is one of the finest surviving examples of Byzantine architecture.

Originally a Christian church, it was converted into a mosque in 1453 under the orders of Mehmet the Conqueror when the Ottoman Turks conquered the city. Ataturk, the father of modern Turkey, turned it into a museum.

The Topkapi Palace displays extravagant relics of centuries of history, excess and war in its massive grounds, which are full of fascinating architecture and artefacts.

Later we visited the Blue Mosque and then the Basilica Cistern, which is lined with 363 columns and medusa heads - built to store water for the Great Palace of Byzantium. It was rediscovered in the 16th century when an archaeologist discovered the city’s residents were fishing through holes in the floors of their homes.

Leaving Istanbul, we flew to Izmir and then went by road to the ancient city of Ephesus where St Paul spread the word of Jesus in the synagogues and reportedly performed a number of miracles.

This spectacular ruined city was transformed by the Romans into the capital of their Province of Asia.

Close to Ephesus lies The House of the Virgin Mary, where Jesus’s mother Mary is said to have lived and died.

The small brick house, which is run by Franciscan nuns, is now a busy pilgrimage site for Christians and mass is held there every Sunday.

As we left the Aegean we travelled to the ruined city of Aphrodisias, dedicated to Aphrodite, goddess of love, and then Hierapolis, a popular spa.

Many visitors to Hierapolis come to swim in its mineral-rich pools and view the startling white terraces of Pamukkale. It also contains a huge necropolis, the largest in Anatolia, with more than 1,200 tombs from the Roman, Hellenistic and early Christian periods.

From there we took a 500-mile road journey to Cappadocia via Isparta, Yalvac and Konya, through a vast landscape of lakes and mountains.

A visit to the subterranean city of Kaymakli reminds visitors that Christians were once so afraid of persecution that they lived underground for years at a time.

The city, which was arranged over eight floors, had living quarters, kitchens, a church, ventilation, and water and sewage systems. A prison occupied the lowest floor.

Some of the passageways are incredibly tight so stay away if you are very tall, frail or claustrophobic.

My trip ended with visits to Mersin and Tarsus, St Paul’s native town, which is now a manufacturing city with a population of 160,000.

A ruined Roman road nearby, which is said to have been walked upon by St Paul, still bears marks made by chariots. Astonishingly, it was only discovered when the site was levelled to make way for a multi-storey car park.

The ruins of St Paul’s house have a working well next to it, which is a pilgrimage site for Christians. I refreshed myself in the midday sun by drinking from the well and washing my face with its apparently holy water.

It’s easy to feel blessed by such a journey.

Info

Ben Padley was a guest of the Turkish Tourist Board for his journey on St Paul’s Trail and flew with Turkish Airlines from Heathrow to Istanbul. Ring Turkish Airlines on 0844 800 6666.

Operators providing packages to this part of Turkey include IAH, which has St Paul’s Trail tours in May and September from a land-only price of £425. Packages start around £730, including flights from London and Manchester.

www.iah-holidays.com

www.gototurkey.co.uk