"Throughout the centuries, Turkey came under rulers who for the most part allowed the practice of Christianity, which is why we find many churches standing beside mosques even today. We never expected Turkey to have so many Catholic churches and sites associated with the early Christians, that St. Paul was born in Tarsus, that the Virgin Mary is said to have lived the rest of her life in Meryem Ana after the Crucifixion, that St. John the Evangelist wrote his Bible and was buried at Ephesus, or that it was in this country that St. Paul decided to concentrate his work of Christianization.
We visited Antioch where St. Paul and Barnabas went out on their first missionary journey. It is said that at St. Peter’s Grotto up on a natural hallow on the slopes of Mount Stauris, we were first called Christians."
"Istanbul where the trip began and ended included visits to the old city on the European side of the city with the Byzantine Hippodrome, the Blue Mosque and the 6th century Hagia Sophia Church, the underground cistern, the Topkapi Palace with the biggest diamond in the world made famous by the James Bond movie "Topkapi". And who can forget the Grand Bazaar with its 4,000 shops and goodies so overwhelmingly one could hardly decide what to buy. We also went out on our own to cross over to the Asian side by ferry."
Manila Bulletin Online
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