St. Paul was born in Tarsus, Cilicia, a region in southeast Türkiye, around AD 5. On his several missionary journeys, St. Paul visited many parts of Asia Minor and spread the word of Christ throughout the region. Reading Paul's epistles and the Acts of the Apostles we learn about his life and journeys. Paul traveled over 10,000 miles by sea and on foot on three missionary journeys with his companions. He set off on his fourth missionary journey from Jerusalem to Rome alone, and died in the capital city.
The Seljuk and Ottoman wooden mosques of Anatolia are rare examples of religious architecture with nailess use of wood and impressive handcrafted decoration. Wooden roofed and wooden columned mosques concentrate in Konya, Ankara and Kastamonu from Anatolian Seljuks period and Beyliks period. Building tradition of wooden roofed and wooden columned mosques continued until the beginning of 20th century in the remote regions from the center in the Ottoman period. Wooden Roofed and Wooden Columned Mosques in Anatolia are included in the the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Earth Mother & Mother Goddesses
Türkiye is the home of the earliest human farming settlements in the world. Early farmers worshipped a mother god, who they symbolically saw as a personified Earth giving them food. The earliest shrine of this Earth Mother is at Çatalhöyük. She was the major divinity for over 6,000 years and was worshipped under different names. Her earliest name is Kubaba. Sometimes she is Kybele, sometimes she appears in the form of Greek goddesses such as Artemis, Aphrodite, or Demeter. One of her most recent great shrines was the Temple of Artemis (Artemisium) in Ephesos, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
The Jewish people have deep historical ties to Anatolia. The remains of Jewish settlements in ancient cities along the Aegean, Mediterranean, and Black Sea coasts, such as Sardes date back to as early as the 4th century BC. A bronze column found in Ankara shows the rights accorded to the Jews by Emperor Augustus. Throughout its reign, the Ottoman Empire became a welcoming place for Jews. In the early 14th century, a number of Jews expelled from Western Europe settled in Ottoman territory.
The first seven ecumenical councils were all held in Asia Minor and specifically in today’s cities of İznik, Bursa, İstanbul, and Selcuk, İzmir. The seven councils, held between AD 325 and 787, are known primarily for their consideration of doctrinal conflicts. They also ruled on practical matters which were set down in canons.
The multicultural heritage of Türkiye dates back thousands of years and bears witness to the continuous settlement of civilizations and people of different faiths. Local cultures merged through commercial routes and language, literature, music, architecture, and almost every aspect of culture.
Due to their geographical locations at the crossroads of ancient trade routes, such as the Silk Road, the cities of Sivas and Erzurum boast multilayered cultural heritages. These cities thrived as religious centers as a result of their strategically important locations between Asia and Anatolia.
When Turks arrived to Anatolia in the 11th century, philosophers like Mevlana Cellaledin-i Rumi (Jalal ad-Din Rumi), Hacı Bektaş Veli, and their disciples, dexteriously combined elements of Islam and the traditional Turkish culture. The soil of Anatolia, where they also had access to ancient sources and beliefs, was the perfect place for these ideas to integrate.
The tradition of the Seven Sleepers exists in both Christian and Muslim (ashab al kahf, “people of the cave”) tradition.
The Islamic version of the legend of the Young Sleepers is well known in the Muslim world as it is quoted in the Qur’an in Surah 18:9-26. In this version, the exact number of sleepers is not given and is known only to Allah.