7 Days Seven Churches of Revelation & The Council of Nicea (Tailor Made)

Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-7) - the church that had forsaken its first love (2:4).

Today we will discover the most popular site of the Seven Churches; Ephesus.
We will start the day with a visit to the Shrine of Virgin Mary : the house whe-re the Virgin Mary lived is today the chapel open also to Muslim pilgrims for whom Mother Mary is also a saint.
Ephesus' religious importance was firstly due to the worship to Artemis who was later on replaced by the worship to Virgin Mary; then to the preaches of Saint Paul to the Jewish community.
As one of the Seven Churches of Revelation, Ephesus was also a venue for an ecumenical council : in 431 (anathemization of the Nestorian heresy) in the Church of Saint Mary (on the right of the main entrance), constructed between the IInd and IVth A.D., originally a Roman warehouse.
The visit of Ephesus can be prolounged with a classical tour of the site. The church of Saint John (entrance through the Gate of Persecution) is traditionally know as the burial place of Saint John the Evangelist who died here around 100 A.D. Colonnades and walls have been re-erected just to give an idea of the magnificence of the building at its origins.
At the end of the tour, transfer to Izmir for overnight.
Overnight Izmir

Smyrna (Revelation 2:8-11) - the church that would suffer persecution (2:10).
Pergamum (Revelation 2:12-17) - the church that needed to repent (2:16).
Thyatira (Revelation 2:18-29) - the church that had a false prophetess (2:20).

Unfortunately of the “original” Smyrna nothing is left. Yet you may wish to visit the Church of Saint Polycarpus, the first Christian Martyre. Then departure for Pergamon : In the subject of our tour, a visit to the Red Basilica, a redbrick edifice below the acropolis, originally a temple to Serapis converted into a basilica by the Byzantine. A visit to the Acropolis (theater and altar of Zeus) as well as to the Esculapeion (medical center and temple dedicated to the god of medicines) are surely recommended. On the way to Salihli, a detour for a short visit to Thyateira (not much to be seen) is possible. 
Overnight in Salihli 

Sardis (Revelation 3:1-6) - the church that had fallen asleep (3:2). Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7-13) - the church that had endured patiently (3:10).
Today we will pay a visit to Philadelphia (unfortunately very poor in christian remainings) and proceed to Sardis. Though Sardis does not owe any christian remainings except for a small brick Byzantine church, a visit to the synagogue, gymnasium and bath, the marble court is worth being paid.
We then take the way to Pamukkale for overnight.

Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22) - the church with the lukewarm faith (3:16).
In the morning, we will concentrate on the newly excavated site of Laodikea : you will see amongst others a Baptist, sacred road, 2 theaters..
In the afternoon, we will return to Pamukkale to visit Hierapolis (Martyrium of Saint Philips, theater, necropolis…) and the travertines of Pamukkale.
In the evening transfer to the airport of Denizli for flight to Istanbul (overnight)

This day we will go on tour to Nicaea whe-re two ecumenical councils have been held : The First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia (present-day Iznik in Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325. This first ecumenical council was the first effort to attain consensus in the church through an assembly representing all of Christendom. Its main accomplishments were settlement of the Trinitarian issue of the nature of The Son and his relationship to God the Father, the construction of the first part of the Creed of Nicaea, settling the calculation of the date of Easter, and promulgation of early canon law.
The Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the seventh of the first seven ecumenical councils by both West and East. Orthodox, Catholics, and Old Catholics unanimously recognize it; Protestant opinions on it are varied. It met in AD 787 in Nicaea to restore the use and veneration of icons (or, holy images), which had been suppressed by imperial edict inside the Byzantine Empire during the reign of Leo III (717–741). His son, Constantine V (741–775), had held the Council of Hieria to make the suppression official. In the history of Christianity, the First seven Ecumenical Councils, from the First Council of Nicaea (325) to the Second Council of Nicaea (787), represent an attempt to reach an orthodox consensus and to unify Christendom.
All of the original Seven Ecumenical Councils as recognized in wholein part were called by an emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire and all were held in the Eastern Roman Empire, a recognition denied to other councils similarly called by an Eastern Roman emperor and held in his territory, in particular the Second Council of Ephesus (449) and the Council of Hieria (754), which saw themselves as ecumenical.
First Council of Nicaea (325) repudiated Aryanism, declared that Christ is homoousios with the Father (of the same substance as the Father), and adopted the original Nicene Creed, fixed Easter date; recognized primacy of the sees of Rome, Alexandria and Antioch and granted the See of Jerusalem a position of honor.
First Council of Constantinople (381) repudiated Aryanism and Macedonianism, declared that Christ is born of the Father before all time, revised the Nicene Creed in regard to the Holy Spirit. Council of Ephesus (431) repudiated Nestorianism, proclaimed the Virgin Mary as the Theotokos (Birth-giver to God, God-bearer, Mother of God), repudiated Pelagianism, and reaffirmed the Nicene Creed. This and all the following councils in this list are not recognized by the Assyrian Church of the East. Second Council of Ephesus (449) declared Eutyches orthodox and attacked his opponents. Though originally convened as an ecumenical council, this council is not recognized as ecumenical and denounced as a Robber Council by the Chalcedonians (Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Protestants).
Council of Chalcedon (451) repudiated the Eutychian doctrine of monophysitism, adopted the Chalcedonian Creed, which described the hypostatic uni-on of the two natures of Christ, human and divine. Reinstated those deposed in 449 and deposed Dioscorus of Alexandria. Elevation of the bishoprics of Constantinople and Jerusalem to the status of patriarchates. This is also the last council explicitly recognized by the Anglican Communi-on. This and all the following councils in this list are rejected by Oriental Orthodox churches.
Second Council of Constantinople (553) repudiated the Three Chapters as Nestorian, condemned Origen of Alexandria, decreed the Theopaschite Formula.
Third Council of Constantinople (680–681) repudiated Monothelitism and Monoenergism.
Quinisext Council, also called Council in Trullo (692) addressed matters of discipline (in amendment to the 5th and 6th councils). The Ecumenical status of this council was repudiated by the western churches.
Second Council of Nicaea (787) restored the veneration of icons (condemned at the Council of Hieria, 754) and repudiated iconoclasm.
Overnight in Istanbul

Transfer to the Airport for home flight.