To mcmtanyel: Christendom in Asia Minor.

[maloutim]

Thanks for your visit !

I didn't know the importance of Anatolia in Christendom. But our guide Suat Gümusdag was a scholar, and although he was a Muslim himself, he put us to shame as he knew a lot more than we did about Christianity !

He reminded us that Mary followed John to Ephesus.

He told us that Tarsus was the birthplace of St Paul.

Antioch or Antakya near Syria was the place where the followers of Jesus-Christ were called "Christians" for the first time.
It was also the birthplace of St Luke the evangelist.

Antiochea of Phrygia in the modern province of Antalya, was one of the first cities of Anatolia to adopt Christianism.
The Church of Antiochea was founded by Peter and Paul, according to tradition.
However, it knew several schysms, and different branches of Orthodox and Christian Oriental Churches derive from it.

There was also St Philip the Evangelist, not to be confused with the apostle. He was chosen to help the original apostles and after preaching in Palestine, he ended up settling in Tralles.

The list is even longer :
The famous St Nicholas was born in Patara in the 4th century.
He later became the Bishop of Lycia and died in Myra near the city of Demre.

It seems that Anatolia was a place of choice for early christianisation.