By Panayiotis Kaparis*

For Greeks and Cypriots, raised within the traditions of Orthodox Christianity and with a shared historical narrative deeply etched into their upbringing, a journey into Asia Minor is never just tourism. It is an encounter with places that carry the weight of memory, faith, and legend, places that, like the sacred shrines of other cultures, have become a kind of Mecca of the Greek soul. Smyrna, Cappadocia, Ephesus: names that echo through songs, prayers, and family stories, bridging centuries. To walk these lands today is to sense the layered presence of civilizations, sacred to different peoples across time, yet still resonant for those who seek traces of Hellenism. Against this backdrop, a large group of Cypriot travelers, led by Byzantinist Dr. Christodoulos Hadjichristodoulou, recently embarked on a 3,500-kilometer road pilgrimage. Theologians, archaeologists, educators, students, and lovers of tradition visited the landmarks of Smyrna, Hierapolis, Iconium, and Cappadocia, an odyssey through the sacred landscapes of Asia Minor, where Asia and Europe meet.

“Ah, aman aman…”

As the bus rolled out, the music of Anatolia filled the air, those plaintive songs of Asia Minor, a cry carrying the pain and grief of lost homelands. Even today, Greek folk artists keep that sorrow alive in melody, weaving memory into sound. “To these haunting strains we began our pilgrimage,” said Dr. Hadjichristodoulou, welcoming fellow travellers to his initiative across Asia Minor, from Smyrna to Cappadocia, 3,500 kilometers by bus.

“The spirit of our journey,” he explained, “is to acquaint ourselves with the places where Hellenism flourished from antiquity to the present, to honor monuments of Asia Minor that are directly linked with Cyprus. The ties are deep: through the refugees of the Asia Minor Catastrophe, but also much earlier, through Byzantine tradition. The connection of Cyprus with Ephesus, for example, is decisive, since it was at the Church of Mary in Ephesus that the autocephaly of the Church of Cyprus was granted.

Izmir (Smyrna)

The pilgrimage begins in Izmir, the ancient, former Greek Smyrna, now a Turkish city of four million located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. The heat and humidity are oppressive, yet a stroll along the seafront, famous for its sunset, can not be delayed. It’s so alive: in countless cafés and restaurants, friends lingered over meze and raki, while others spread rugs on the grass of the nearby parks, sharing simple meals they had brought from home.

Across the bay lay Bornova, once known to the Byzantines as Prinovalis. In the 19th century it was a prosperous suburb of Smyrna, home to wealthy Greek families as well as many British residents. Renowned for beautiful young women and its fragrant flowers, Bornova took its name from the Turkish words burun (cape or point) and ova (plain).

The next morning we visit the Greek Consulate and the Governor’s Palace, where Archbishop Chrysostomos of Smyrna was martyred on 27 August 1922. He refused to abandon his flock and was handed over to the mob, along with two community leaders, Georgios Klimanoglou and Nikolaos Tsourouktzoglou. They were murdered after horrific torture.

Next is a stop at the old Greek houses and the church of Saint Voukolos, bishop of Smyrna, one of the only two churches that escaped destruction (the other being Saint John’s). Restored by the municipality, it is now used for cultural events and occasionally for services. Inside, remnants of frescoes survive, their angels’ and saints’ faces defaced. The Greek houses are in poor condition, some repurposed as small workshops.

The day we visited the church of Saint Photini happened to be the feast of Saint Paraskevi, and so we found ourselves drawn into the Divine Liturgy held in her honor. In this small chapel, given to the Orthodox by Protestants, the service unfolded in two tongues, the priest chanting in Greek, the cantor responding in Turkish. Among the few faithful was a veiled woman, perhaps Russian. When our Cypriot group entered, the tiny chapel filled completely, its simplicity and humility glowing with a hidden radiance. If ever there was a place where God was present, or where miracles might still happen, it was there…

Ephesus

Our next visit is to ancient Ephesus, the jewel of Asia Minor. The city was dedicated to the goddess Artemis and in her honor the magnificent Artemision was built, the construction lasted 120 years. This temple is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the largest structure in Ionia. It was destroyed in 356 BC.

The first Christian community in Ephesus was established in the 1st century by disciples of John the Baptist. According to tradition, Apostle Paul also visited the city in AD 55, and his Epistle to the Ephesians is a New Testament letter written during his house arrest around 61–63 CE. Among the most impressive structures are the theatre, with nearly 30,000 seats, the largest in the ancient world, the grand Library of Celsus, and many other buildings.

Within ancient Ephesus lies the now half-ruined early Christian basilica of the Virgin Mary, where the Third Ecumenical Council convened in 431. Some 210 Church priests took part, condemning Nestorius and granting autocephaly to the Church of Cyprus. We then visited today’s Selçuk, for the remains of a basilica with six domes, built by Emperor Justinian over the tomb of Saint John the Theologian. In the sanctuary of that church lies the author of the Apocalypse.

Hierapolis

Our next stop was Hierapolis of Phrygia. We passed near the Cave of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus and the burial site of Saint Mary Magdalene. Hierapolis was an ancient Greek city and is today a major UNESCO World Heritage site. The site preserves a theatre, streets, public buildings, and a large museum housing excavation finds.

On a hillside lie the dazzling white travertine terraces, a volcanic area where thermal healing waters emerge. Here, according to tradition, the Apostle Philip was martyred. The ruins of the temple and his tomb are preserved to this day.

Konya

Our next stop was Iconium, today’s Konya, a modern city. It is an open-air museum of Seljuk architecture and the seat of the Dervish order. Here stand the tekke (monastic complex) of the Persian poet and mystic Rumi (Mevlana) and the mosque of Sultan Selim I, built in 1570.

Mevlana was a universal teacher who made no distinctions of religion or border. “Come, come again, whoever you are,” is one of his most famous verses. That evening we attended what is now a touristic performance of the whirling dervishes. Their dance once aimed at the spiritual elevation of the order’s members.

Cappadocia

A rugged plateau in modern Turkey known for its soft volcanic rock, carved into caves, the “fairy chimneys,” and underground cities like Derinkuyu, which served as refuges and settlements for thousands of years. It was inhabited by civilizations from the Hittites to the Romans and early Christians used its natural and carved cave systems to escape Roman persecution. Thousands of monks, scores of saints, carved the volcanic rock to create churches and cells, and in the harsh solitude of that place sought communion with God.

Our first visit was to breathtaking Peristreamma, the Ihlara Valley, a canyon which is 15 km long and up to 150 m deep. The valley contains around 50 rock-hewn Christian churches and numerous rock-cut buildings. Its lush vegetation and flowing water provide a striking contrast to Cappadocia’s arid landscape.

Next we visited the old Greek settlement of Karvali. The church of Saint Gregory the Theologian now serves as a mosque. The Muslims preserved its iconostasis, a gift from Tsar Nicholas of Russia but repositioned it so that it aligns with Mecca. In the church courtyard, the famous holy spring still flows to this day.

From there we then headed to Malakopi, once a Greek town. In Byzantine times, and in the epic of Digenis Akritas, the castle of Malakopia was described as impregnable. Byzantine Emperor John Tzimiskes built the church of Saints Theodores in Malakopi in 970.

On the site of that earlier church, the Greeks of the Lower Quarter built around 1861 a magnificent new church, reusing the marble of the old. Other buildings included the underground church of Saints Anargyroi, known to Christians for its miraculous spring.

The road was long and tiring, yet filled with excitement, and it eventually brought us to the archaeological site of Derinkuyu, a remarkable underground city carved 85 meters deep across eight levels. The largest and best-preserved subterranean settlement in Cappadocia, its origins reach back to Hittite times.

Our next stop was to Prokopi and the rock-cut church of Saint George. We also visited the house of an Ottoman pasha who had bought Saint John the Russian as a slave. The stable where the saint lived, on the ground floor of the house, is today a place of pilgrimage, an informal chapel. It was deeply moving when the priest of our group offered prayers there for the whole world.

A Once-in-a-Lifetime Dawn

The next morning offered an optional hot-air balloon ride. Those who dared enjoyed the sunrise over Cappadocia’s lunar landscape. The flight began at Potamia, the birthplace of Saint George.

We then visited the fortresses of Uçhisar and Ortahisar; the Göreme Valley with its countless churches; the valleys of Zelve and Çavuşin, with the striking Church of the Buckle (Tokalı Kilise). Later we reached the town of Avanos, famed for its pottery.

After Cappadocia began the long journey home. Along the way we stopped at the Seljuk Sultan Han caravanserai of the 13th century in Aksaray, the largest in Asia Minor. Its exhibition of handmade carpets, some centuries old, was impressive.

We then visited ancient Laodicea, regarded as one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of recent years, as its distance from the coast spared it from looting. The city boasts three ancient theatres, Greek and Roman temples in excellent condition, churches, and many other monuments.

On the final day we visited Vourla, a suburb of Smyrna and the birthplace of Greek Nobel laureate poet Giorgos Seferis. From there, to Smyrna’s airport for Athens and Larnaca.

Byzantinist Dr. Christodoulos Hadjichristodoulou

A Vow in Stone and Spirit

The journey omes to an end and the feelings are mixed, emotional, heavy with memory, yet touched with hope, for the connection lives on only through presence, through journeys and visits such as this.

Bidding farewell, Dr. Hadjichristodoulou reflected, "we walked in the footsteps of Alexander the Great, who liberated Cyprus from Persian rule, and in the footsteps of the Apostles. For centuries, until 1922, traditions and exchanges bound Asia Minor and Cyprus, politically, commercially, religiously, socially". This journey, he said, does not truly end but "remains open, rooted in memory, in hope, and in the wish for good neighbourly relations".

The melancholy was evident, yet so too was the strength of remembrance. For him, the pilgrimage into Asia Minor’s memories was more than travel, it was a vow for life. The archaeological sites, the sacred shrines, the secular monuments all testify to the vibrant presence of Greeks and the enduring works of Hellenism. Inscriptions stand as witnesses, even when their makers vanished in darker years. And as Scripture reminds us: “If these keep silent, the stones will cry out.”

*Panayiotis Kaparis, journalist and theologian, accompanied the journey, giving voice to its historical and spiritual depth.

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