A Journey Through the Landscapes of Early Christianity

For many travelers, Türkiye evokes Istanbul’s skyline, the valleys of Cappadocia, ancient cities along the Aegean coast and the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean.

Yet beneath these familiar landscapes lies another story — one deeply connected with the origins and development of Christianity.

Much of the world described in the New Testament can still be encountered across modern Türkiye. Paul traveled these roads. Early Christian communities flourished here. The Seven Churches addressed in the Book of Revelation were all located in Anatolia. The councils of Nicaea and Constantinople helped shape fundamental Christian doctrine, while Antioch, Ephesus and Constantinople became some of the most influential centers of the early Church.

This remarkable historical landscape provides the setting for EWTN’s six-part series, The Road Less Traveled: Türkiye, hosted by Dave Stotts.

The series takes viewers beyond the pages of history and into the actual landscapes where some of Christianity’s most important stories unfolded.

From Antioch to Constantinople

The journey begins in ancient Antioch — modern Antakya — one of the most important cities of the early Christian world.

The Acts of the Apostles records that it was in Antioch that the followers of Jesus were first called Christians. The city became a major center for the expansion of Christianity and was closely associated with the missionary journeys of Paul.

From Antioch, the series moves through a remarkable geography of Christian history.

In Cappadocia, rock-cut churches, monasteries and underground settlements reveal a landscape that became closely associated with early Christian communities and later Byzantine monastic life.

Further west stands Ephesus, one of the great cities of the ancient Mediterranean. Paul spent considerable time here, and the city became one of the most significant early Christian communities in Asia Minor.

Western Türkiye is also home to all Seven Churches of Revelation: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. Their archaeological remains allow travelers today to place the opening chapters of Revelation within their real historical and geographical context.

The journey eventually reaches Myra, associated with St. Nicholas, before continuing to Nicaea — modern İznik — where the First Council of Nicaea was convened in AD 325.

And finally, Constantinople.

For more than a millennium, the city became one of the great political, intellectual and religious centers of the Christian world. Few monuments embody that legacy as powerfully as Hagia Sophia, completed under Emperor Justinian in the sixth century and still dominating Istanbul’s historic skyline.

Six Episodes, One Extraordinary Journey

The Road Less Traveled: Türkiye follows this history across six episodes:

Episode 1 — Ancient Antioch and Edessa | September 17
Dave Stotts begins in ancient Antioch, exploring the origins of one of Christianity’s earliest communities, the Cave Church of St. Peter and the world from which the Gospel began spreading across the Roman Empire. The journey also reaches ancient Edessa and explores traditions surrounding the mysterious Image of Edessa.

Episode 2 — Ancient Cappadocia | September 24
The journey continues into Cappadocia, exploring its extraordinary volcanic landscapes, underground cities and rock-cut Christian heritage.

Episode 3 — Ancient Ephesus | October 1
One of antiquity’s greatest cities provides the setting for exploring Paul, the early Christian community of Ephesus and the wider Roman world in which Christianity developed.

Episode 4 — The Churches of Revelation, Part 1 | October 8

Episode 5 — The Churches of Revelation, Part 2 | October 15
Across two episodes, the journey follows the ancient communities addressed in the Book of Revelation through western Anatolia.

Episode 6 — Myra, Nicaea and Constantinople | October 22
The final episode connects the world of St. Nicholas at Myra with Nicaea, site of the First Ecumenical Council, before concluding in Constantinople and the monumental Hagia Sophia.

Together, the episodes create something more than a chronological history. They reveal the extraordinary geographical connections between the communities, personalities and events that shaped early Christianity.

Behind the Journey: True Blue Tour on the Ground

Bringing a production of this scale to life across Türkiye requires considerably more than identifying historic locations.

Filming across archaeological sites, museums, religious monuments and multiple regions involves destination research, route planning, filming permissions, transportation, local coordination and detailed field logistics.

True Blue Tour managed the destination services and ground operations in Türkiye for The Road Less Traveled. Serkan Eser, Managing Partner of True Blue Tour, professional licensed tour guide and destination specialist, worked with the production as Destination Consultant and Location Fixer, overseeing destination planning, filming permissions and field operations before and throughout the production.

Working closely with the EWTN production team, True Blue Tour helped develop and operate the journey across Türkiye — connecting historical locations with the practical requirements of an international documentary production.

It was a project particularly close to our own work. Since 2001, True Blue Tour has designed and operated journeys throughout Türkiye, with archaeology, biblical heritage, ancient history and expert-led cultural travel forming an important part of our destination expertise. For us, supporting The Road Less Traveled was therefore more than a production assignment. It was an opportunity to help tell internationally a story that has been part of the landscapes we work with every day.

Türkiye: Where Christian History Has a Geography

Perhaps the most compelling aspect of exploring Christian history in Türkiye is that the story remains connected to the landscape.

At Ephesus, travelers can walk along the same Roman streets that existed during the earliest years of Christianity.

Across western Anatolia, the Seven Churches of Revelation can be followed from one ancient city to another.

In Cappadocia, churches remain carved directly into volcanic rock.

At İznik, the walls of ancient Nicaea still surround the city where bishops gathered for the First Council of Nicaea.

And in Istanbul, the immense dome of Hagia Sophia remains one of the most extraordinary surviving expressions of the Byzantine world.

These places make it possible to understand Christian history not simply through texts, names and dates, but through geography.

You can stand in the streets of Ephesus.

Travel through the landscapes crossed by Paul.

Visit the cities addressed in Revelation.

Descend beneath Cappadocia.

Walk within the walls of Nicaea.

And finally arrive in Constantinople.

That is what makes The Road Less Traveled: Türkiye such a fitting way to tell this story.

The road itself is part of the history.

Watch The Road Less Traveled: Türkiye

The Road Less Traveled: Türkiye premiered on EWTN on September 17, 2026, with new episodes continuing weekly through October 22.

Watch the series on EWTN:
The Road Less Traveled: Türkiye — EWTN

Watch on YouTube:
The Road Less Traveled: Türkiye — YouTube

For those inspired to experience these landscapes beyond the screen, True Blue Tour designs private, small-group and expert-led journeys through the Christian, biblical and archaeological heritage of Türkiye — from Antioch and Cappadocia to Ephesus, the Seven Churches, Myra, Nicaea and Istanbul.