Research Institute - Bringing Archaeological Sites of the Mediterranean to Adelaide Project

Turkey

Human habitation in present day Turkey dates from before 10,000 BCE. This is clear from the archaeological discovery of cave dwellings, primitive stone implements and weapons from Karain situated on the south-western Mediterranean coast, not far from the present day seaport of Antalya. The mid-7th century BCE was a time of flourishing cultural activity, with the earliest known religious shrines, pottery, wall painting and statuettes found at Çatalhöyük near Konya in central Turkey. When the Christian message was preached for the first time thousands of years later, it bore immediate fruit, as the Book of Acts and Paul's letters bear witness.

Turkey is rich with archaeological sites relevant to the growth and maturation of Christianity:

• As in Greece, Paul visited the key cities in Turkey (known at the time as "Asia Minor") and attracted many to the Christian movement. Ancient Ephesus is today a fine example of such a city.
• Several writings from the New Testament were addressed to Christian communities of Asia Minor. The Book of Revelation, for example, was a circular letter written towards the end of the first century CE to seven churches in Western Asia Minor. A visit to Pergamum, for example, helps to illuminate our reading of the Book of Revelation.
• The earliest Ecumenical Councils were held in Asia Minor at Constantinople (Istanbul), Ephesus and Nicea.
• Cappadocia become a spiritual centre from the earliest centuries: The 4th century saints Basil the Great, Gregory Nazianzen and Gregory of Nyssa lived here. The Arab invasion of central Anatolia (Turkey) in the 7th and 8th centuries CE caused monastic communities to go underground -- literally. Evidence of this is still visible today.

A special link has been forged this century between Turkey and Australia. At Anzac Cove on the western side of the Dardenelles, the infamous Gallipoli campaign of 1915 began. It lasted for nine months. Thirty-one war graves in the area remind the visitor of the 100,000 Turkish and Allied soldiers killed at Gallipoli.