Turkey/Greece Trip - May 16, 2025 - Nicea (Iznik, Turkiye)
This month marks the 1700’s anniversary of the First Counsel of Nicea, convened by the emperor Constantine in Nicea of Bythnia in 325 AD. Christian church leaders from Asia Minor, Palestine, Greece, Africa, Arabia, Mesopotamia, Rome, Spain came together to address controversies threatening division in the Christian church. They ended the counsel with the first version of the Nicean Creed. What a thrill to explore this ancient city in person at the time of the anniversary!!
Much of the walls and towers of Nicea are still standing today. The late 1st / early 2nd century AD city gate complexes are preserved to the extent that one can walk through them and envision how the city looked. We walked along the city walls, two of the gates and area of raised aqueducts. Craig and one of our guides, Senay, were able to capture some drone footage for a birds eye view of how the walls wrapped around this important city on Askania Lake (today Lake Iznik). The city has a roman theater being actively preserved and beautiful new archeological museum.
The 7th Counsel of Nicea was held at the Hagia Sophia of Nicea and that church still stands today in Iznik as a mosque. There are still frescos partially visible in the pastrophoria and diaconicon (chambers at the side of the apse used for sacred vessels and vestments. The apse retains its original synthronon (curved stepped seating area for the bisphops0.
At the eastern shore of the lake, the foundation of a Basilica and / or martyrion dating from the 1st century AD has become visible again sunken in the water. A new visitor center is being constructed at the site - not yet complete, and we were unable to get close up. One of our group, Carol, gamely agreed to be hoisted up to the top of the fence to get some good pictures, and by also standing on top of a playground climbing structure we managed to both look a little crazy and to get pictures of the structure very clearly visible in the water. The drone footage makes the shape of the basilica clear. Everyone was very patient with the drone, and no police were called so that’s always good!.
Belgin and Ohnurhan, our organizers and guides, did a fabulous job of getting us to everything that we had hoped to see today!! We even stopped at some extra places on the way back to Istanbul which felt a little adventurous as it involved some dirt roads through olive groves!
Thanking God for a safe and exiting start to adventure in Türkiye! PB, Margery and Jacob
For more Biblical travel photos and videos visit us at:
The north gate (Istanbul Gate) of the ancient walled city of Nicea (Iznik, Türkiye)
