About…
Turkey in the Bible

also known as: Asia Minor, Asian Turkey, Anatolia, Anatolian peninsula, Anatolian plateau

Turkey is a Eurasian country that came into existence in 1920. It is situated in the Anatolian peninsula, located in Western Asia and Eastern Thrace. Paul, Peter, and John (the three great Apostles) are worked with churches in this area.

Modern Turkey is a secular state with no official religion, but 99 percent of its citizens are Muslim.

Inhabitants

During biblical times, this strategic area had other names and was dominated or inhabited by…

• Hittites
• Assyrians
• Chaldeans
• Babylonians
• Galatians (Galatia)
• Persians
• Phrygians
• Lydians
• Lycians
• Greeks
• Romans
• Galatians
• Cappadocians
• Cilicians
• Nicaeans (eventually the Empire of Nicaea)
• Cimmerians
• Thracians
• Urartians
• Armenians
• Hurrians
• Hattians

Important biblical cities and areas located in Turkey include…

• Adramyttium
• Antioch (now Antakya)
• Mount Ararat, where Noah’s ark landed
• Asia
• Assos
• Attalia (modern Antalya)
• Bithynia
• Byzantium (later Constantinople and Istanbul)
• Cappadocia
• Colossae (Colossians)
• Derbe
• Ephesus
• Galatia
• Haran, where Abraham lived after leaving Ur
• Hierapolis
• Iconium
• Laodicea
• Lystra
• Miletus
• Perga (Perge)
• Pergamum (Pergamon)
• Philadelphia
• Pisidia
• Pontus
• Sardis
• Smyrna (modern Izmir)
• Tarsus
• Thyatira
• Troas

More information

• Asia
• Antioch On Orantes
• Ararat
• Armenia
• Assos
• Attalia
• Bithynia
• Cappadocia
• Cnidus (Cnidos)
• Derbe
• Ephesus
• Haran (Harran)
• Hittites
• Iconium
• Lystra
• Lydia
• Miletus
• Minni
• Myra
• Patara
• Perga (Perge)
• Pisidian Antioch
• Pontus Smyrna
• Tarsus
• Thessalonica
• Troas

ISLAM

• Today Turkey is 98% Muslim.
• About Islam—An Overview for Christians
• How does the Qur’an compare to the Book of Genesis on the great events of history (Creation, Fall, Flood and confusion of languages)? Answer
• Witnessing to Muslims
• Recommended resources