Homer, the great author of the epics Iliad and Odyssey, was from İzmir, ancient Smyrna. He was referred to as “Melesigenes,” the “son of Meles” (Meles refers to the River Meles or more appropriately Meles Brook).
The Book of Revelation addresses seven letters to seven churches in Asia Minor, the geographical location of modern-day Türkiye. Each letter, as proclaimed by Christ and recorded by St. John the Apostle, declares the triumphs and failings of the recipient churches and warns each congregation that they must repent.
The Jewish heritage of İzmir has a unique character with its Sephardic traditions of religion and worship, and the architectural styles of the synagogues which drew inspiration from medieval Spain.
Anatolia is the homeland of philosophers who are the fathers of modern science and humanities. Among these homelands, Ionia on the shores of the Eastern Aegean and the ancient city of Miletos in Asia Minor come first.
The Council of Ephesos (AD 431) decreed that the Virgin Mary spent her last years in the vicinity of Ephesos. From Ephesos, St. John the Apostle traveled throughout Asia Minor. Going back in time, the earliest pilgrims arrived to worship the Anatolian goddess known as Kybele.