The land of Turkey has been the site of many of the most crucial events in the history of Christianity: Followers of Jesus were first called "Christians" in Antioch-on-the-Orontes. Paul's missionary journeys took him three times through western Anatolia. It was in Alexandria Troas that he had the vision of a man appealing to him to extend his work to Macedonia. All seven Ecumenical Councils were held in western Anatolia. It was from Constantinople that the Eastern Roman Empire was ruled, and one of the most stately and most honored Christian buildings, St. Sophia, was built here. Between the llth and the 16th centuries Crusaders tramped across Turkey. When Ottoman forces led by Sultan Mehmet II conquered Constantinople in 1453, the Middle East balance of power was transferred from Christianity to Islam (Turkey’s Religious Sites, 61).

The following three lesson plans offer a very rudimentary approach to a study of Turkish contributions in these three areas. Whether the unit is offered on a middle school or junior college level, teachers will have to deal with the usual constraints of time and syllabi. My hope is that instructors will find time to squeeze at least some of the information gathered here into their already overcrowded curricula, a move which in turn could easily inspire some participants to further, independent study. The final result, I hope, will be that someday they or their students will actually find themselves in the "unspoiled holy land." If they do, I imagine their experience will be much the same as mine during our recent five-week stay in this incredible country: frequent, impassioned exclamations beginning with, "I didn’t even know that was in Turkey!" or "I never in my wildest dreams believed I would ever get to see this!"

Judy Turman
September 15, 1998