Ataturk put the beauty of the Hagia Sophia on exhibition for the world to see, but in 2020, Erdogan repurposed the space to display Islam. As a result, a visit hides multiple Christian sacred items once displayed for touring. This write-up will detail the hidden Christianity that the Hagia Sophia now shuns. In January 2024, the status and entrance of the site changed. Before, the balcony was off-limits, but now the ground floor and courtyard are no longer accessible through a normal entrance.
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Searching Below the Surface – Look at unexpected Islamic ideas.
In reading, Searching Below the Surface: A Deeper Look at Covenant and Contract, one expects simple answers to complex issues. However, exploring a much-needed contrast between how the God of the Bible functions in a covenant manner and the Islamic Allah in a contractual way will take the reader into a Scripture dig. The foundations help one to understand marriage as an outcome of these beliefs, leading each of us to discover why biblical marriage is a covenant, not contractual – like Islam.
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Hidden Foundations: Exploring the Earliest Churches of Naples
On my visit to Naples, I did not know what to expect. I previously visited Istanbul and Ravenna and saw many ancient churches. Yet, I was quite blown away by seeing churches that were, for the most part, 200 years earlier than the numerous 6th-century churches in these other cities. Along with Rome, Naples has numerous early Christian sites, dating from the 4th century or earlier. This list of the earliest Christian sites in Naples begins mainly in the 4th century, with some dating to an earlier century. Let’s try to find these hidden foundations.
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A Peaceful Walk along the Hillsides of Anadolu Fortress in Istanbul
On my many visits to this city, I love visiting this area because there are many cafes along the water. Also, walking up the Setüstü streets from the Anadolu Fortress will provide amazing views and lovely houses. On one of my recent visits, we found that the road ends up as a walking path, which provided a natural experience on this hillside. Here is the overview of my walking tour in this historic area.
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Between Purgatory and Paradise: A Death Descent in Naples
If you’re visiting Naples, you’re stepping into a city where Christianity didn’t just grow but hid, suffered, buried its dead, till eventually a whole system of death arose into the open. Beneath the noise of modern life lies another Naples: silent corridors carved into volcanic stone, painted tombs, and underground chambers that preserve the earliest Christian memory of the city.
Naples is one of the best places in Europe to explore catacombs and ancient crypts because these spaces were not built as tourist sites or even as churches, but as burial places shaped by grief and hope in resurrection. Over time, the tombs of martyrs and bishops became sacred landmarks, marked with symbols such as the fish, the anchor, and the Good Shepherd, testifying to the region’s strong Christian faith.
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Catacombs, Crypts, and Converts: Early Christian Life in Naples
The New Testament does not explicitly mention Italy’s Naples, which in Greek would be called Neapolis. Yet Acts 16:11 mentions the name Neapolis, but that refers to the Greek city, modern Kavala, Greece, a port where Paul first brought the Gospel into Europe. However, the Bible in Acts 28:13-14 states that Paul landed at Puteoli, which is near to the port of Naples. His ship journey from Malta towards Rome stopped in the Bay of Naples for a few days. In this way, early Christianity in Naples links to the pages of Scripture.
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Exploring the Sololaki Ridge in Tbilisi
The southern Sololaki ridge on the hillside in Tbilisi has been a fortified defensive site since at least the 4th century, when the Narikala Fortress was built. On the ridge, the Narikala Castle, ancient fortress towers, and the 20th-century Mother of Georgia can still be visited. Let’s visit this strategic ridge and learn what important markers still remain.
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Belief After Doubt: Abraham’s Repentance Journey in Genesis 15
Faith often begins where our explanations fail. In Genesis 15, Abraham stands between God’s promise of a son and the reality that he still has no heir. What he sees does not seem to match what God has said.
In this moment, Abraham voices his questions, but he does not remain in them. He moves from reasoning about the situation to repenting of his wrong thinking to resting in what God declares. The passage shows how salvation works when we turn to God by abandoning our own explanation and trusting God’s way.
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