Walking the Ancient Ruins of Nicaea (Iznik, Türkiye)

2025 is 1700 years since the Nicene Creed was formed. The city of Nicaea offers many insights into the history of Christianity for those willing to seek them out. This tour will visit the key spots that tell the story of what happened since the time of the Nicene Creed. A good two-day visit will provide enough time to visit all the main ruins of this city. Here is my Google map walking tour.

Mark Wilson said, “The Modern name İznik is an abbreviated Turkish version of eis Nikaia.“^[1]Biblical Turkey: A guide to the Jewish & Christian sites of Asia Minor, 2010. This phrase is the Latin for “into Nicaea.” Now, most people know this name (Iznik) as the location of famous Ottoman ceramics.

Council of 325

The Council of 325 decided many important theological issues, especially concerning the unity of the Trinity and the person of Jesus Christ. These early believers sought to define their understanding of Scripture by formulating doctrinal statements that would bring unity and focus to the church.^[2]https://earlychurchtexts.com/public/creed_of_nicaea_325.htm There is still some debate on the location of the council meeting in a religious setting before moving to the Nicaea palace for greater space.

In my walking tour, I visit the Northern Walls, the Iznik Hagia Sophia, the Sunken (now partially exposed) Byzantine Basilica, and the Iznik Courtyard Museum. This page begins the write-ups, and please see my other blogs for more details.

The (Un-) Sunken Basilica of Neophantos

Youtube Exploration of this site:

Walking tour map of Ancient Nicea. https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1s2OfrX7zySILIBLY98lQphorMbHQUzk&usp=sharing