Seven Churches of Revelation: Ephesus to Laodicea

Ephesus is the first letter, and it is a stern one: the church is admonished for having forsaken its first love. On Ayasuluk Hill in modern Selçuk stands the basilica built over the tomb of Saint John. The first building there was a mausoleum that also served as a church. Justinian's far grander church was begun by 548 and finished by 565. Start here, where the tradition of the seven churches begins.

Visitor guidance: The basilica ruins are on Ayasuluk Hill in Selçuk, a short walk from the town centre.

Smyrna, today's İzmir, is one of two churches praised without a single rebuke: it is admired for its tribulation and poverty, though persecution is foretold. The Hellenistic agora was the commercial, judicial and political nucleus of the ancient city. Saint Ignatius of Antioch visited Smyrna and later wrote letters to its bishop, Polycarp. The remains now form the İzmir Agora Open Air Museum in the Namazgah quarter.

Visitor guidance: The İzmir Agora Open Air Museum is in the Namazgah quarter.

Pergamon's letter speaks of a city where Satan's seat is, and tells the church to repent of allowing false teachers. Many scholars have argued that the Pergamon Altar is that Seat of Satan, though the altar is probably the altar of a temple rather than a temple itself. The pin marks the acropolis of Bergama, where the altar once stood.

Location precision: The text does not say what the seat was; the Pergamon Altar is a scholarly guess, and the pin marks the Bergama acropolis.

Thyatira's church is admonished for tolerating the teachings of a false prophetess. Its city survives as Akhisar, a municipality in Manisa Province that is the site of the ancient city. There is little to see in one place: ancient Akhisar is almost entirely covered by the buildings and streets of the modern town, so the visit is a walk through streets where old stones turn up on corners.

Location precision: Ancient Thyatira lies under modern Akhisar, so the pin marks the town rather than one building.

Sardis had an early Christian community and is one of the seven churches of Asia. The letter urges those not abiding to strengthen themselves in order to "walk with Him in white". Today the ruins still show the massive Temple of Artemis, visible to modern visitors, a reminder of how great the city once was.

Location precision: The pin marks the Sardis archaeological site, not a church; the sources do not locate the Christian meeting place.

Visitor guidance: Sardis is an archaeological site you can walk through.

Philadelphia, today Alaşehir, shares with Smyrna the distinction of a letter with no rebuke. The city lay near the northeast foot of Mount Tmolus and was well known for its vulnerability to earthquakes; it suffered badly in one in AD 17. That history may lie behind the promise of being made "a pillar in the temple". King Eumenes II of Pergamon established the city in 189 BC.

Location precision: Ancient Philadelphia lies beneath modern Alaşehir, so the pin marks the town.

The last letter calls Laodicea lukewarm and insipid, fiscally wealthy but spiritually poor. The ruins near Denizli include an aqueduct that started several kilometres away at the Baspinar spring, and the West theatre, restored in 2022 with nearly complete banks of stone seats. End the circuit here, among the best-preserved remains of the seven.

Visitor guidance: The ancient city is an open archaeological site near Denizli.