St. John's Church - A Roman Catholic church, completed in 1874 with the help of donations from the Catholics of Lyon, France. It is supposed to have a richly decorated interior but is for military (NATO?) use only. They wouldn't let me past the gate.
Greek Orthodox Church, Alsancak - Built before 1922 when Izmir's population was heavily Greek, this church is a half kilometer from our apartment. The front courtyard is used as a private parking lot during the week and there is a high wall with barbed wire on top which makes it totally inaccessible at any other time. I stopped by one Sunday to listen to mass from the doorway but after a couple of minutes they shut the door pretty much in my face. I would probably have done the same to someone who looked like they might be snooping around but I haven't been back mostly because I couldn't understand the service. I would estimate there were 25 folks inside listening to mass.
St. John's Evangelical Church - I found it on the map but no luck finding the actual church. Possibly converted to a municipal building?
Saint Polycarp Church - This is the grandaddy of them all but I could not get in today to see it.The Saint Polycarp Church is the oldest church in Izmir and represents ancient Smyrna's role as one of the Seven Churches of Revelation. Saint Polycarp was converted by John the Apostle and became Bishop of Smyrna. He was martyred by the Romans at age 86 in 155 AD at Kadifkale, which was atop the hill near modern-day Izmir. According to tradition, when they tried to burn Polycarp at the stake, the flames wouldn't touch him. They finally stabbed him to death.
The Church of Saint Polycarp in Izmir was reconstructed in 1620.
Santa Maria - A 125 year old Catholic church that seems to be on life support. From what I've heard there are only a dozen or so folks who gather each Sunday for mass although I have not seen it for myself.
St. John's Anglican Church - As it turns out this is not far from us and has an English service at 10a on Sundays. Whew!
A few more notes on Christianity and other religions in Turkey from the British Council's website (britishcouncil.org) - Because of its location Turkey has been a crossroad of many different civilizations and religions. Turkey's land has at one point housed the biggest populations of both Christians and Moslems in history though not at the same time.
According to the current numbers the primary Christian population in Turkey is the Armenian community. The second Christian population is the Greek Orthodox Community and the third Christian Community is the Suryani Community. Their centre is Syria and they mostly live in the areas of Mardin and Urfa which is near the border between Turkey and Syria. They have many churches and monasteries in the area which are worth seeing in terms of historical value. The fourth Christian Community is the Catholic Community and additionally there are also some Protestants scattered in the larger cities. In total there are about 300 hundred churches in Turkey that belong to these communities.
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