What Is Anatolia?
Most of what we now call Turkey was once known as Anatolia or Asia Minor. This land stretches about 1,000 miles from Troy in the west to Mount Ararat in the east. While many people today associate Mount Ararat with the Bible, there is no strong biblical evidence that the modern mountain is the real one from the story of Noah’s Ark The Rock Sanctuary of Yazılıkaya.
In Old Testament times, Anatolia was home to the Hittites. In the New Testament, it became an important region for the missionary journeys of the apostle Paul and the site of the Seven Churches mentioned in the Book of Revelation.
Early History Pre-Hittite Anatolia
Archaeologists haven’t studied Anatolia as much as other places in the Middle East. But the discoveries so far show that Anatolia was very advanced, maybe even more than nearby regions.
One important ancient site is Çatalhöyük, located in south-central Anatolia. This city from the Neolithic period had:
Carefully planned buildings
Beautiful wall paintings
Many decorated temples
Statues of both men and women
Çatalhöyük was at least three times larger than Jericho and ten times bigger than Jarmo in Mesopotamia—both well-known ancient cities Personal Tours Bulgaria.
By around 6000 BC, people in eastern Anatolia were already using Halaf-style pottery, showing early trade and contact with other cultures.
Troy A Famous But Non-Biblical City
The ancient city of Troy is famous because of the mythical war between the Greeks and Trojans, told in the poems of the Greek writer Homer.
While Troy is not mentioned in the Bible, it is important for other reasons:
Archaeologists have discovered 46 layers of occupation and 9 major settlements (Troy I to Troy IX) from 3000 BC to AD 400.
It shows the development of civilization in northwest Anatolia over thousands of years.
The area around Troy, called the Troad, was rich in farmland and forests and was a key trade route between Europe and Asia.
Troy is close to Alexandrian Troas, where Paul started his journey from Asia Minor to Greece—just 13 miles (21 km) away.
