Since antiquity Anatolia has been a place for different beliefs and religions coexisting in peace. A great number of temples of past civilizations are scattered all over the country and many places of worship representing major religions stand next to each other. It may not be wrong to say that Anatolia treasures one of the richest collections of monuments representing various religions. When Constantinople fell to the Ottomans on May 29, 1453, Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror paved the way toward tolerance and respect for other religions, a condition which prevails within the boundaries of modern Turkey.

When sultan Mehmet II entered Constantinople (the capital of eastern Byzantine Empire and today's Istanbul) on his white horse he proceeded slowly through the beautiful and opulent city, admiring its works of art along his way. He said prayers at Saint Sophia and ordered Christian cathedral to be converted into a mosque by adding a mihrab- a prayer niche indicating the direction of the Holy City of Mecca, a minber - pulpit, and minarets to call out the five hours of daily prayer. Being a lover of Art, he refrained from destroying the great religious treasures and Mosaics showing Christ, his family and apostles, he ordered them to be covered with a thin layer of whitewash in conformity with the Moslem interdiction against depicting human forms. (It was only when this shrine was turned into a museum after the proclamation of the Turkish Republic that the whitewash was cleaned and the place was turned into a museum for all the visitors to admire.)

Consequently, it is Mehmet the Conqueror who is credited with saving the magnificent Byzantine mosaics for today's enjoyment, as well as preserving or restoring many of the city's other great works and buildings. The sultan insisted on giving a decent funeral to the last Byzantine emperor, because he respected the leader who had valiantly defended his country. He also accepted the Byzantine people as Ottoman citizens and permitted them freedom of worship. Ever since, Anatolia, now the home of the Turks, has enjoyed tolerance, respect and understanding not only towards other religions but also towards other ethnic groups who have been welcomed on Turkish soil where the major religions of the world are practiced: Islam, Christianity, Judaism.

At HolyTrip.com we would like to give some information about the biblical sites of Anatolia, the leading mosques of the Moslems and the places of worship of Christianity and Judaism in Istanbul and places of interest for Christians in Turkey.