We begin our pilgrimage in the Footsteps of St. Paul today as we fly non-stop from DFW to Istanbul. I feel like a hobbit going on another adventure. This is the second time we’ve been here, the first being on a cruise ship last October.

Our flight left in the evening, and I was dreading the 11-hour flight; although we heard good things about Turkish airlines. The plane was full, but at the gate you think we were heading to the elderly wheelchair Olympics. I think there were at least 10 wheelchairs lined up to board the plane.

There were 25 in our group. We had the cheap seats again, but Rebecca paid to upgrade to seats with more legroom. It was worth it. The flight was uneventful, but I must give a shout out to the airline. Even though we were in Economy, Turkish air provided a mask, toothbrush, toothpaste, and eveb slippers to avoid the urine drips on the bathroom floors. And the food actually tasted pretty good, unlike most airlines.

We landed on time and, as I expected, the wheelchairs slowed the off-boarding process. The airport wheelchair drivers uploaded each participant one at a time intermittently disrupting the rest of us. Guess they couldn’t wait. It is challenging to have patience when you’re tired and anxious to get off the plane.

We met our guide. The tour company told us that he was one of their “best” and very experienced. I must agree. I cannot pronounce his name, but it’s spelled Dalim. He told us an interesting story about how he found out there are only three people with his name in the world.

Some words about the Christian history of Istanbul:

During the time of Christ, Istanbul was called Byzantium. It was a major city in the eastern half of the Roman empire. In 330 Emperor Constantine changed its name to Constantinople, making it the new Roman capital. Constantine was a convert to Christianity who issued the Edict of Milan in 313, granting religious freedom to Christians, ending years of persecution.

The western Roman Empire spoke Latin, was based in Rome, and followed Latin rite Christianity. The eastern Empire, called Byzantium, spoke Greek and was centered in Constantinople. Each developed distinct theological views and liturgical traditions.

The western Roman empire fell to Germanic tribes in 476. After years of growing hostility between East and West, the Great Schism of 1054 split the Church into Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox branches of Christianity.

In 1204, soldiers of the Fourth Crusade captured Constantinople and established a Latin empire for a brief time. It attempted to impose Roman Catholicism on the Orthodox population without success. The Latin empire lasted only 57 years until the Byzantines recaptured the city in 1261.

In 1453, Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks, ending the Byzantine Empire. The Turks began calling the city Istanbul. The Islamic Ottoman Empire tolerated other religions. In 1923, it was replaced by the modern, secular Republic of Turkey, where Catholics and other religious minorities were still permitted to practice their faith. The name of the city was formally changed to Istanbul in 1930.