Izmir, which has hosted important civilizations throughout history, is one of the important cities of our country in terms of faith tourism as the place of religions and the lands where people with different beliefs live together.
Within the scope of Faith Tourism , which can be defined as the evaluation of the visit of holy places to tourists belonging to other religions within the context of tourism, the three major religions known as Celestial Religions (Islam, Christianity and Judaism), which are known as Faith Tourism , have attracted a great interest from tourists. Izmir is a faith tourism destination where religious worship is carried out freely for centuries and the people of the country live together in full freedom of faith and brotherhood.
Within this scope, our city has a very special position with its values. The House of Virgin Mary, which is very important for Christians and declared as a place of pilgrimage, is the first church built in the name of the Virgin Mary. Jesus' favorite disciple St. John's The Basilica of St. John, the Seven Sleepers Cave and three of the seven churches built in Anatolia to spread Christianity were Smyrna (İzmir), Ephesus (Selçuk) and Pergamon (Bergama) - (others Sardis (Sart), Thyatira (Akhisar), Philadelphia (Alaşehir) and Laodicea (Denizli)) - Being in İzmir makes our city an important attraction center in terms of faith tourism. Mosques, churches and synagogues in the city center attract the attention of local and foreign tourists and serve faith tourism.
The works belonging to Aydınoğulları and Ottoman periods in Ödemiş District are the riches that enable the district to embrace history and are cultural assets which are mostly evaluated within the scope of faith tourism visited by local tourists .7 km away from Ödemiş; the "World Cultural Heritage Temporary List" Birgi, especially Imam-i Birgivi Mehmet Efendi Madrasa, Ulu Mosque, Hatuniye Sultan Shah Tomb and so on. With its many religious buildings, preserved stone houses, and largely preserved the authenticity of the organic urban fabric, Seljuk-Ottoman architecture has become the center of attention of visitors with outstanding examples.