...Our Stories...

It was 2017 when Rafal felt a calling to walk away from his successful marketing career in the Middle East and build a place where people could come together with the purpose of growing spiritually and physically. After visiting many properties around the Aegean region of Turkey, he knew that the land on the mountains of Ephesus was the right place from his very first visit. Rafal decided to buy the property and start building the place he had envisioned. As he was building, Rafal continued to search for the spiritual truth he had sought for over 15 years.

In December 2020, through an unusual providence, a complete stranger gave Rafal a Bible and urged him to study it. Shortly after the encounter in 2021, the retreat property was ready and running. The first program was geared for yoga groups, in alignment with Rafal’s initial spiritual understandings. However, the more time he spent reading the Bible, the more conviction grew within him that he had found truth, and the true God that he had been longing to know.

As 2021 continued, a mutual friend encouraged Samuel to visit the retreat while vacationing from Germany. Rafal’s passion in studying the Bible resurrected a burden in Samuel’s heart to share further truth with the new believer. Over the following months, Samuel made several return visits to the retreat, each time digging deeper into the truths of the Bible with Rafal. Samuel’s long-forgotten faith had been reignited with a passion he had not experienced since his childhood: sleeping in tents, eating delicious vegan food, and having a good time in the countryside.

By the end of December 2021, Samuel felt the Lord calling him out of worldly business sales and he joined Rafal in the project, in what would eventually be called the Ephesus Olive Mountain Retreat. The two men dug deep into the Word of God, studying hungrily from Daniel to Revelation. Soon they chose to start keeping the Sabbath and stop accepting yoga groups as guests at the retreat since their philosophy was not in alignment with the Scriptures. Now their goal is to use their property for God's glory and share the gospel through it.

Our desire is that Ephesus Olive Mountain Retreat will:

serve as a mountain outpost for travelers from around the world coming for a spiritual experience exploring the Seven Churches.
provide a place to stay and a comprehensive program for Christians following the path of the apostles in the region while studying the history of the ancient ruins from the days of Paul and John.

We look forward to serving you in the near future as you come to stay with us or as you attend one of our retreats and we walk together in the footsteps of the apostles.

Blessings,

Rafal & Samuel

Rafal has lived nearly half of his life in the Middle East while working for American and French multinational companies until he decided to leave and create the place of his dreams.

With his down-to-Earth personality and joyful art, he is a true believer in God's original Eden diet and living close to nature where the works of God can be seen. It's his desire to share this beautiful property with everyone he can. He is originally from Poland, but he always felt at home around the orient.

Samuel is an Adventist pastor's kid from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Because of his German roots he always wished he could experience life in Germany, just like his ancestors did.

Eventually he followed that dream and spent 14 years living in Munich - Bavaria working in retail. During that time, he went far away from the Way until a Heaven-sent desire to glorify Jesus reappeared in his life when he visited Turkey in 2021, and he decided to leave everything behind to follow the Lord - what brought him to Asia Minor.