In the last few years of the fourth century Saint Nilus of Ancyra [Ankara, Turkey] founded a monastery near his native town and "imagined the illiterate faithful coming to these scenes [from the Old and New Testament painted by the hand of a gifted artist] and reading them as if they were the words of a book" (quoted from Manguel 1996: 96).

This reputation has developed over a long period of time, beginning most explicitly in the 4th century with the Councils of Elvira (305-306) and Ancyra (314) whose discussions provided the basis for canon law on the matter.

Thus, on the basis that a gazetteer is not meant to be read from cover to cover, but dipped into when one needs a dependable inventory or register of the relevant data, this reviewer chose to, first, read the Introduction to establish what the compiler's own personal interest in the matter was, and, second, dip into those parts for which he can claim at least some familiarity with the subject matter, namely central Anatolia and specifically Ancyra and its original provincial territory, Galatia.