The Cave Church

This cave church, now with it's entrance walled in, is a traditional site of early Christian worship. It was at Syrian Antioch that followers of Jesus Christ were first called Christians (Acts 11:26). That the cave is named for Peter rather than Paul is not surprising, as Peter was one of the acknowledged leaders of the early church, long before Paul came to faith.

Is it possible that it was from this space, or at least among a group of people who sometimes met here, that the Holy Spirit set aside Paul and Barnabas to undertake what we now call the 'first missionary journey'? There are those who do not think so, but it is still significant as a focal point of a visit to Syrian Antioch.

Above: Approaching the Church of St Peter (lower right) from Izmir Caddesi. Note the (Hellenistic?) rock cut tombs in the hillside.

Below (left to right): The external face of the cave, possibly dating from the Crusader period. A niche at the back of the cave, with a more modern altar constructed in front. The so-called Charonion, of unknown significance, etched into the hillside just a few metres from the church. 

St Simeon Stylites the Younger

I wandered back through the city of Antakya and found the bus terminal. From there I took a dolmuş, a small local bus, down towards the coast in search of Seleucia Pieria. On the way, at one of the regular stops, I was tempted into a side trip to the remains of the monastery of Simeon Stylites the Younger.

Simeon Stylites the Younger is not to be confused with the earlier Simeon Stylites the Elder, who sat on top of his pillar in Syria, near modern day Aleppo, for 37 years seeking separation from the world and closer communion with God. Simeon the Younger did follow his example however, and is said to have entered monastic life as early as seven years old and, initially with the permission of John, another 'pillar sitter, lived the remainder of his 'elevated' life in this location.

At the site there was an interesting juxtaposition of the ancient and the modern. The ruins of the monastery now sit among the massive winged towers of a wind farm. Simeon's pillar, constructed in search of spiritual 'energy', has been replaced by a harvest of electrical energy!

Below left: At the Monastery of Simeon Stylites the Younger.

Vespasianus Titus Tunnel

In my researches, I had not read of the Vespasianus Titus Tunnel but, on arriving at the coast I was confronted by a signboard directing my attention to a narrow, man made, gully that is recognised as one of the great feats of Roman engineering. It was part of a larger system designed to direct damaging seasonal flood waters away from the infrastructure of Antioch on the Orontes, as it was also known.

Above right: Part of the discharge channel of the flood protection system.

Exploring the whole system would have taken far more time than I had available so I venture only a short distance into the 'tunnel' before turning back in search of the harbour associated with Paul and Barnabas.

Seleucia Pieria

Heading back to the coast I wandered the foreshore looking for signs of an old harbour. In my planning I had contented myself with getting to Seleucia Pieria and had not discovered anything specific about the ancient harbour itself. I did find some Turkish language signage but I failed to understand it at the time. If I went back there again, I would be able to look over the silted up remains of the old harbour. As it was, I was content to wander along the foreshore and observed some old stonework jutting into the sea: good enough for me. I then wandered north towards the modern port, grabbed an ice cream in the heat of the day, and made my way back to find a dolmuş returning to Antakya. Seleucia Pieria was a short visit but, I had 'been there'.

Below: A modern sculpture and remains of old stonework, later confirmed as part of the outer works of the harbour of Seleucia Pieria.

Antakya Archaeological Museum

Dr Mark Wilson had suggested that I should try to see the the Antakya Archaeological Museum, if I had the time. I was able to make my way there and it turned out to be well worth the visit. It has a brilliant collection of Roman mosaics that are quite stunning. 

Photos (clockwise from top left): An extremely ornate sarcophagus; the large Yakto Mosaic photographed from the gallery; The Boat of Psyche; a personification of Soteria (salvation); and I didn't photograph the label but this would have to be "Fish and Triffids", I think!

Visiting the museum was a great way to end my whirlwind visit to Syrian Antioch. In the morning, less than 24 hours after arriving, I needed to be on my way to Cyprus to continue with the next part of the journey.

Above (left to right): Yusuf, my first ever personalised airport pick-up! Mosaic floor in the house of Theseus at Paphos. Standing columns at the House of Theseus.

Below left: The ongoing dig at Paphos. Brings a whole new meaning to taking a bucket and spade to the seaside. Below right: The odeon at Paphos.

Leaving Paphos, we crossed back over the border and, much to my surprise, Yusuf took me to the Salamis Bay Hotel and checked me in with a 'full package' wrist band! Well, that was dinner taken care of!

Above left: Arches of the Gymnasium Baths. Above right: The caldarium (hot room) of the baths of Salamis. (Note the hypocaust - underfloor heating.) Below left: The cardo maximus, the main (north/south) street of the city. Below right: Remaining stonework of the ancient harbour - Paul and Barnabas docked here.

Below left: The Monastery of St Barnabas, only 3km from ancient Salamis. Below right: The (traditional) last resting place of St Barnabas.

Having had a good look at the sites related to Paul and Barnabas, Yusuf took me off to see some of the other sights near Famagusta: some Venetian walls; the Cathedral of St Nicholas (now converted to a mosque); the remains of a church dedicated to St Peter and St Paul; and a distant view of the ghost city of Ammochostos. 

Yusuf had then only to drop me back at Ercan Airport so I could pick up my onward journey.

I flew directly to Antalya where I picked up a rental car with a GPS. For the two weeks travelling in the coach on the Study Tour, I had made sure to carefully observe the road to prepare myself for driving on the unfamiliar right hand side of the road. My self-imposed training and the GPS helped me find my way into Antalya without incident, but the GPS wasn't accurate enough to take me directly to my billet: Dr Mark Wilson was good enough to come out to the street to find me!

A good night's sleep was just what I needed before embarking on a road trip to Perga and Pisidian Antioch .

19 June: Attalia (Acts 14:25), Perga (Acts13:13), Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:14)

Perga

The archaeological site of Perga is only about 20km east of Attalia harbour. The entrance road passes between the theatre and the stadium. As I drove in I was so intent on the watching the GPS that I hardly noticed the theatre, on the left of the road, and although I noticed them, I did not understand what the vaults on the right really were. I gave them more attention as I was departing.

The main feature of Perga, after passing between the massive towers of the Hellenistic Gates, is the colonnaded street running about 500 metres up towards the acropolis. This, probably, very busy commercial thoroughfare was distinguished from any other ancient street I had seen by the water channel running down its centre. The cooling effect of the water, issuing from a fountain below the acropolis and then tumbling from basin to basin down the length of the street, would have been greatly appreciated by shoppers in the heat of a summer's day.

Touring this site on my own, I had only the bi-lingual signage to help me make sense of what I was seeing. There may well have been hidden gems that I missed simply because I didn't know where to look. I covered as much of the site as I could and headed back to the car park. From there I figured out that those vaults I had seen on the way in were actually supporting the cavea of the stadium. This was the best preserved stadium I had yet seen: very impressive.

Above left: Looking down the colonnaded street from behind the acropolis fountain. Note the water channel down the centre. Above right: Columns of the agora. Below left: A nymphaeum (fountain) along the colonnaded street. Below right: the cavea of the stadium.

Above left: The road north to Yalvaç. Spot the huge Turkish flag etched into the hillside. Above right: Stunning landscapes along the way.

Below left: A tempting sight,... Oh, for a fly rod?! Below right: A busy, lunch time, cafe scene in Yalvaç.

I understood the archaeological site to be east of town and drifting in that direction I eventually spotted a sign that even I could interpret. The site itself is not as impressive as Perga, much of it still being unexcavated. Exposed features of the city, widely separated across the otherwise bare 'mound', left a lot of work for the imagination to picture it as it might have been in Paul's day.

Above left: The decaying cavea of the theatre of Pisidian Antioch. Above right: Arches of the baths - entry is forbidden due to the instability of the remains.

Below left: Looking down the decumanus maximus (main east/west street) from just above the theatre. Below right: Arches of the aqueduct standing about 1.5 km from the entrance gate - continue along the road at the north-western edge of the site.

Above left: Remains of the Temple of Augustus. Above right: Apse of the Basilica of St Paul - excavation has exposed the exterior walls of the church but the nave is still a bare mound of earth standing nearly two meters above the foundations. 

I had found some limited information about a hotel in Yalvaç online, but had not been able to make a booking. I was still hoping there would be a room available, if I could find the place. As it turned out, Yalvaç was too small to feature in the GPS data and I wasn't able to find it! As there was still plenty of daylight available and Konya was only a couple of hours east, I decided to drive on. After all, there's always accommodation available on the road into a big city, right? Unfortunately,... it didn't turn out the way. Finding a bed turned out to be a bit of a mission!

There was no obvious accommodation on the way in to Konya and, driving around, all I saw was one five-star hotel. When I had seen it a couple of times I realised I was driving in circles! Eventually, Turkish phrasebook in hand, I decided to ask directions at a petrol station. When I mentioned the magic words, "GPS", the guy helpfully rushed out to the car and entered an address for me.

A short time later I was talking with two men at the front desk of a hotel. "How much is a room for the night?" turned out to be the wrong opening question! Only after a lengthy conversation - their English was way better than my Turkish - and confirmation of a reasonable price, when I asked to check in for two nights, they politely informed me they had no rooms available! As calmly as I could, I asked if they could help me find another place?

One phone call later, I was back in the car trying to transcribe a hand-written Turkish address into the GPS, with their parting words echoing in my brain, "They will hold until 10pm": it was now 9:30! Twenty minutes later, the limitations of my GPS data were again on display when I was persistently instructed to turn left, over a railway line that not only had no crossings, was completely fenced off!! Fortunately, I was able to see an alternate route on the surrounding map and I made it to the hotel with a couple of minutes to spare.

It had been a long and eventful day. What would tomorrow hold? A good sleep in was in order, for a start!

I hadn't found my way to Lystra by the most direct route so I ended up taking a different road back to Konya. It was a pleasant country road and there wasn't another vehicle in sight. But then things got surreal! There wasn't a work vehicle to be seen, there was no work crew in sight and there was no sign of any stockpiled stone chip, but for hundreds of meters from one extremity to the other, the entire width of the road was covered in wet tar! My white rental car ended up, unavoidably,... er,... decorated! 

21 June: Derbe (Acts 14:20)

The following day I took the road southeast to Karaman, before finding my way to the mound of Derbe. Again, there was not a lot to see but the whole point was simply to 'be there'.

Derbe was, of course, my last site visit for this trip. Instead of turning back to retrace my steps, as Paul and Barnabas had done, I wound my way over the mountains, back to the southern coast. It was then west to Antalya, where I had one final night in Turkey, before beginning the long trip back to New Zealand.