In the lead up to the 2012 official study tour I had spent many evening hours of internet research hatching a plan to visit locations associated with the first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas.
My involvement with that year's official study tour would end in Athens on Thursday 15 June and I had to be back in New Zealand no later than Sunday 24 June in time to travel to a conference on Monday 25 June. Taking the air travel into account, I had a less than a week 'on the ground' to get around all the sites of the first missionary journey. This was going to require a feat of logistics fraught with risk!
The plan looked like this:
15 June - arrive Piraeus, from Patmos, then fly to Antakya via Istanbul.
16 June - visit the sites in Syrian Antioch (Antakya) and Seleucia Pieria
17 June - fly to Cyprus via Ankara, visit Salamis
18 June - visit Paphos, then fly to Antalya and pick up a rental car
19 June - see the old port of Attalia, drive to Perga and then Pisidian Antioch (Yalvaç)
20 June - continue to Iconium (Konya) and Lystra
21 June - drive on to Derbe and then complete the loop back to Antalya
22 June - begin the return to NZ: Antalya - Istanbul - London - Singapore - Auckland
23 June - lose a day in the air
24 June - Arrive Auckland
I was extremely grateful to Dr Mark Wilson, for his assistance in putting this itinerary together. I had 'found' Mark when searching for information to assist with our official study tours and had corresponded with him prior to the 2010 study tour. At that time he was living in Izmir and I had hoped that he might be able to speak to our group. It wasn't possible that year and by the time I contacted him again, he was living in Antalya. He was good enough to offer advice and to put me in touch with others who were also able to help.
My flight landed in Antakya at about 1:20am Saturday morning. I was seated next to a journalist who was traveling to the area because it was close to the Syrian border. He was intent on reporting the emerging refugee crisis associated with the Syrian civil war which, with the benefit of hindsight, was only just getting under way!
We shared a taxi from Hatay Airport into the centre of Antakya where I had booked accommodation with Koray Cengiz at the Antakya Youth Hostel Pension. This was a result of my first attempt at Couchsurfing. He was no longer accepting 'couch surfers' but had refurbished an old Turkish dwelling as backpacker accommodation. He was good enough to let me in at 2:30am on a Saturday morning! I got some much needed sleep in order to make the most of my short time in Antakya the next,... er... I mean, later, that day.
Being on a tight time-frame I had made sure I had a pretty good idea of where I wanted to go. At the very least I wanted to get to the Cave Church of St Peter, in Antakya, and then down to the coast to Seleucia Pieria. As it turned out, along the way I was also able to visit the Antakya Archaeological Museum, the ruins of the Monastery of St Simeon Stylites the Younger and venture a short distance into the discharge portion of the Vespasianus Titus Tunnel.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Dr Mark Wilson had given me contact details for a friend of his who owned a travel company in Cyprus. I wrote telling him that after travelling with a group in Greece and Turkey I wanted to make a solo journey to Cyprus, to visit Salamis and Paphos. He wrote back wanting to discuss arrangement for my group to visit!!
I explained that I was not, and would probably never be, bringing a group to Cyprus! Undeterred he wrote back offering fulsome assistance and passed me on to one of his staff to make arrangements. But, shortly after that... the communications dried up completely!
In fact, we were part way into the official tour and I had still had nothing confirmed. It turned out that the staff member I had been communicating with had left the company and not passed on my file to anyone. Eventually, however, I reconnected with the original contact and was reassured that everything was in hand. After all the uncertainty, Cyprus tuned out to be a real highlight.
On arrival at Ercan Aiport, Northern Cyprus, I was met by Yusuf, who introduced himself as my private guide for the next two days: he had my whole visit planned. I was ushered into his car and immediately whisked across the border to the southern, Greek, part of the island to visit Paphos.
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!
The next day Yusuf picked me up and took me to see the archaeological site of Salamis and the Monastery of Barnabas. Having my own private tour guide greatly assisted in making sense of the site.
Below left: The cavea of Salamis theatre. Below right: Columns of the palaestra of the gymnasium of Salamis.
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 .
Next morning, before hitting the road, I was out for an early walk on the waterfront to see the modern version of the ancient harbour of Attalia and to find a bank to ensure I had enough cash for the next few days.
Right: Roman tower near Attalia harbour.
Below: A 'stitch' of the very picturesque harbour of Attalia.
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.
After sampling the site of Perga as thoroughly as I could, I continued my whirlwind tour of the first missionary journey, driving north through the Isparta region towards the location of Pisidian Antioch, near the small town of Yalvaç. Once on the open road, I discovered that the GPS had data only for urban areas. Fortunately, the route was fairly straight forward.
There was some stunning scenery along the way and, at one point, if I'd had the necessary equipment with me, I know I could have spent a couple of hours exploring a beautiful looking river. The first order of business in Yalvaç was a bit of lunch before finding the archaeological site.
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!
Iconium is buried under the modern city of Konya and Lystra is buried under a grassy mound over the accumulated dust of centuries. All I had on my list was a visit to the archaeological museum and drive to find Lystra.
Above left: Sarcophagus at the Archaeological Museum of Konya
Above right: Lystra inscription in the Archaeological Museum of Konya
Right: The unexcavated mound of Lystra
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!
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'.
Right: The unexcavated mound of Derbe.
Apparently, excavations began the year after my visit!
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.
The journey home was not entirely uneventful...
I returned my tar speckled rental car to the airport, where it was received with not much more than a quizzical look, but international air travel has a way of its own sometimes. The first leg of the journey, Antalya to Istanbul, was uneventful but the flight from Istanbul to London was considerably delayed.
By the time I landed at Heathrow my connection to Singapore had long since departed. Along with other delayed passengers I was given a sheet of paper outlining the claimable limits of expenditure on meals and overnight accommodation, before returning to the airport to re-book in the morning. We were not able to retrieve our checked-in bags, so I was very grateful for the emergency supplies I carried in my backpack!
Unfortunately, because I had left New Zealand as part of a group booking, every time the agent tried to find a suitable flight, the system was looking for 26 seats! The solution was to cancel my original booking and start again. I was eventually booked on more direct flights, with less transit time, and arrived home only 9 hours later than originally scheduled!
But the main lesson was, when they cancel your booking, make sure they have some way of connecting your baggage to your new booking! I might have arrived only 9 hours later, but it took another four days to be reunited with my bag!