Alexandretta, the province now called Hatay. Entrance Fees - The Roman/Byzantine mosa- 5 TL each for St. Paul’s and ics in the Hatay (Antakya) Arche- the Antioch Mosiac ology Museum (Antakya Arkeoloji Museum Müzesi) are the main attraction Getting There - aka Antakya, in this city at the far eastern end About 3 hours from of ’s Mediterranean coast, Incirlik. In the Yellow though the city’s long history has Zone: Only trips with left much more behind. Outdoor Recreation Hatay and ITT allowed. The , dating from the Text and photos from TurkeyTravelPlanner.com copyright © by Tom 1st to 5th centuries AD, are well A favorite destination Brosnahan & Travel Info Exchange, Inc. Used by permission. displayed in lofty halls filled with for the “U ... Drive” program. Birthplace of the word “Christian.” natural light. Most labels are in Turkish and English. The museum Physical Difficulty - Easy. Stroller friendly. is open 08:30 am to 12:30 pm and “Antakya’s 2000 year history is among the most eventful, 13:30 to 17:30 (1:30 to 5:30 pm), brilliant and tragic in a region where such histories are closed Monday. commonplace. The mosaics were recovered from Antioch ad Orontes (321-281), successor to the empire of (Antakya), the garden suburb of Daphne (now called Har- , laid out a plan for this city about 300 biye), from Roman Mediterranean seaside villas, and from BC. It became the capital of the stretching Tarsus by archeological teams from Princeton University from Macedonia nearly to India. in the early decades of the 20th century. The museum The empire facilitated trade, and Antioch became an opened to the public in 1948. important point on the Silk Road, with caravans of lux- The artistry of the mosaics is amazing: look close, and ury goods bringing fabulous wealth and a scandalously all you see is little bits of colored stone. Look from the sybaritic lifestyle. Remnants of this can be seen at Daphne optimal distance and you see distinct images with subtle (Harbiye). colors. Under the Romans, Antioch-ad-Orontes was the The Antakya Arkeology Museum is not just its Roman capital of the province of with a population around mosaics, however. Several halls are dedicated to other 500,000. It became one of the empire’s greatest cities—only aspects of Roman and Byzantine culture, with exhibits of Rome and Alexandria were greater—with a considerable marble sarcophagi, coins, pots, tools, glassware and statu- Jewish community. ary. You’ll certainly notice the beautifully-carved 8th-cen- Saint came here to preach, and Saints Paul and tury BC twin lions on a column pediment. used it as their base for missionary work. Con- Many of these finds were discovered by Chicago Ori- verts from the local Jewish community were many, but it ental Institute teams working at Cüdeyde, Dehep, Çat- was here that the saints decided to expand their mission to alhöyük and Tainat from 1933 to 1938. Others were con- Gentiles as well, calling their followers . tributed by Sir Leonard Woolley, excavating at El Mina in Antioch flourished under the Byzantines until in the Samandağ and at Tell Atchana (Aççana Höyüğü) between 500s a violent earthquake ruined it, killing 200,000 peo- 1936 and 1939.” ple. Later overrun by the Persians, then the (700s) and the Seljuk Turks (1084), it regained importance under Hatay (Antakya) Arkeoloji Müzesi the Crusaders (1098) as the capital of their Principality of Cumhuriyet Meydanı (map) U Antioch, but conquest by the Mamelukes in 1268 saw its Gündüz Caddesi No. 1 utter destruction. Hatay (Antakya), Turkey What the Ottomans claimed in 1516 was only a shad- Tel: +90 (326) 214 6167, -68 THE DESTINATION, we ow of its former self, and it later declined to just a village. [email protected] After the collapse of the following World Photo by Fatma Yoksuloglu Drive War I, Ottoman Syria, including Antakya, was placed un- This is where the term “Christian” was first used to describe adherents to the new religion, who were der French Mandate government. By a plebiscite in 1939 proselytized from both the large Jewish community and the even larger number of Gentiles. it was returned to Turkey along with the entire of Outdoor Recreation 676-6044 39fss-odr.blogspot.com 39fss.com Antioch A path ascends along the channel, open to the sky, up and down steps and rocks, to Sites to See in Antioch where an arched limestone footbridge crosses. Above the footbridge, the channel continues Saint Peter’s Church into the solid rock. You’ll need a powerful flashlight/torch to continue. “Early Christians held their worship services secretly Daphne (Harbiye) in this 13-meter-deep (43- foot) cave, now called the Harbiye, a suburb of Antakya, is perched on Saint Peter Church (Sen- a steep forested hillside looking toward the piyer Kilisesi). It was here Mediterranean. It has an eventful history. that St Peter was selected as In Roman times it was called Daphne the leader and “first bishop” (“laurel”). Mythology says it was the place of the church and the term where a horny Zeus, pursuing the nymph “Christian” was first used Daphne, finally caught her and turned her to describe adherents to into a laurel tree. Seleucus I built a temple to the new religion, who were Daphne here, among the laurels. proselytized from both the To the Romans, Daphne was a place of re- large Jewish community and sort for the rich and powerful of Antioch-ad-

the even larger number of Photo by Fatma Yoksuloglu Orontes (Antakya). They built sumptuous vil- Gentiles. las here with beautiful mosaics, some of which

St. Barnabas and St. Paul have survived and are now on display in the Photo by Tom Brosnahan came to Antakya (Antioch) and stayed a year to spread their new faith. Crusaders captured Hatay (Antakya) Archeology Museum. Antioch in 1098 on their way to the and built the stone screen wall in front of the Most of Harbiye/Daphne is modern cave. In 1863 Pope Pius IX asked Capuchin monks to restore it, which they did. The forecourt cityscape, but your reason for visiting is a steep forested valley with deep shade, numerous of the church and some parts of the interior waterfalls and water courses, tea gardens and restaurants. Tables and chairs are set by the were used as a cemetery at times. Today the water, or even right in the water: church is a museum. Services may be con- In the blazing heat of August in this hot climate, the cool shade and ducted with the permission of the Directorate rushing waters of Daphne (defne in Turkish) are a vision of heaven. Not of Museums. too far from the valley, perched at the edge of a cliff, several elaborate U restaurants with fine views welcome diners for more refined meals than The Titus Tunnel (Titüs Tüneli) the simple establishments in the valley can provide. In the modern part of the town are several shops selling silk garments THE DESTINATION, we The Titus Tunnel (Titüs Tüneli) is a Roman en- made in the area. Antakya was an important port on the Silk Road, so the gineering marvel. During the reign of Emper- history of silk-weaving in Daphne goes way back.” Drive or Vespasian (69-79 AD), the Roman governors of (Samandağ), the port city for Read More Antioch ad Orontes (Antakya), decided to di- www.turkeytravelplanner.com vert a river. They put Roman legionnaires, sailors and prisoners to work cutting a channel along and through the rock for about 1.4 km (nearly a mile). Continued under Emperor Titus (79-81), inscriptions tell us it was completed during the reigns of the Antonine emperors decades later. Today the channel is dry, but still worth a

Photo by Tom Brosnahan visit. A small parking area and entrance is just inland from the beach at Samandağ. Outdoor Recreation 676-6044 39fss-odr.blogspot.com 39fss.com Antioch