Antakya Attractions
South coast (Eastern Mediterranean)
Antakya, known in antiquity as Antioch (Antiocheia) and more recently as Hatay, is the chief town of the frontier province of that name in southeastern Turkey. It lies surrounded by extensive olive groves some 30km/20mi from the Mediterranean in the alluvial plain of the Asi (the ancient Orontes) at the foot of Mount Habib Neccar (ancient Mons Silpius).
Few vestiges remain of Antioch's former importance as one of the commercial and cultural centers of the Hellenistic World. It now gains a relatively modest subsistence from its administrative functions, its garrison and the traffic passing through the town on the way to the countries of the Levant. It is not on the railroad and no longer has a harbor.
History
In 307 B.C. Antigonos, one of Alexander the Great's generals, founded the town of Antigoneia on a site rather higher up the Orontes than present-day Antakya. Then in 301 B.C. Seleukos Nikator (305-280), founder of the Macedonian dynasty in Syria, established a new settlement on the site of the present town, naming it Antiocheia in honor of his father. The new town flourished, thanks to its situation at the intersection of the road down the Mediterranean coast and the caravan route from its port of Seleukeia into Mesopotamia. In the second century B.C. it was said to have a population of some 500,000 and to be exceeded in size only by Rome itself; it had aqueducts, a system of street-lighting and a colonnaded street 6.5km/4mi long, and was much criticized by contemporaries for its luxurious way of life. It was celebrated throughout the East for its games in honor of Apollo. Even after its conquest by Rome in 64 B.C. it continued to enjoy a large measure of autonomy.
Antioch played an important part in the history of early Christianity. The Apostle Paul made several missionary journeys here (Acts 11:26, 14:26, 15:30, 35, 18:22) and the term "Christians" (Christianoi) was first used in Antioch (Acts 11:26). In the reign of Diocletian the Christians were ruthlessly persecuted and their churches destroyed, but his successor Constantine made Christianity the state religion and caused the churches to be rebuilt. Antioch became the seat of a Patriarch.
The decline of Antioch began with its conquest and destruction by the Mamelukes in 1266. The harbor at Seleukeia silted up and Antioch gradually sank to being a provincial town of no importance.
Antakya, known in antiquity as Antioch (Antiocheia) and more recently as Hatay, is the chief town of the frontier province of that name in southeastern Turkey. It lies surrounded by extensive olive groves some 30km/20mi from the Mediterranean in the alluvial plain of the Asi (the ancient Orontes) at the foot of Mount Habib Neccar (ancient Mons Silpius).
Few vestiges remain of Antioch's former importance as one of the commercial and cultural centers of the Hellenistic World. It now gains a relatively modest subsistence from its administrative functions, its garrison and the traffic passing through the town on the way to the countries of the Levant. It is not on the railroad and no longer has a harbor.
History
In 307 B.C. Antigonos, one of Alexander the Great's generals, founded the town of Antigoneia on a site rather higher up the Orontes than present-day Antakya. Then in 301 B.C. Seleukos Nikator (305-280), founder of the Macedonian dynasty in Syria, established a new settlement on the site of the present town, naming it Antiocheia in honor of his father. The new town flourished, thanks to its situation at the intersection of the road down the Mediterranean coast and the caravan route from its port of Seleukeia into Mesopotamia. In the second century B.C. it was said to have a population of some 500,000 and to be exceeded in size only by Rome itself; it had aqueducts, a system of street-lighting and a colonnaded street 6.5km/4mi long, and was much criticized by contemporaries for its luxurious way of life. It was celebrated throughout the East for its games in honor of Apollo. Even after its conquest by Rome in 64 B.C. it continued to enjoy a large measure of autonomy.
Antioch played an important part in the history of early Christianity. The Apostle Paul made several missionary journeys here (Acts 11:26, 14:26, 15:30, 35, 18:22) and the term "Christians" (Christianoi) was first used in Antioch (Acts 11:26). In the reign of Diocletian the Christians were ruthlessly persecuted and their churches destroyed, but his successor Constantine made Christianity the state religion and caused the churches to be rebuilt. Antioch became the seat of a Patriarch.
The decline of Antioch began with its conquest and destruction by the Mamelukes in 1266. The harbor at Seleukeia silted up and Antioch gradually sank to being a provincial town of no importance.
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Antakya - Archeological Museum
Of particular interest at the Archeological Museum in Antakya are a number of exquisite Roman mosaics displaying mythological scenes.
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Grotto of St Peter
The Grotto of St Peter is a cave where it is believed the Apostle Peter preached.
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Samandag (Seleukeia Piereia)
Near Samandag are the remains of the 300 B.C. town of Seleukeia Piereia.
Antakya - Citadel
On a rocky plateau on the south side of Antakya are the ruins of the Citadel, originally built in the 11th century and later enlarged. Only scanty remains of the fortifications survive since, during the occupation of the town by the troops of Mehmet Ali, the Egyptian viceroy who, between 1830 and 1840, led a revolt against the Sultan, great stretches of the walls were pulled down and the stone used for building barracks. From the top there are splendid views.
Antakya - Town Walls
The town walls of Antakya, built of fine limestone from Mons Silpius, have totally disappeared from the plain. Originally extending from the Orontes up on to the high ground and beyond, they are said to have had 360 towers, as high as 25m/80ft on the hills, and to have been broad enough for a four-horse chariot to be driven along the top.
Bakras Kalesi
Some 8km/5mi west of the Iskenderun road about 28km/17mi north of Antakya stands the ruined Crusader castle "Gaston" at Bakras. It fell to Saladin in 1188, to the Lesser Armenian King Levon II in 1191 and to the Mamelukes under Baibar in 1268. The site is thought by many historians to be that of Pagrae, to which Strabo refers.
Gunduslu, Turkey
(Near Antakya (Hatay))
Near the village of Gündüslü about a kilometer west of the Maras highway north of Kirikhan there are three cave tombs with long inscriptions in Greek and some badly damaged reliefs.
Reyhanli, Turkey
(Near Antakya (Hatay))
The town of Reyhanli sprang up in the 19th century following the enforced settlement of the Reyhanli nomads. Near by, in addition to numerous rock tombs, are the ruins of the Roman town of Emma (Yenisehir; 2km/1.25mi), scene of many a crucial conflict down the centuries. Here Aurelian defeated Queen Zenobia of Palmyra in 272 and, in 1134, Baldwin III vanquished the Arabs. The fortress, burnt down in 1139, was rebuilt only to be destroyed for a second time by an earthquake in 1171. Some few remains can still be seen.
Sultankalesi
About 20km/12.5mi due north of Kirikhan stands a castle, Sultankalesi, with an impressive south gate (bastions), square north tower, chapel and cistern. Situated high up (1,250m/4,102ft) in the Amanus Mountains near the village of Civlan (Sivlan), it was probably built during the Byzantine period to guard the pass, one of the routes through the Amanus from the Maras trench to Iskenderun.
Terbezek
Reached via a poor track running west off the Maras road a few kilometers north of Kirikhan are the ruins of the Templar Crusader castle of Trapesak (Terbezek or Darbsek Kale-si; about a kilometer north of the village). The castle played a key role in defending the Crusader kingdom of Antiochia (Antakya) against Saladin who, after a hard fought struggle, managed to take it for a short time in 1188. In 1268 it fell to the Mamelukes. Their leader Baibar garrisoned troops there, renaming it Darsak.
Xenophon's Pass
Beyond Sakal Tutan, in the narrrow coastal plain of the River Sarekisu, is Xenophon's Pass (which Xenophon himself calls Karsos), with remains of walls, probably serving some defensive purpose, some 600m/660yds apart.
