Day 8 – Monday, June 15: Antioch Pisidia, Perga, Attalia/Antalya
Today we continued exploring sites related to Paul’s first missionary journey. We would trave northwest first (to Antioch Pisidia) before heading to the southern coastline of Turkey (to Perga and Attalia). The weather was perfect, with full sun, crystal-clear skies, blue skies, and temps in the high 70s. We read from 2 Timothy 3:10-16 as we left the hotel at 8 a.m.
Antioch Pisidia
We drove about 90 miles northwest to we Antioch Pisidia. The drive was incredibly beautiful, with green fields, high mountains, and good roads. The site of Antioch Pisadia was established in the 3rd century as a Greek/Hellenistic site before the Romans took it over. Paul perhaps visited this site because of Sergius Paulus who became a believer at Paphos, Cyprus. He was the Proconsul who was a nobleman from Antioch Pisidia. When Paul arrived from Perga, he preached in the Jewish synagogue. Many believed, both Jew and Gentile alike. We read Paul’s first recorded sermon from Act 13 inside the 5-6th century church (perhaps at lower levels was the 1st century synagogue?). To see the site, we took a long loop. We saw (from a distance) the aquaduct, the Temple of Augustus, the Propylon, colonnaded streets, and the theater. Although only 10% of Pisidian Antioch has been excavated, the ruins from the Roman period are noteworthy. We literally walked in the footsteps of Paul here! Note: Because the museum is closed on Mondays, we unfortunately could not seethe famous Sergius Paulus inscription found here in 1912.
“We retraced Paul’s footsteps once again today as we visited Antioch Pisidia and Perga. We even drove the same way as he would have walked. The distances he traveled for the sake of the Gospel is incredible!”
Perga/Perge
Next, we drove about three hours south to Perga. We stopped for a quick lunch at a beautiful place along the small lake where they served the traditional Turkish cheese and potato pancakes. Perga is a port Paul used to sail into the region of Pamphilia (the southern Turkish coastline) from Cyprus (Acts 13:13-14). Then at the end of the first journey he re-visited the city before sailing out of near by Attalia (Acts 14:25-26… he “preached the Word” here again). Paul would sail back to Antioch Selucia from Attalia. Prominent features of the site of Perga include a well-preserved theater (closed), the best-preserved Roman Stadium in Western Turkey, exquisite Roman Baths, towering Hellenistic defenses, and long rows of beautiful colonnaded streets. It was a great city to visit!
Attalia/Antalya
We finished our day by driving to the near by port of Attalia (modern day Antalya). Our hotel is located here. Before dinner at 7 p.m. we walked to a viewpoint of the harbor of the city (Pauled sailed out of this port). At 8 p.m., we had the privilege of listening to Dr. Mark Wilson (the author of Biblical Turkey). He lives here in Antalya.
Day 9 – Tuesday, June 16: Antalya, Colossae, Laodicea, Hierapolis, Pamukkale
