DAILY EXCURSIONS

DAILY EXCURSIONS 28/11/2007
Kategori: Pisidian Antioch
DAILY EXCURSIONS
What could be more appealing than dreamlike landscapes, grandiose mountains and the magnificent colors of the sea and plants? Then contrast the lively holiday life with the quiet of ancient ruins and you have a perfect vacation. Near Antalya are many things to see and do; below are some suggestions for day trips: You can walk behind the cascade, a thrilling experience at the upper Duden Waterfalls, 14km Northeast of Antalya. On the way to Lara Beach, The Lower Duden Waterfalls and Nilufer Lake plunge straight into the sea. The nearby rest area offers an excellent view of the falls; the view is even more spectacular from the sea. Kursunlu Waterfalls and Nilufer Lake, both 18km from Antalya, are two more places of superb natural beauty. The sandy Lara Beach lies about 12km to the east closer to Antalya, but to the west the long, pebbled Konyaalti Beach offers a view of the breathtaking mountain range. A little further the Bey Daglari (Olympos), National Park and Topcam Beach provide more splendid vistas. Sican is a lovely nature island. There are camping grounds at the North end of the park should you decide to linger amid the natural beauty. For a panoramic view of the area drive to the holiday complex and revolving restaurants on top of Tunektepe Hill. Saklikent, 50km from Antalya, is an ideal winter sport resort on the northern slopes of Bakirli Mountain at an altitude of 1750 to I900 meters. In March and April you can ski in the morning eat a delicious lunch of fresh fish at Antalya's marina and sunbathe, swim or windsurf in the afternoon. The wildlife – deer & mountain goat – in Duzlercami Park north of Antalya are under a conservation program . One the way you can stop at the astonishing 115 meter deep Guver Canyon. On the eastern - side of Can Mountain 30km from Antalya, the Karain Cave, which dates from the Paleolithic Age (50,000 BC), is the site of the oldest settlement in Turkey A single entrance, lit by the morning sun, opens onto three large interconnecting chambers. Although the little museum at the entrance displays some of the finds, most of the artifacts are housed in various museums throughout Turkey. The ruins of the city of Termessos, set inside Gulluk Mount, a national park north- west of Antalya, is perched on a 1,050-meter high plateau on the west face of Gulluk Mountain (Solymos). A wild and splendid landscape surrounds the monumental traces of this city. (A nature and wildlife museum is to be found at the park entrance.)
BURDUR
Renowned for its unspoiled landscape, flora and fauna, the Goller Bolgesi (Lake District) lies in a mountainous area 150km north of Antalya. Burdur is known throughout Turkey for its beautiful lakes, as well as for its carpets and kilims. The city preserves excellent examples of Ottoman regional architecture, in particular the Tasoda, Kocaoda (also known as Celikbas), and Misirlilar Konaks, or mansions. Dating back to the 17th century, both the interior and exterior decorations reveal much of the Ottoman aesthetic, (Open weekdays except Monday). The Burdur Archaeological Museum houses some very important artifacts from around the region. (Open weekdays except Monday) Burdur Lake, with nice beaches for swimming, is a superb location for water sports. A climb to the top of Susamlik Hill gives you a panoramic view over the city and lake. The Insuyu Cave, 10km south on the road to Antalya, is 597 meters long, with nine distinct pools, and chambers filled with stalactites and stalagmites. A hundred kilometres southwest of Burdur, in Golhisar (Cibyra), are ruins, mostly from Roman times, of an important ancient northern Lycian city with a stadium, lower and upper agora, theater, necropolis and large aqueducts. Also in the region, trapped in the mountains 1,050 meters above sea level, is beautiful Lake Salda, an ideal location for relaxation and cooling off on the sandy beaches or in the lake side cafes, hotels and restaurants. Between Burdur and Isparta, near the town of Aglasun, is the ancient site of Sagalassos, a Pisidian city with ruins from Roman times including a monumental entrance gate, colonnaded street, agora, temple and magnificent theater.
ISPARTA

Isparta, high in the Taurus Mountains, is a city of lakes with lovely coastal areas overgrown in the spring and summer. with an exuberance of wild flowers. In the city you should stop at the Ulu Mosque built in 1417 by the Seljuks. The Bedesten, or covered bazaar, dates from 1561. The great Ottoman architect Sinan built Firdevs Pasa Mosque in the 16th century. Be sure to see the 14th-century Isparta Castle. Rose gardens that produce rose oil for the cosmetic industry surround the city and fill it with their sweet scent. Other souvenirs include a thickly piled Isparta carpet. In the nearby hills, the districts of Kirazlidere and Sidre are popular with visitors who want to relax and enjoy the view. South of Isparta, Golcuk Lake, encircled by aromatic pine forests, rests at an impressive 1405 meters above sea level.
EGRIDIR

Egirdir, at the southern end of Lake Egirdir, is set in idyllic natural surroundings. Among the man-made monuments, Egirdir Castle built by the Lydian King Croesus shows the additions and renovations of the Romans, Byzantines and Seljuks. The Seljuk Kemerli Minare has felt the changes of the modern world today it stands in the middle of a road. At lake side restaurants you can sample white bass, the local specialty. A boardwalk connects the shore to Egirdir island where weavers erect their looms and work outside their houses. On the western side of the lake, up in the hills, Barla's guesthouses provide a wonderful opportunity for relaxation. YALVAÇ

Kovada National Park, 30km south of Lake Egirdir, surrounds Kovada Lake, a pristine and cool mountain getaway Northeast of Isparta, Yalvac stands near the ancient city of Pisidian Antioch. St. Paul and St. Barnabas in 46 AD visited this area. Among the ruins be sure to see St. Paul's Basilica, the aqueducts, Augustus' Temple, the theater and public baths as you walk along the city's marble streets. The Archaeological Museum in Yalvac itself displays several important regional artifacts. Tourists will find not only leather clothing, but many interesting traditional souvenirs made of animal hide. East of Yalvac atop Karakuyu Hill, is the sanctuary of the Moon God, (called Men), and the view from it is breathtaking. Giant cedar trees grow in Kizildag National Park, south of Yalvac, amid one of Turkey's most splendid landscapes. You'll discover every corner of Antalya with us.
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Christian Travel Pisidian Antioch 28/11/2007
Kategori: Pisidian Antioch
According to Acts 13, Paul and Barnabas came to Pisidian Antioch early in their first missionary journey. They arrived from Cyprus via Perga, so would have taken the Via Sebaste into Antioch. On the sabbath, they went to the local synagogue and were invited to speak to the congregation. Their message was received with great interest, and on the following sabbath "almost the whole city gathered" to hear them. Some converts were made, but some of the Jews stirred up opposition against them and they were driven out of the city. Paul and Barnabas then went to Iconium, Lystra and Derbe. On their return journey, they stopped by Antioch and encouraged the Christian converts.
Pisidian Antioch is not mentioned as part of Paul's second missionary journey, but Acts does say that Paul "went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia" (16:6), which may imply a return visit. Similarly, Acts 18:23 mentions Paul visiting Galatia and Phrygia on this third missionary journey. The only other direct biblical reference to Pisidian Antioch is in 2 Timothy 3:11, where the author mentions the unpleasant experience in the city.
Pisidian Antioch may be the hometown of a convert Paul met in Cyprus, the proconsul Sergius Paulus (Acts 13:4-12). See below for an interesting in******ion that mentions his name.

Members of the excavation work crew with a monumental block from the city gate, 1924.

A tour of the archaeological site begins at the Triple Gate, which dates from 212 AD. About 26 feet wide, this monumental gate was decorated with reliefs of kneeling captive soldiers, floral motifs, weapons and winged features on pedestals holding garlands. Near the top on the front and back were in******ions in bronze letters, once a dedicatory in******ion to Emperor Hadrian, the other an identification of the person who paid for the gate.
Inside the city walls, the site centers around two main Roman streets: the Cardo and the Decumanus, positioned at right angles. The Decumanus Maximus leads from the Triple Gate to the intersection with the east-west Cardo. Along the way, on the visitor's left (north) is the remains of what was probably a second agora followed by the theater.
The theater was built by the Greeks and enlarged by the Romans to a seating capacity of 15,000; it may be the site of St. Thekla's martyrdom. Its construction is unique in containing a tunnel on its southern side through which the Decumanus Maximus passed. Thus part of the seating of the expanded theater was built right over the street.
The Cardo Maximus street ran north-to-south through the city. Behind the colonnades along the street were small shops, bars and restaurants. Several game boards can be seen ethced into the paving stones for playing various games of dice. (The
other Antioch left a mosaic portrait of this pasttime.) The Cardo terminated at the 1st-century AD nymphaeum, a fountain from which water was distributed to the whole city. Behind it, a 1st-century aqueduct brings water down from the hills to the city. To the northwest of the nymphaeum is the palaestra (exercise area) and adjoining Roman bath. A large part of the bathouse has survived and is still being excavated.
On the east side of the Cardo not far from its intersection with the Decumanus was the most important structure in the city: the imperial sanctuary with its temple to Augustus. Built on the highest point of the city, the temple was a approached by a wide, colonnaded walkway (the Tiberia Plateia or Square of Tiberius).
Crossing the Square of Tiberius, visitors would then pass through a three-arched propylon or triumphal gateway. Built in the early 1st century AD, the gate bore an bronze dedicatory in******ion to Augustus and was decorated with sculptures and reliefs celebrating his victories. Attached to the propylon was a Latin copy of the Res Gestae Divi Augusti (a record of the emperor's accomplishments), fragments of which were discovered at the site.
The gateway marked the entrance to the Square of Augustus, the highest point of the city. In earliest times, this was the site of a temple to the mother-goddess Cybele, then, in Hellenistic times, the moon goddess Men. In Roman times, it became the site of a great temple of Augustus, the foundations of which can be seen. Look for carvings of garlanded bull's heads among the ruins: the bull was the symbol of the goddess Men.
The Temple of Augustus was approached by a stairway of 12 steps, which led to a porch with four Corinthian-style columns (portions of which can still be seen). Surrounding the temple on the rear was a semicircular two-story portico, most of which was carved out from the rock of the hillside.
Remains of the Byzantine church that may be built over the synagogue where Paul preached. .
Across from the Temple of Augustus, on the west side of the Cardo Maximus, are the remains of a Byzantine church dating from the 4th or 5th century AD. The most exciting find in recent times was the discovery (1920s) of some foundations protruding from beneath the Byzantine church. Although it cannot be proved, some believe they are the foundations of a 1st-century synagogue. If so, it would be the only 1st-century synagogue found outside the Holy Land besides Delos and Ostia. It would also mean that the pilgrim can read Paul's sermon in Acts 13 in the very place it was delivered.
The Basilica of St. Paul, along the western city wall not far from the site entrance, was built in the late 4th century AD. At the time it was one of the largest churches in the world; it is still one of the largest ever discovered in Asia Minor. As mentioned above, Pisidian Antioch was the seat of a metropolitan bishop; this was his church.
The Basilica of St. Paul had an apse, a nave, two side aisles separated from the nave by 13 columns on each side, an outer narthex and an inner narthex. It contained a mosaic floor, portions of which are still in place. One of the mosaic in******ions refers to Optimus, who was bishop between 375 and 381 and attended the Council of Constantinople. Another mosaic bears the text of Psalm 42:4. The church was later expanded, probably in the 5th or 6th century; the walls that remain date from this period.

An in******ion discovered at Pisidian Antioch may have biblical connections. According to Acts, Paul and Barnabas visited Cyprus before going to Antioch, and in the city of Paphos they met the proconsul Sergius Paulus, who was a Christian convert (Acts 13:4-12). The in******ion discovered in Antioch mentions Lucius Sergius Paulus the Younger, which some suggest might be the son of the governor of Cyprus mentioned in Acts.
This would mean that Antioch was Sergius' hometown — perhaps Paul and Barnabas visited the city on his suggestion. However, the name in the in******ion is quite common and it is not certain it is related to the biblical Sergius Paulus.
In the nearby town of Yalvaç, the Yalvaç Archaeological Museum displays many of the artifacts found at Antioch of Pisidia, including statues, busts, figurines, coins, votive in******ions, fragments of the Res Gestae, columns and friezes. The director of the museum, archaeologist Mehmet Taslialan, has overseen excavations at Antioch for two decades.

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Pisidian Antioch (Yalvac)28/11/2007
Kategori: Pisidian Antioch


Later in the life of Seleucus Nicator I, the successor of Alexander the Great that organized Asia Minor, the city of Antioch of Pisidia was founded. He located the city strategically one hundred miles north of Perga, long after (25 years) the founding of such cities as Antioch on the Orontes and the nearby port of Seleucia. Part of the so called lake district of southwest Asia Minor, the strategic value of Pisidian Antioch was the guard like position it held at 3500 feet above sea level in the Taurus Mountains.
The position guarded the road access from the south, as well as the so called high road from Ephesus to Syria. It was settled and maintained as the military command center of southern Galatia, and was located in the proximity of the border of Pisidia and Phrygia. Because it was near the border, the historian Strabo referred to the place as near Pisidia. The city was set atop a precipice described by Sir William Ramsey on his visit at the beginning of the twentieth century as an oblong plateau varying from 50 feet to 200 feet above the plain nearly two miles in circumference.
By 25 BCE the city had become a colony of Rome. Westerners had poured into the city, retired soldiers with a military pension, merchants and those seeking a quieter life than those close to Rome. The expatriate Romans enjoyed full citizenship, something not attained for their indigenous counterparts until later, yet the whole city flourished and enjoyed peace and prosperity in the generation leading up to Paul and Barnabas’ visit. The frequent host of Roman governors on travels from west to east, the city hosted festivals and games, and the money attracted greater investment in this, a center of Galatian activity.
On the First Mission Journey, Paul and Barnabas left the area of Perga without John Mark and proceeded to Antioch, where they entered the synagogue on the Sabbath. The address given there caused the reaction that later characterized Paul’s mission journeys, some had a revival, others a riot! Driven from the city, Paul and Barnabas moved on to Iconium, experiencing an early moment of joy in the journey. It was here that Paul was moved by the hardness of his fellow countrymen and turned to the Gentiles, a decision that would mark a concern of the Jerusalem Church for years to come.
Today, modern Yalvac is settled by a large agricultural and rural settlement amidst the still rich and fertile plains and pasturelands.