We began our first day at the Hatay Archeological Museum (Hatay is the province in which Antakya is located). The Hatay Archeological Museum has artifacts from the Chalcolithic, Old Bronze Era, the Middle and Late Bronze Era, the Hittites, and the Roman Era. Across the whole museum there are beautiful mosaics not only Antakya but from surrounding towns such as Daphne (modern day Harbiye) and Samandag. I was very surprised by the size of some of the mosaics; they were gigantic and the walls were full of pictures of animals, portraits of people, and geometric designs. Most of the mosaics were from the Roman period and there were some Roman statues as well.
We spent the rest of the day exploring the town and trying to get a feel for Antakya. Luckily our hostel was right in the middle of the city and to get anywhere to eat or explore was literally a hop and a skip away. Antakya is almost right on the Syrian border and I expected that the city would be more provincial and conservative than Istanbul. However, I was surprised by how modern and cosmopolitan the city was. I felt completely comfortable walking around in shorts and more women than I expected (especially women around my age) wore shorts or less conservative clothes. I also expected all the women to wear headscarves but again I was surprised to find that there was almost equal percentage of women who wore headscarves as those who did not. On the streets of Antakya you could find many of the same stores you would find in malls in Istanbul and we met people every day who spoke at least some English.
The second day we woke up early in the morning to beat the heat and walked about 20 minutes up a mountain to the Grotto of Saint Peter, which is said to be the first Church established by Peter, a disciple of Jesus. We were the only ones there that morning and the Church was beautifully situated in the side of the mountain. The Church used to be an open religious space but in the last couple of years has been turned into a museum by the government. Isa (an Eastern Orthodox Christian who I will talk more about later), told us the next day that he used to go up to the Church all the time to pray but that after it was turned into a museum by the government the guards told him he had to pay in order to enter. Isa refused to pay to enter a place that was sacred to him and he told us that they eventually let him in without paying.
Antakya is rich not only in Christian history but also Jewish and Islamic history and we were lucky enough to meet an Isa on our third day in Antakya. Isa spoke English and walked us around all the religious sites in Antakya including the Eastern Orthodox Church, a Protestant Church (the minister was South Korean and many of the signs in the Church were both in Korean, Turkish, and English), the Roman Catholic Church, a Jewish Synagogue, and the Habibi Neccar Mosque (which used to be a church). We were so fortunate to meet Isa randomly, that the only way I can describe it is as serendipitous. Isa was a wonderful contact and friend; he even helped us set up a beautiful full day boat trip in the Mediterranean the next day.
Antakya was full of unexpected but wonderful people, culture, and traditions. There is nothing better than the discovery that a place and the people who live there are more than you could have ever expected or hoped for. Antakya served many roles for me but it will remain a place in my heart of serendipitous meetings, friendly locals, gorgeous scenery, rich history, and an inspiring example for everyone of religious, ethnic, and cultural tolerance.
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