Antakya - Hatay - Page I
Antakya Museum
Antakya or Hatay as its official
name is today, was founded in 300 BC as Antioch-ad-Orontes by Seleucos Nicator one of Alexander's generals. Antakya
grew quickly to become a city of half a million people and, under the
Romans, became one of the centers of Christianity. Antakya was the
starting point for the first of St. Paul's travels in Anatolia in 47-49
AD. The city survived a massive earthquake in the 5th century killing
250,000 people and was later fought over by Persians, Byzantines, Arabs,
Armenians, Seljuks, Crusaders and Mamluks. The latter literally wiped out
the city and it never regained its former glory. Antakya was part of the
French protectorate of Syria until 1939, became independent as the Republic
of Hatay for a short period and then joined the Republic of Turkey on 23
July 1939.
The relatively large number of churches
still bear testimony of Antakya's importance to Christianity. The most
important church is the tiny Cave church of St. Peter which is
generally regarded as the world's first
Christian church. In 1983, the church was declared a holy site by the
Vatican. It was also in the ancient Antioch
that the saints gave their new religion the name "Christianity".
Antakya was also the setting in some novels and
films. It was in Antioch ad Orontes that Ben Hur had his
famous wagon ride and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade had
the Republic of Hatay with Alexandretta (Iskenderun) as historical
setting.
The prime reason to visit Antakya is
the Antakya Archeology Museum (Antakya Arkeoloji Müzesi) with its world famous collection of Roman and Byzantine mosaics.
Click on the thumbnails to get a greater picture
