Antioch of Pisidia
May 6, 2023
We had a beautiful drive through the mountains and around Lake Ergidir, one of Turkey’s larger lakes, to get to the biblical site of Antioch of Pisidia.
The weather was perfect for spending most of the day walking this very large site. In Acts 13, Paul gives a sermon here to the Jews and God fearers of the synagogue. The sermon takes his audience through the history of the Jewish people and demonstrates how God’s plan of salvation for all people was carried through to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the promised messiah.
The excavations at this city include a basilica built over the 1st century synagogue Paul visited. The site has a beautiful raised aqueduct coming up from a nearby lake. The Roman roads on the site show the water and sewer passages under them. There is a newer 6th century church still under excavation with a triple apse and what looks like the base of a baptismal font. Another newly excavated area appears to be a storage area and a place for marble works. There were sunken storage jars and sunken ovens. Turns out there were no site explanation signs because “Giris Yasak” means no entrance - I knew giris meant “entrance” and just went with that - oops!! Now we know that “yasak” means forbidden!
The temple to Caesar Augustus is jaw dropping. You walk into what was clearly a large plaza surrounded by pillars and then up a stepped hill and in front of you opens up a huge temple area carved into the hillside. All with a commanding view of the surrounding valley. There were quite gruesome practices at this temple - again demonstrating the sort of world that early Christians were facing day in and day out. Not unlike challenges we face today.
Another important find at Pisidian Antioch is the Sergius Paulus inscription. Acts 13:7 has Paul and Barnabus interacting with Sergius Paulus in Cyprus and Sergious Paulus became a believer. The inscription is held in a small museum in Yalvac, the modern city around P. Antioch. There are other mentions of the Sergius Paulis family name in and around this area which could mean that the main family estate was here.
We were set loose in the streets of Yalvac to find lunch - it was a cultural experience as most people do not speak even a little English, we all know very little Turkish. The iPhone is the connecting magic - goggle translate works wonders!
