Hiking in the Footsteps of Paul

Religious pilgrimages are nothing new.  After a few experiences of travel to Biblical places we can certainly understand the impulse and the draw to being in places where Biblical events happened and walking along routes where early news of the gospel was carried.  One hike that is a special experience for all of those reasons, plus just being a beautiful spot in Turkey, is the ancient roman road between Alexandria Troas and Assos.  Paul would have used this route for his solitary walk spoken of in Acts 8:13-14.  We walked only a short section and these are some photos.  A very easy stretch to navigate and not hard to find.  About 4 miles west of the archeological site of Assos along the main road to the village of Korubasi, north side of the road.

Roman roads have stood the test of time!!  Many in Asia Minor following roads established by the Neo Assyrian and Persian empires.  The Neo Assyrians were the first to use a road system to enable communication over vast territories.  They also used a relay system of stopping over stations to improve speed and safety.  Persians followed suite and the Romans capitalized on these foundations.  The process of laying a roman road involved 5 layers on top of compacted soil or smoothed bed rock.  Many roads even had a curb and cutter system.  And to be fair to modern highway engineers - none of the roads bore the sorts of loads on our roadways today!  This network of well maintained, relatively safe roads in the Roman era facilitated spread of the gospel at the same time Rome was persecuting Christians because of the gospel.

Ancient Roman Road near Assos, Turkey