The birth of "Christian" in Turkey?/ "Hiristiyan" dogusu Turkiye'den mi?

The city of Antakya, better known as Antioch, is one of the must see sites for those that seek pilgrimage to holy sites, especially for Christianity.  In 44 A.D. the term “Christian” first arose from this city.  The city also formed one of the first four states for Christianity during the first crusade and remained a Christian city from 1098-1268.  On the façade of one of the mountains that overlooks the city is one of the first churches in history.  Saint Pierre church is believed to have been carved out of the mountain by St. Peter himself, with the help of St. Paul.  This church was used as one of the main locations to plan and organize the rise of Christianity.  The Saint Pierre church has an eerie feeling to it, yet one can’t help but pay its respects to the craftsmanship.  To carve out a church with the tools of those times out of hard rock is a feat indeed.  I believe the best view of Antakya can be viewed from this church, and although it was cloudy, I tried to show this from the photos.  Some of the oldest mosaics in Turkey can be found in Antakya as well.  The archeology museum houses an immense collection of mosaics and other historical artifacts.  In fact, there is so much history that there was quite a bit of artifacts thrown aside, and that humorous sight was what caught my interest the most. 

The city is also home to the first mosque in Turkey, the Habib-I Neccar Camii, a structure that was built on top of a church which was built on top of a temple.  There aren’t many remains from the church from what I noticed, but there was a temple column in the middle of the mosque area.  Random turns into alleys also lead to very well maintained Ottoman homes, which provide for various photographic opportunities for a good photographer.  I will end my note on Antakya with the food.  This is becoming a common scheme wherever I go in the south, but while the meat has the cuisine to note in the previous two cities, it’s the mezes(tapas) that needs to be noted in Antakya.  These assortment of mezes are the most unique I have ever tasted, and before you even taste any of it, your eyes are filled with rich colors and unfamiliarly satisfying smells.  Unfortunately I don’t have a picture from my dinner, so you’ll have to make do with my lunch.

Antakya, yani Antioch, herhalde hayatimdaki gittigim Hiristiyanlik tarafindan en kutsal sehiri olmali.  Ben Vatican sehirine gitmis bir kisi olarak bu cumlenin arkasinda duruyorum.  Antakya olmasaydi, Vatican kurulamazdi.  Isa’yi takip edenleri Hiristiyanlar diye ihtap etme karari bu sehirden cikmali.  Tarihin ilk kileselerden biri, St. Pierre kilisesi, 44 M.S.  St. Peter ve St. Paul tarafindan kurulmusdur.  Kurulmus dedigim, dagin icini oymuslar ve oyle kurmuslar bu kiliseyi.  Hiristiyanlarin ilk hacli seferinden sonra kurulan ilk dort eyaletlerden biri Antakyadir.  Yani kisacasi, Hiristiyan tarihine merakli olan kisiler icin olmazsa olmaz sehirlerin basinda gelenlerden bir tanesi Antakya.  Bide ilkleri yetmiyormus gibi, Anadolunun ilk camiisi Antakya’da bulunmaktadir.  Bir tapinagan uzerine kurulan bir kilisenin uzerine kurulmus olan Habib-I Neccar Camiisi gercekten gorulmeye deger bir yapi.  Bunun uzerenide, Anadolunun baziki ilk mozayiklerini bulunduran Antakya arkeoloji muzesini de eklersen, gercekten tarihisini hazmetmesi zor olan bir sehir oluyor Antakya.  Ama hazmetmesi gayet kolay olan bir tarafi var, oda yemekleri.  Basta mezeleri olmak uzere, Antakyanin yemekleri birak karnini, gozlerini ve burnunu da tatmin etmekte.  Ben bir sofrada bu kadar renk bir arada gormedim.  Anlayacaginiz, yemeklerin tek tek incelenip yenmeli, yoksa obur turlu kafan karisiyor. 


Panaromic view of Antakya. Food of Antakya.  The third picture is a preperation for the Friday prayer.  The fourth picture is from the Habib-I Neccar Mosque.  The next four are from the Archaelogical Museum in Antakya.  The final picture is of the St. Pierre Church.