St.Peter's Church

We had our first real out-of-city daytrip yesterday. We carpooled with some friends (gas is kind of expensive, like the equivalent of about 8$ a gallon) to see some ancient sites. Now, in the US, if you want to see history maybe you head to Philadelphia to see the Liberty Bell (1776) or Colonial Williamsburg, or even Jamestown (1607). Well, we drove two hours to see the church where followers of Jesus were first called Christians. (Acts 11:25). The church is a sort of cave in the side of the hill overlooking Antakya (Antioch), complete with an escape tunnel thought to be used by early persecuted Christians.

Here’s a view of Antakya from in front of the church:

On the way to Antakya we drove past Iskenderun, which tradition states is where the large fish deposited Jonah when he was on his way to Nineveh. After Antakya, we drove about 20 minutes farther to the point the Mediterranean, where Paul and Barnabas were sent off (Acts 13:4 ). There we also did a hike to the “tunnel.” We walked through the hills to a place where a long time ago (sorry, no info plaques to read here) they carved a tunnel through the hills and build an aqueduct. Only Mike climbed down to actually see the tunnel, but here are some shots of the aqueduct. A few minutes farther along we climbed all over first century cave-tombs. Our friends (3 10-12 year old boys) counted 230+ coffin-shaped holes in the caves. Anna just enjoyed being allowed to climb around on her own two feet.

Matthew even enjoyed exploring some, although by the time this last picture was taken, both were ready to head back to the car for a nap.

Check out the slideshow link for lots of pics taken on the way back—mountain scenery and typical southern towns and villages. If you want an even better view, come visit and we'll show you around--mi casa es su casa!