ANTAKYA

Antakya city in the very south of Turkey was an important centre of early Christianity, with some of the first non-hidden churches.In ancient times, Antakya was known as Antioch, was for centuries one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire, and was an influential early center of Christianity.Today it’s a truly multicultural place, where you can hear prayers in many different tongues.

 

Many denominations of Christianity (Greek Orthodoxy, Syriac Christianity, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism to name a few) and Islam (Sunni and Alawi), as well as Judaism, are all represented with their dedicated temples in Antakya.Ethnically, Arabs constitute almost half of the population whereas the other half is constituted by Turks. Arabs in the city speak Levantine (Shami) dialect of Arabic, which is also prevalent in Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan.