03. Ancient Antioch
3D reconstruction of ancient Antioch, one of the four great metropolises of the Roman Empire.
For about sixteen centuries – from its founding by Seleucus I, one of Alexander the Great’s generals, around 320 BC, to its conquest in 1268 by Baibars, the Sultan of Syria and Egypt, Antiochia “the Golden” and its citadel, perched high above the river Orontes, on Mt. Silpius, dominated the Eastern Mediterranean. At its height, in the late Hellenistic and then Roman eras, it counted well above 600,000 inhabitants and was, next to Rome, Alexandria, and Constantinople, one of the four great metropolises of the Roman Empire. At its foundation, the city had around 20,000 people. At its peak, it had around 400,000 – 600,000. By the end of the 4th century, it had declined to 200,000. This 3D reconstruction doesn’t represent the city when it had 400,000-600,000 people.
Its cosmopolitan population made up of Greeks, Macedonians, Jews, Phoenicians, Armenians, Syrians, and Romans, made up one of the most diverse and cosmopolitan cities of Antiquity, in which all free men, irrespective of origin, held equal citizenship status. Most Antiochians spoke Aramaic and Greek and this, together with its geographical proximity to Jerusalem and its status as “capital of the East” explains why, in the first century AD, Antioch became the “cradle of Christianity” as the home of the first gentile Christian community in the world.
For nearly a millennium the city of Antioch, located on the Syrian border of southern Turkey, reigned as one of the ancient world’s great cities, renowned for its sophistication, the opulence of its buildings and broad avenues, its markets filled with exotic and luxurious goods, and, perhaps more important, its artistic and intellectual life. The city was home to leaders of the early Christian church. It was here that the evangelist Matthew is believed to have written his gospel, where the first-century bishop Ignatius codified many of the tenets of the early church, and where the fourth-century orator John Chrysostom wrote his Easter Address, the benchmark by which modern clerics still judge their own sermons.
The Hippie trail, I never heard of it.
Sadly nowadays it seems unimaginable to travel this route for your pleasure and adventure. You could off course, but the many more dangers you will now face….
Is Goa still a main hippie attraction/site to go to, or is this place today not a special hippie related place anymore?
The third map also interesting, Antioch is now present day Antakya in the Southern most point of Turkey. I believe not much of this ancient city is left, besides the ancient walls surrounding Antioch.
Destroyed in the 13th century, and much later a new city was build on top of/ and next to the old one.
Great section, first I thought you would only show geographical maps (like the one with Men’s Waterpolo Gold), but with these other maps (reconstruction, underground, movement, trails etc.) it is a much more complex and interesting section.
Goa is a pretty established tourist destination now in India, even for Indians. It’s a pity the party scene is dying. The amplified music ban means no loud outdoor music after 10pm… This doesn’t mean the parties have stopped, it just means they now take huge bribes to put on. The police force is insanely corrupt and now just exists to extort money from tourists for any reason. When you go to Goa you can tell it’s a shadow of its former self. It’s a shame, and there are still good times to be had in Arambol, but largely the party scene is a sad shell outside Christmas and New Years.
We are happy that people are slowly realizing this section’s potential.