The Saint Paul Trail is a
long-distance footpath
A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway (landscape), greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking (wilderness), backpacking, cycling, equestrianism or cross-co ...
in Turkey, approximately 500 km long. The trail begins in
Perge
Perga or Perge (Hittite language, Hittite: ''Parha'', ''Perge'', ) was originally an ancient Lycian settlement that later became a Greeks, Greek city in Pamphylia. It was the capital of the Roman province of Pamphylia Secunda, now located in ...
, about 10 km east of
Antalya
Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...
, and it ends in
Yalvaç
Yalvaç is a town of Isparta Province in the Mediterranean Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Yalvaç District. ,
Isparta
Isparta is a city in western Turkey. It is the seat of Isparta Province and Isparta District.[İl ...]
, northeast of
Lake Eğirdir
Eğirdir (, formerly ''Eğridir'') is a lake in the Lakes Region of Turkey. The town of Eğirdir lies near its southern end, north of Antalya. With an area of it is the fourth largest lake in Turkey, and the second largest freshwater lake.
...
. A second branch starts at the Oluk Köprüsü (Roman Bridge over the Köprülü River), 100 km north-east of Antalya, and joins the main route at the ancient Roman site of Adada.
The name of the trail is derived from the fact that a part of it follows the route
Saint Paul the Apostle
Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...
took on his
first missionary journey to
Anatolia
Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
. It starts at sea level and climbs to 2200 m in elevation. It is marked along the way with red and white stripes to
Grande Randonnée
The GR footpaths are a network of long-distance walking trails in Europe, mostly in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Spain. They go by the following names: , , , , – generally meaning "long trail" or more literally "great route". T ...
standards.
The trail is one of a group of trails associated with th
Culture Routes Society of Turkey The organization publishes a guidebook for the Saint Paul Trail, and in September 2011 released a digital guidebook iPhone application that provides users with GPS navigation and localized information about trail attractions and amenities.
See also
*
List of long-distance footpaths
This is a list of some long-distance footpaths used for walking and hiking.
Africa
Lesotho
* 3 Ranges Trail: a hiking trail that passes three mountain ranges, namely Thaba Putsoa Range, Central Range and ends at Drakensburg Range. It starts at ...
*
Lycian Way
The Lycian Way () is a marked Long-distance trail, long-distance hiking trail in southwestern Turkey around part of the coast of ancient Lycia. It is approximately in length and stretches from Hisarönü (Ovacık, Fethiye, Ovacık), near Fethiy ...
*
Evliya Çelebi Way
The Evliya Çelebi Way is a cultural trekking route celebrating the early stages of the journey made in 1671 to Mecca by the eponymous Ottoman Turkish gentleman-adventurer, Evliya Çelebi. Evliya travelled the Ottoman Empire and beyond for some 40 ...
References
Other sources
*Kate Clow (with Terry Richardson). ''St Paul Trail: Turkey's Second Long Distance Walking Route''. Upcountry, 2004, .
*Stephen Goodwin
"Return of the Saint: On the road from Perge to Antioch".The Independent on Sunday
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...
, 25 July 2004.
"St. Paul was here: Antioch in 'Pisida'" Today's Zaman
''Today's Zaman'' (Zaman is Turkish for 'time' or 'age') was an English-language daily newspaper based in Turkey. Established on 17 January 2007, it was the English-language edition of the Turkish daily '' Zaman.'' ''Today's Zaman'' included dom ...
, 9 January 2008.
External links
Cultureroutesturkey.comTurkey's St. Paul Trail
Trip report of a 2011 walk on the St. Paul Trail
* ttps://www.outdoorhaber.com/doga-yuruyusu/st-paul-aziz-paul-yolu-haritasi-ve-gps-dosyasi Downloadable gps file of the whole St Paul Trail (In Turkish)
Tourism in Turkey
Hiking trails in Turkey
Paul the Apostle
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