April 1972: Antalya, Antakya, Antioch and St Peter's Grotto and heading for Syria

 Taken From All About My Hat The Hippy Trail 1972

After Marion had left, we drove down to the southern coast of Turkey to Antalya and headed for a quiet beach where we were to spend the night. There was a friendly fisherman called Mustafa living in a small hut with his son, Zafer, and he invited us inside for tea. Mustafa spoke a little English and Keith asked him if he had any hasheesh. Very quietly the man said yes but he did not want his son to know. After sending the Zafer out on some short errand, Mustafa gave Keith a small piece of greenish hash. Mustafa also cooked the team some fish he had caught that day and told us that the next day he would take one of us to his village to meet his family. Also we could get some more hasheesh. Keith volunteered.

The party slept on the beach that night but in the early hours of daylight we were abruptly woken by a small group of angry looking Turkish policemen pointing guns at us and shouting. That was one of the few times that I felt Al panic, not knowing what they were shouting – but our new friend Mustafa soon came over and told us that the police wanted to see the passports and everyone, except me, had a passport – hats don't need them. The fisherman spoke to the police and then told us it was OK, he had told them we were his guests. The police started smiling and left. I sensed great relief in Al.

Later Keith went with Mustafa and Zafer and was gone for some time before returning with a big smile on his face and some more “smoke”. We spent the day and evening on the beach, smoking and enjoying the warm sun. I was pleased that my brim provided shade for Al's eyes so he kept me on his head.

We were just outside the city and port of Antalya, the biggest place I had been to since Istanbul. It was a busy place, full of traffic, and along the port, many fishing boats of various sizes. I did not feel that Al liked it very much there.

Keith announced that he was going to catch a boat to the East of Turkey and anyone who wanted to go with him was welcome. John said that somebody would have to stay with the van and it was going to have to be him. Mike and Al decided to “toss for it” and Mike tossed a coin into the air. Al shouted out “heads” and as the coin landed on the ground, Mike said “You win!” So it was agreed that Keith and Al would buy tickets and go by boat and that the four would meet up again in 6 weeks, back in Istanbul. Keith went off to buy the tickets. I sensed now that both Keith and Al had very little of that stuff called money: Al said he had just twenty pounds and that they would have to live on their wits. With no van or car of their own to travel in, they would have to hitch-hike. Keith came back with two tickets and said he was going to Beirut but the problem was, he said, pointing at a ship some distance out in the water which was the ship we needed to catch but the weather was too rough for it to come all the way into port. “No problem, man” said Keith, “I'm going to ask one of those fishing boats to take us out.”

Well, the sea was indeed so choppy that Keith had to ask quite a few fishermen before he found one willing to take him and Al out to the ship.

Al had already packed his rucksack and also had a sleeping bag to carry. He kept me on his head. They said goodbye to John and Mike and climbed aboard the small boat. It was up and down in the water and I sensed that Al was not too happy about this: “I can't swim”, he told Keith. The wind was blowing and as Al clung on tightly to the boat, I clung on tightly to Al's head. I knew that if the wind took me away now I would be taken far away out into all that water.

When we reached the ship, I felt Al's mood drop even lower and I realised that he and Keith would have to climb a ladder a long way up to board the ship. With both boat and ship going up and down in the water, I knew that Al did not feel it was easy to do, especially with his rucksack on his back and clutching his sleeping bag in his arms. I knew that Al had some experience climbing as he had spoken to the others about his adventures rock-climbing, fell walking and caving whilst at University, so I thought he'd make it up that ladder and I'd be OK so long as the wind did not catch me. Suddenly we were at the top and being helped aboard by a smiling crew. That was the first time I had ever been on a boat or on a ship.

Keith said that it was an overnight journey to the Eastern part of Turkey to a place called Iskenderun, but they didn't have a cabin and so it was very cheap. The problem was, he said, that they had very little Turkish money between them for food, and not much other money either.

The journey was very pleasant but both Keith and Al were hungry so Keith said he would try asking some of the other passengers for some money to buy dinner. A short while later Keith came back and said he's asked a crew member and “he said we can go down and finish off what's left on the table after the crew has eaten, for free.” I did not feel that Al relished the thought of what he called left-overs, but when we were called and went down to the eating area we found a long table covered with many different foods: fish, chicken and meats, vegetables, cheeses, fruits, breads, sweet cakes and the cook came out and said to eat whatever we wanted and take as much as we needed in our bags. What a feast! Of course Al did not eat the meats but he ate fish and many other tasty foods and I felt his mood improve.

Also during the journey Al and Keith met some other travellers from somewhere called America and were chatting. Keith told them we were going to Beirut in Lebanon but the new friends said “It's terrible there, not at all worth visiting, we had a horrid time and glad to be out of it.”

 So Keith and Al chatted together and decided that instead of going to Beirut, they would head for Baghdad in Iraq. They would try to get lifts in cars or trucks, due to lack of money, but they could always catch a bus if necessary.

The next day the ship arrived in Iskenderun.

Al had never even heard of this place before, so Keith read from his guidebook.

“Iskenderun is a city and urban district in the province of Hatay on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey.

“In antiquity, the city was known as Alexandretta. At its founding, it was named in honour of Alexander the Great, a name which it retained during the Roman period. The city was later renamed al-Iskandarun during the Islamic Caliphate and then to Iskenderun after the Ottoman conquest.

“Iskenderun is a busy commercial centre and is one of the largest cities in Hatay Province, similar in size to the provincial seat of Antakya. The city is one of Turkey's largest ports on the Mediterranean.

“Iskenderun figured prominently in Biblical, Roman, and Ottoman history.”

The guidebook suggested that we explore the "cave church" in which Saint Peter had preached to the Christian population of Antioch.

“Antakya, the biblical Antioch, is situated on the Asi River in a fertile surrounding. A little outside the city is the holy site where St. Peter’s Grotto is situated. The cave church is the place where St. Peter preached and founded the Christian community.

“This cave is widely believed to have been dug by the Apostle Peter himself as a place for the early Christian community of Antioch to meet, and thus to be the very first Christian church. Whether or not this is so, St. Peter (and St. Paul) did preach in Antioch around 50 AD and a church had been established in Antioch by as early as 40 AD.

“The Church of Saint Peter near Antakya, Antioch,, Turkey, is composed of a cave carved into the mountainside on Mount Starius. This cave, which was used by early Christians in the Antakya region, is one of Christianity's oldest churches.

“Antioch became a major centre for planning and organizing the apostles' missionary efforts, and it was the base for Paul's earliest missionary journeys. Famously, it was the inhabitants of Antioch that first called Jesus' followers "Christians" see Acts 11:26.

“The interior of the grotto church is austere and simple. The only permanent furnishings are a small altar, a single statue, and a stone throne. On the walls are the barely discernible remains of frescoes, and on the floor can be seen some traces of mosaics. In the back of the church is a tunnel that leads into the mountain interior, popularly believed to be a means of escape in times of persecution.”

I could feel that Al was quite excited at the prospect of seeing these caves. He said to Keith: “Let's sleep here the night and see if we can get a lift to those caves in Antakya tomorrow.” Keith closed his book and said “It's not far is it?”

So the two headed for the beach to sleep, but after they arrived it was not long before they were approached by a couple of local people. They chatted together in English and Keith explained that we wanted to see St Peter's first Church, the caves. Before long we were offered a lift there and off we went. We reached Antakya in the late afternoon being dropped off near the caves.

As Al and Keith walked up to the cave, we could see that there were other small caves in the hillside.

“We can sleep in one of those,” said Keith, pointing, “We may have to pay to see St Peters' place but at least we'll get a free room!”

The cave of St Peter was about to be closed for the night but we did manage to go inside for a brief look. There was an English-speaking caretaker who explained that the caves had secret exit routes built in so that the monks inside could escape to safety if the caves were attacked. He told us that the cave was the first Christian Church outside the Holy Land ,wherever that was I did not know, but I sensed that Al did. There was not much else to see except what the man said was an old altar.

Keith asked him about the other caves nearby and the caretaker said they were empty, so the two climbed the slope and found a cave that had a good view of the valley and then they built a small camp fire and made a hot drink and ate some food just as it was becoming dark.

Suddenly we were approached by a group of Turkish boys, five or six of them, all shouting “hello Mister, what is your name?” and “where you come from?” They were a jolly bunch and laughed when Al told them his name. “Are you Al-lah?” said one of the boys, and the others fell about. “No,” said Al, “just Al.” “Peace for you,” said the boy. 

 

Another boy asked “What you do here?” and Al explained that they were going to sleep for the night.”

“No, no,” said the boy, “bandits will see fire and come down and rob you – you must put fire out now!”

All the boys suddenly started throwing earth onto the small fire until it was out, making big clouds of smoke in the process, and enough noise to attract St Peter let alone the bandits. Then, as fast as they had arrived, they all left, leaving Al and Keith alone in the cave and within minutes it was pitch black.

“May as well sleep and make an early start tomorrow,” said Al, which is what they did. Al put me on the ground near his head and within a short while, was snoring loudly – it seemed to echo up and down the alley. I could feel that Keith was moving about restlessly for some time. Then Keith jumped up and shook Al as though to wake him.

"There's somebody out there, fuck it man” said Keith, “climbing up the slope.”

Al jumped up and put me on his head. I sensed his trepidation as he began to strain his eyes peering into the darkness, where nothing could be seen. Every now and then we could hear the movement of small rocks and rubble, as if somebody was slowly creeping towards us. Al tried to peer into the blackness of the night but could see nothing but the outline of the hill opposite us and a few dim lights in the distance down the valley.

Al stayed like that for what seemed like hours, staring and listening. Nothing happened until suddenly he heard Keith snoring! He had gone to sleep. Was it all a ruse to wake Al up and stop him snoring? Al himself climbed back inside his own sleeping bag and lay there listening for hours, unable to sleep, until it started to get light again when he finally dosed off. Keith, it seemed, had slept soundly.

When Al awoke, Keith had already made tea to drink and warmed some bread by the new camp fire. “Sorry about that, Al,” said Keith, “I just couldn't get to sleep while you were making so much noise snoring!”

“So were you,” said Al, “I think those goats down there thought you were making a mating call to them. They were heading our way.

“At least there were no bandits!”

It wasn't long before the two men were scrambling back down the slope from the cave and standing besides the road waving their hands to try to get a lift. They had looked at the map in the guidebook and could see it was a long way to Baghdad and they would have to cross Syria first. Quite soon they were offered a lift all the way to the Turkey-Syria border.

Aleppo was just sixty-nine miles from Antakya.