Silifke to Taşucu – 13th October
Distance: 11.2 km – Elevation +50 m -50 m
Weather: Sunny. Temperature: High 37 degrees
Today will be my last day of walking in Turkey. A journey that started 52 days ago when I crossed the border at Ipsala, a journey that started with expectations but also a good degree of uncertainty and trepidation, a journey that has fulfilled that expectation, a journey full of surprises, beauty, and love. There is so much in this beautiful country that I have not seen but my goal has always been Jerusalem and I have not wavered much from that path. Perhaps one day I will return to Anatolia.
Silifke has a very long history and in antiquity it was called Seleucia. It was founded in the early part of the 3rd century BCE by the Greek general and friend of Alexander the Great, King Seleucus I Nicator. It has been in the occupation of the Romans, Byzantines, Arab Muslims, Seljuk Turks, the Hospitallers, the Karamanids, and the Ottomans, and there are many historic sites which include Silifke Castle, the Tekir Barn a large Byzantine cistern, and the roman bridge over the Göksu River in the city centre which was first constructed in AD 77 – 78.
But for me, the jewel in its crown are the ruins of Saint Thecla Church and Cave and the wonderful story of two early Christian women who lived centuries apart but are connected by this church – Saint Thecla and the pilgrim Egeria. Most of what is known about Saint Thecla, comes from the early Christian writing of the Apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla. In this text we are informed about Thecla’s relationship with the apostle Paul and especially her miraculous escapes from two attempts to put her to death. The pilgrim Egeria set out from either Spain or France in AD384 to undertake a remarkable pilgrimage to Jerusalem and it was on her return from Jerusalem that she visited Silifke and Saint Thecla’s Church. She kept a journal and the following excerpt describes that visit:
“I arrived at a city called Seleukeia of Isauria, and, when I got there, I called on the bishop, a very godly man who had been a monk, and saw a very beautiful church in the city. Holy Thekla’s is on a small hill about a mile and a half from the city, so, as I had to stay somewhere, it was best to go straight on and spend the night there. Round the holy church there is a tremendous number of cells for men and women. And that was where I found one of my dearest friends, a holy deaconess called Marthana. I had come to know her in Jerusalem when she was up there on pilgrimage. She was the superior of some cells of apotactites or virgins, and I simply cannot tell you how pleased we were to see each other again. But I must get back to the point. There are a great many cells on that hill, and in the middle a great wall round the martyrium itself, which is very beautiful. The wall was built to protect the church against the Isaurians, who are hostile, and always committing robberies, to prevent them trying to damage the monastery which had been established there. In God’s name I arrived at the martyrium, and we had a prayer there, and read the whole Acts of holy Thekla; and I gave heartfelt thanks to God for his mercy in letting me fulfill all my desires so completely, despite all my unworthiness. For two days I stayed there, visiting all the holy monks and apotactites, the men as well as the women, after praying and receiving Communion, I went back to Tarsus to rejoin my route.”
There was a power cut in the hotel when I woke this morning and it was still out when I left two hours later. So it was a cold shower, that bought back memories of cold showers after PE at school. I enjoyed a good breakfast before leaving around 9.30 am. It was another beautiful day with clear blue skies and warming temperatures that later in the day rose to 32 degrees.
The Göksu River which has been my companion for the past few days flows through the centre of the town and is close to the end of its journey too. After leaving the town it enters the Göksu Delta and then the Mediterranean Sea. The Göksu Delta is one of the most important bird migration routes in the world, and its wetlands provide sanctuary for a number of bird species which are in danger of extinction, including the reed rooster, summer duck, pygmy cormorant, crested pelican, red goose, and sea eagle. It is also the breeding ground for the endangered loggerhead sea turtle Caretta Caretta and the green turtle Chelonia mydas.
It was a straight 10 kilometre walk to Taşucu where I would take the ferry to Cyprus. Close to halfway, I called into a roadside cafe for tea where the proprietor asked if I would like a glass or cup, so I had a rare cup of tea instead of the usual glass. An elderly gentleman arrived at the next table and I said “hello”, he looked at me and without a word sat down. I continued to enjoy my tea and was just finishing when I heard ” where are you from?”, spoken by the elderly gentleman in almost perfect English. He asked “where are you going?” and I explained my purpose and my walking journey, ” I don’t believe it,” he said in an incredulous tone. He told me he was born in Ankara and never went to school, he said he was 77 and when I told him I was 76 he looked at me and said with a wry smile ” a young man”. He said he doesn’t walk much anymore. I told him how beautiful his country is and that the Turkish people had been generous and kind, he looked me in the eyes and said, ” is that from the heart”. He had a great understanding of the use of the English language and I would have enjoyed a longer chat. It seemed so appropriate, this being my last walking day in his country, that as I went to pay he said: ” I will pay for your tea” , his name was Atta.
Later, on the outskirts of Taşucu, I passed by and visited a large and very colourful vegetable and fruit market and arrived at the Iskele Hotel where I had booked to stay for two nights. I am by the Mediterranean after a journey of 1200 kilometres and at the end of a very special and wonderful journey through Turkey.
