Antioch of Pisidia

Antioch of Pisidia is an ancient ruined city in present-day Turkey, situated near the modern town of Yalvaç in Isparta Province. Founded in the 3rd century BC under the Seleucids, it rose to prominence as a Roman colony under Augustus, receiving an imperial-scale makeover of temples, a triumphal arch, and colonnaded streets characteristic of Roman urban planning in Asia Minor. Its place in world history was sealed by the Apostle Paul, who visited around AD 46 on his first missionary journey and preached in the local synagogue — an episode recorded in Acts 13 and regarded as a pivotal moment in the early spread of Christianity. Ongoing excavations since the early 20th century have uncovered the Temple of Augustus, a nymphaeum, and sections of the Roman road grid. Visitors today walk largely unencrowded ruins across an open highland plateau with sweeping views of the Pisidian landscape.