St. Paul's Route of Greece

The European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) was formed by the tourism networks of Greece, Italy, Northern Cyprus, and Belgium. They implemented the cultural route "In the footsteps of St. Paul, the Apostle of the Nations" as a result of the Cult-RInG Interreg Europe project—Cultural Routes as Investments for Growth and Jobs, 2017–2021. They conducted numerous research and documentation studies on St. Paul's heritage in order to determine the route's content, the regions to be included in the route, the important places and touristic points. In addition, they attended various meetings, workshops, and discussions, as well as visited significant locations (EGTC 2021). Since 2006, the route has been in operation. It follows a route that includes stops in Southern Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Italy, and Spain (Figure 2). They hope to obtain a certificate for the route from the Council of Europe. They attempted to obtain a certificate from the COE with a route titled "In the Footsteps of St. Paul, the Apostle of the Nations-Cultural Route" during the 2021–2022 application period. It still does not have a certificate (Baniotopoulou 2016; CRS 2012; SPMJ n.d.).

**Figure 2.** St. Paul's Route of Greece.

## St. Paul's Route of Turkey

The St. Paul's Route in Turkey is a 500 km long path that takes 27 days to walk between the Perge Ancient City, which is located 10 km east of Attalia (Antalya), one of Turkey's western Mediterranean coastal cities, and the Psidia Antiochia Ancient City, which is located in the Yalvaç District of the mountainous city of Isparta (Figure 3). A second branch departs from Be¸skonak at the entrance to Köprülü Canyon National Park, 80 km northeast of Antalya. In the Roman ancient city of Adada, the second branch connects with the first one. The route follows Roman roads, trails, and forest roads, and in places is suitable for mountain biking. Kate Clow established this route in 2008 to bring tourism to the countryside and to give hikers an insight into the countryside by passing through the locations where St. Paul went on his first trip to Asia Minor. Accommodation is available in village houses or small pensions along the road, but camping is done in long stages in designated camping areas (CRS 2012).
