Jonah's Pillar
The story of Jonah is included in both Christian and Muslim tradition. While there are a few discrepancies of the little details, the premise in both traditions is the same. Essentially, Jonah was running from being obedient to God by going to Nineveh, and boarded a boat near modern day Tel-Aviv. This boat was headed to Tarshish, which was very far away. A storm arose, and he realized it was God punishing him for not going to Nineveh. So, he went overboard and was swallowed by a fish or whale. He was spit up some days later, and as the story goes, he proceeded to Nineveh to call the people there to repent.
This pile of rocks is called the Yunus Sütunu , or, “Jonah Pillar”
On our drive from Adana to Antakya, we passed the location where local tradition says that Jonah washed up on shore. This small sign on the side of the road shows a location on a beach by the Mediterranean where conjecture says Jonah was spit up by the large fish. While there is no way to know for sure, the geography of the area makes sense. Nineveh, the city Jonah was headed to, is located on the outskirts of modern day Mosul, Iraq. When looking at a map, you can see that the location where Jonah supposedly washed up is a straight shot east to Mosul. Therefore, it makes sense that Jonah would wash up at this location because he could head straight to Nineveh.
My favorite part of visiting this location was the views of the Mediterranean Sea. This site is a dip off of a major highway on the coast. Therefore, it is elevated a little bit, giving onlookers a phenomenal view of the Mediterranean Sea and lots of the cargo ships coming to port in the nearby city. Overall, this was a fascinating stop on our road trip to Antakya!
To our friends in the West, keep looking East!
Sydney Sawyer
Sydney Sawyer is a joy all-around! Although she grew up moving all over the states, she claims Huntsville, Alabama as home. She left Rocket City to study accounting at Mississippi College, which consists of lots of running, studying, and goofing off with her friends. Although Syd has only taken two accounting classes, she’s often given the label “beloved resident accountant and human calculator.” Some of Syd’s favorite things include hiking moderately-sized mountains, reading an obscene number of books, and blaring music in her car that is lovingly referred to as “Ethel.” Being Syd’s friend comes along with watching lots of documentaries, eating fajitas every other night, and giggling over the silliest of things. To know her is to love her!