The Museum Hotel Antakya is an architectural feat that combines contemporary comforts with an ancient archaeological site.
If Antakya had a visitors’ book, it would be a page-turner. The sun-drenched city in southern Turkey, known for centuries as Antioch, has been the setting for an extraordinary cast of characters. They include Antony and Cleopatra, who dallied here, to saints Peter and Paul, who preached here, and even the medieval French queen Eleanor of Aquitaine who – according to contemporary gossip – had an affair with her uncle here.
It wasn’t planned this way. When local company the Asfuroğlu Group decided to build the city’s first five-star hotel back in 2009, they had no idea what lay beneath their chosen site. They were blindsided when a pre-construction borehole survey indicated the existence of extensive archaeological remnants.
Antakya is a fascinating cultural hotchpotch, with many places of interest. The Museum Hotel has deservedly become an attraction in its own right. Among the finds is this 1050 square metre mosaic: its undulations “tell a story of devastating earthquakes”, according to the hotel’s website. Asfuroğlu Abbasoglu hopes The Museum Hotel Antakya will not only provide a model for how to protect archaeological sites but will also introduce more visitors to her hometown.The hotel can organise private tours of the region for guests that take in hilltop monasteries, mountain villages, and beachfront restaurants serving freshly caught seafood.There is also plenty to explore in Antakya itself.