As the capitol of the region of Asia Minor called Pamphilylia, this
city was served by the port of Attalia (today called Antalya) on the
Mediterranean Sea. Just over five miles from the port, the city enjoyed
the constant availability of products from both east and west, as
well as the moderate climate of a Mediterranean city. The city rivaled
Ephesus in its beauty (though a bit smaller) and celebrated its Greek
culture in architecture and presentation. Paul and Barnabas arrived
here along with Baranabas’ nephew John Mark, who abandoned the team
from here. This proved to be a point of contention that eventually
divided Paul and Barnabas.
Located in present-day Turkey, Perga is located a few kilometers
upstream from the mouth of the river Cestrus and about 8 kilometers
West of the river itself. The main national cult was that of the
Queen of Persia, who was identified with Artemis as at Ephesus and
honored as the patroness of the city, Perga.
Presumably the city had a synagogue which was a well attested home of
Jews (Pamphylia), which initially would have attracted the Apostle to
Perga. In the vicinity was a celebrated temple of the goddess Artemis
of the Asiatic type, who was known as the Queen of Perga. Paul and
Barnabas traveled there by sea from Cyprus (Acts 13:13). They
passed through Perga twice on their first penetration of Asia Minor;
both on the way into the territory and on the way out (Acts 13:13,
14:24,25). Writing later to the church of Southern Galatia,
founded on this occasion, Paul mentioned a serious illness which was
physically apparent when he visited them (Galatians 4:13).