Deep in the Taurus Mountains of Turkey's Mediterranean coast, along ancient Roman roads and shepherds' tracks, live the ghosts of St. Paul and his followers.

St. Paul, born Saul of Tarsus, returned to Asia Minor for all three of his historic missionary journeys intent on preaching to Rome's most influential Asian "provinces." Today, that ground-breaking moment in history converges with the archaeology, history, religion and folklore of civilizations past and present on the sage-covered slopes and pine-clad hills of southwestern Turkey. And while countless tour operators market tours overwhelmingly entitled "In the footsteps of St. Paul," only one woman, leading a pack of volunteer trailblazers is willing to get down and dirty and make it happen.

Kate Clow, a British ex-pat/citizen and avid walker, began her own journey through Turkey's mountain region by "collecting" ancient footpaths and mule trails trodden as far back as Lycian times. It was no stretch for her to then connect the dots into a long-distance trail that would appeal to hikers, mountaineers and avid walkers like herself.

In 2002, three years after the completion of the Lycian Way, Kate's feet started to get itchy again for another long-distance project. She directed her attentions to the Lake Region north of her home of Antalya, attracted by it's natural beauty, the concentration of unexcavated Roman sites and its geographical diversity. Initially, the fact that St. Paul must have walked these very same Roman roads was purely incidental. But marketing proved potent, and Kate, along with her friend and associate, Terry Richardson (contributing author to the Rough Guide to Turkey, avid mountaineer and now an integral part of the creation of the trail and the companion guides) brainstormed the St. Paul Trail as the second in a series of long distance trails. After that, the concept of the St. Paul Trail assumed a momentum of its own. In June of 2003, Kate, assisted by Terry and a volunteer team of intrepid ex-pats and hiking enthusiasts mostly from the UK, Holland, Germany and Israel, tackled the overgrown route taken by St. Paul on his missionary journeys through Asia Minor. Over the course of three months, the group systematically cleared overgrown trails, took copious GPS readings for distances and points of interest, including fresh water sources, and painted the red and white striped way-marks in accordance with the French Grand Randonèe system.

In advance of the actual way-marking, Kate and Terry walked all sections of the proposed route at least once, consulting with the local shepherds for invaluable information and relying on the "collective memory" of a village whenever possible. In these parts, the remnants of antiquity are often in the minds of the villagers, in the form of lore passed down from generation to generation. Apparently, religious tourism became big business after Constantine's acceptance of Christianity as the official state religion. Pilgrims regularly headed to Urfa, where Abraham lived and where a letter supposedly written by Jesus was pinned up to a wall, to Antioch-in-Psidia, one of the main cities in which St. Paul preached and eventually to Myra. The shepherds of antiquity would have brought back news of these pilgrims (indeed, the area around Adada is called Karabavlu Valley, or "Black Paul" by the locals) and noted the routes taken. Sadly, the folk memories are fading fast, as it was primarily the long-departed ethnic Greek villagers that perpetuated these stories.

The first section of the trail leads from ancient Perge to scenic Lake Egirdir (pronounced Eh-ear-dear) and passes several spectacular waterfalls, towering gorges and little-discovered Roman sites. Of all the areas in the triad of lake area trails, this section is the most convincing where St. Paul is concerned. "We know he traveled north from Perge, but it is impossible to trace parts of the route because it is now hidden under farmland and submerged by the Aksu River flood plain," says Kate. "There's an original Roman road from SütÇüler to the well-preserved site of Adada, then it is lost again." There's also a good section of the road now known as the King's Way – the ancient route connecting Ephesus and Babylon - discernible down in the Çandir Canyon.

The second section of the trail heads north out of Egirdir (the city on the lake of the same name) to Antioch-in-Psidia, where St. Paul first preached to convert Jews. "Probably," says Kate, "St. Paul followed the east side of Lake Egirdir, which is now paved over by an asphalt road." At this point in the topography, Kate chooses the more scenic goat tracks of the western shoreline. This section takes in a decommissioned subordinate line to the Berlin to Baghdad railway in Egirdir proper, and a particularly scenic and physically challenging ascent up Mount Barla. At about 1800 meters, the air is dry and the landscape arid and austere. But the landscape is no match for the nomadic nature of the "locals" who, together with their herds, have been escaping the searing temperatures of the coast for centuries.

The Egirdir branch ends to the northeast at YalvaÇ and the ancient site of Antioch-in-Psidia. It is accepted as historical record that St. Paul and St. Barnabas arrived here together in the 1st century AD and that St. Paul's first sermon to the congregation of a synagogue was given here. It was also in Antioch-in-Psidia where tradition has it that Thecla (from the Acts of St. Paul and Thecla) was thrown to the wild beasts and saved by a lion. The church dedicated to Paul and constructed on the foundations of the synagogue is the main event of any pilgrimage to this particular Antioch.

The third and final section of the trail finds us back on the coast in the foothills of the Taurus Mountains in the ancient Roman city of Aspendos. Home of Turkey's best-preserved ancient theatre and site of an annual opera and ballet festival, Aspendos nevertheless remains, for the most part, unexcavated and undiscovered. For the second time, Kate sends her trekkers over the Taurus Mountains, but this section is by far the most challenging. The route roughly follows the Köprülü River, taking in the daunting and grand Köprülü Canyon. The reward, beyond the sheer exhilaration of the trek, is an optional white water rafting adventure, best tackled in the Spring. Die-hards have the option of climbing Mt. Dedegül, at 3,992 meters, the highest peak in the area. In some cases, the original Roman roads have been paved over, covered by development or simply declared unusable. Where necessary and after periods of recon, the team veers the trail onto more modern roads and tracks or clears new ones, especially where doing so leads to points of particular interest such as ancient ruins, remote villages or natural wonders. Opportunities to sit elbow to elbow with the locals are plenty too. "This is my philosophy," says Kate. "Treat it as an adventure. Anything can happen. Talk to the shepherds – they might invite you for tea, they might invite you to stay over...I've spent Bayrams (religious holidays) eating yet another meal..." As a complement to the completed trails, Kate publishes a useful companion handbook entitled "The Lycian Way" ("St. Paul Trail" is currently in production) which provides logically spaced, stand-alone itineraries that can be walked in increments of as little as one hour up to several weeks. Kate admits, however, the level of difficulty of the St. Paul Trail, combined with the remote topography, makes this trail less conducive than the Lycian Way to day hikes. On many sections, an overnight is required, and at least a moderate level of physical preparedness. So what's next? Ultimately, the main objective is for Kate to do what she loves and have it sustain here. (She says it does, but modestly). "No doubt, says Kate, "other trails will follow." (Published, Boston Globe, November 2, 2003)