Tarsus, Turkey Guide

The historic city center holds several buildings of interest:

— The Church Mosque (Kilise Cami, or Baytimur Camii) in the city center was built as a church about 300 AD, perhaps dedicated to St Paul. After a thousand years as a church, it was converted to a mosque in 1415 when the city was conquered from the Byzantines by a Turkish Ramazanoğlu emir.

— The Roman-era Cleopatra's Gate may have nothing to do with Cleopatra, but it is a monumental remnant of the ancient city's system of defensive walls.

— St. Paul's Well, an obviously old stone well, may have nothing to do with St. Paul, but it is interesting to see, and perhaps the main reason many travelers stop in Tarsus.

— The few streets of historic houses near St. Paul's Well are interesting to walk through, a glimpse at what the town looked like for much of its history during the last millennium.

— The Tarsus Museum is housed in a 16th-century medrese (theological seminary).

Access to Tarsus (TAHR-sus, pop. 200,000) is easy as it lies between Mersin and Adana, with fast highways and frequent buses, minibuses and trains.

For fully-escorted tours that visit Tarsus as well as the Seven Churches of Asia, contact Orion-Tour. More...