The Anatolian Adventure: Tarsus

While I was in Adana, I decided to take a day trip to Tarsus. It's an easy ride: there is a train that links Adana with Tarsus (which eventually goes further to Mersin) and this is a frequent connection. So one morning, I headed to the train station, bought myself a ticket, and then about an hour later, I was in Tarsus.

Tarsus is not the most photogenic city, but it definitely is historic. I spent a few hours meandering around, checking out what it offers to the casual visitor.

According to Christian tradition, St. Paul was born here: he used to be known as Saul of Tarsus, as the story goes. So there are a few historical artefacts around the city that is linked to this Biblical character. For example, the pictures above show you St. Paul's Well, found in a historic neighbourhood of the city.

The Old Town is not well maintained: some structures are dilapidated and almost looked like they are about to collapse. Nevertheless, a few buildings definitely looked old yet still majestically standing.

I checked out the local mosque, which was a small one. The interior was quiet, then again, it wasn't prayer time when I visited.

I then headed to the Church of St. Paul. This is in a different neighbourhood, and is apparently on the list of tentative sites to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.

Finally, I headed to the site where Cleopatra's Gate is located. The gate is very old, dating back to the times where Mark Antony and Octavian were fighting, and Mark Antony allied himself with Cleopatra, who entered through this gate at some point.

After spending a few hours, I headed back to the train station and went back to Adana.