Destination Turkey: Tarsus

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Raymond Hoy
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  Our office recently went out to visit the Turkish community in an effort to learn more about the community we are now a part of. Turkey has a lot to see and we wanted to learn what we could to bring back some of that information to others on the base.

We decided to visit Tarsus. Tarsus is about 45 minutes from the base and is home to some outstanding sites; both historical and recent. It is not as big or modern as Adana, but it has plenty to offer and there is a lot of activity.

We primarily stuck to the historical aspect of the town visiting places like Cleopatra's Gate, St. Paul's Church and St. Paul's Well.

Cleopatra's Gate is an interesting visit and can be kind of dangerous. It is placed right in the middle of a busy city street. You have to find somewhere to park and play the Frogger game to make it across to the gate. The gate is leftover from the first century B.C. It has been partially restored in modern time. The gate is all that's left of a wall that surrounded the entire city. It was believed that Cleopatra sailed up the Cydnus disguised as Aphrodite and came through this gate in 41 B.C. on her way to meet Mark Antony.

St. Paul's Church is a very old church dedicated to its namesake. The church has a cool painted ceiling of classical early Christian scenes. The church usually requires advance requests for visits.

St. Paul's Well is located in an older part of the city. The well is right next to the foundation of a very old house. The pit in which the foundation is located is covered with glass for its protection. The well and home are said to be where St. Paul lived. He is also referred to as St. Paul of Tarsus.

The area around St. Paul's Well is very interesting as well. The few streets of historic houses near the well offers a glimpse at what the town looked like for much of its history during the last millennium.

Another place of interest is the Church Mosque in the city center. It was built as a church about 300 A.D., 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 Ramazanoglu emir.

After seeing the sites, it was definitely time for food. We visited one of the more scenic parts of Tarsus, the waterfall. The waterfall was built in the last century and was created to stem annual flooding that occurred throughout the city's history. After the falls were created, it was discovered there was an ancient Roman cemetery right on that spot. The restaurant we ate at literally sat right on the edge of the falls. In the summer heat, it was the best spot in Turkey to have a meal.

If you're looking for a place to go besides Adana and the Alley, Tarsus is definitely worth the effort.