Tarsus

Way back at the end of February, we finally took a little day trip to Tarsus.  I have been wanting to take this trip ever since we got here.   It's only about 30-40 minutes away from base so there really was no excuse for us not going, minus us not having a vehicle of course. There are always group trips to this town, but we had yet to go on one. Finally one day, our group of friends decided to make an adventure out there.

view of the countryside as we were driving

*The info I am about to give is from a brochure I picked up along the way*

Tarsus is in the south of Turkey, between Adana and Mersin.  It is the oldest settlement area of not only Turkey, but the whole world. The foundation is 10,000 years old. 

Along the way, there is a beautiful waterfall that makes for awesome pictures! This is from The Berdan River, which means cold water river. The way the river meanders through the Tarsus Plain is one of the many reasons that the city was established in it's present location.  Today the waterfall is valued highly by the local population,especially during the hot summer months. The river is supposed to bring health, however some people have developed problems because of it.  An example is Alexander the Great, who is said to have bathed here, developed pneumonia and shortly afterwards died in Syria.  

From the waterfalls, we found a place to park (but not without some adventure first. We tried to visit a cemetery, without knowing of course, ha ha) and ventured the town to see what we could find. Our first stop was St. Paul's Well. During the times that Christians ruled in Tarsus, the Well's water was supposed to be Holy and useful for healing. 

I still to this day can not believe that we have stood in the same places as people from the Bible. I will forever be thankful to the military for allowing us this experience! 

After we visited the Well, we weren't sure where to go from there. The guy working didn't speak much English, but with finger points and a map J-Twice finally found (about ten minutes later), we continued walking. 

The Turkish children seem to love when Americans visit. On more than one occasion, in more than one location, I have seen them whip out their cameras and take pictures and videos of us. This particular day, they weren't exactly being pleasant but we have learned to deal with them. Lord only knows where our pictures have ended up! ha ha

From here, we eventually ran into The Ancient Road.  I say ran into because it wasn't what we were looking for, but it's where we ended up! That happens a lot around these parts! This road is two thousand years old,and found by chance in 1993.  

Check out these cute little houses and roads we walked along on our walk through the town. I always enjoying photographing places like this. 

One last place we visited while there was Cleopatra's Gate.  The gate is the last of several that were part of Tarsus's ancient walls; it opened from the city to the west.  

This here ends our visit to Tarsus. There are many other places to visit in this town but we didn't have that much time due to evening plans. Maybe we will have the chance to return but if not, it's okay. 

Until our next adventure...