DID YOU KNOW THAT TARSUS IS IN
PRESENT DAY TURKEY?

TARSUS [TAHR suss] - the birthplace of the apostle Paul (Acts 21:39; 22:3), formerly known as Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9:11). Tarsus was the chief city of CILICIA, a province of southeast Asia Minor (modern Turkey). This important city was situated on the banks of the Cydnus River about 16 kilometers (10 miles) north of the shore of the Mediterranean Sea.

Because of its strategic location, protected on the north by the Taurus Mountains and open to navigation from the Mediterranean, the city of Tarsus was a prize location for the Hittites, Mycenean Greeks, Assyrians, Persians, Seleucids, and Romans. In the post-Roman period it dwindled to a small city in the wake of battles between various Christian and Muslim powers.

During the Seleucid period, however, Tarsus became a free city (about 170 B.C.), and was open to Greek culture and education. By the time of the Romans, Tarsus competed with ATHENS and ALEXANDRIA as the learning center of the world. "I am a Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia," wrote the apostle Paul, "a citizen of no mean city" (Acts 21:39).

North of Tarsus were the famous Cilician Gates, a narrow gorge in the Taurus Mountains through which ran the only good trade route between Asia Minor and Syria. The location of Tarsus in a fertile valley brought great wealth to the city.

The apostle Paul spent his early years at Tarsus (Acts 9:11; 21:39; 22:3) and revisited it after his conversion to Christianity (Acts 9:30; 11:25).

(Source: Nelson New Illustrated Bible Dictionary)

"Turkey Trip:
In the footsteps of Paul"
Organised by Grace Church
Date: 18-28 March 2011