I want to tell you about five things that you should not miss in Tarsus, Turkey that connect with the Bible. Tarsus is still a modern city and lies right on top of the ancient Biblical one. Besides being the birth place of the Apostle Paul, here are the things worth seeing if you are there.
For each sight, I give the exact location on google maps.
1. An ancient road running through Tarsus
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| Road running through ancient Tarsus |
The road is located here and runs right beside the the Tarsus museum. You can see that the surrounding site is excavated. It was discovered by chance during a modern construction project.
The road itself was constructed in the first century and likely commissioned by Augustus*.
It is extremely well preserved and likely a road that the apostle Paul himself walked on when travelling from Derbe or Lystra. It has ancient sewer pipes underneath and is constructed of basalt.
2. “The Tarsus Museum”
The museum is here and is right beside the road from the previous point.
There are a few things worth mentioning that connect with the Bible in the musuem.
The first connects with a statement made by the apostle Paul.
Then Paul said: “I am, in fact, a Jew, of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no obscure city. So I beg you, permit me to speak to the people.”
Acts 21:39 – New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures
There are several artifacts in this museum that back up this statement. One of them is this column:
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| A piece of the column belonging to a Roman temple from the 1st century. |
This column belonged to one of the largest temples in the ancient Roman world. It measured 200 by 300 meters and demonstrated the magnificence of the city. Some inscriptions even refer to this city as the “great metropolis”*.
Also be sure to check out the coins near the end of the museum tour. Some of them say, “Tarsus Metropolis, First, Fairest, Best.” All confirming that Tarsus was indeed “no obscure city”.
You will also find interesting the collection of oil lamps in this museum dating to the time of the Apostles. Oil lamps of course have many Biblical references. Here are some on display:
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| Oil lamps in the museum of Tarsus |
In the book, Insight on the Scriptures”, you will see on page 967 a picture of Pan, a goat-like god that likely originated with the ancient Egyptians and was possibly referred to many times in the scriptures as a “goat shaped” demon, though this is uncertain.
Here we have an image of this god.
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| The Roman god “Pan”. A goat-like god. |
There are numerous references in the scriptures of the Israelites sacrificing to “goat-shaped demons”. This pictures is of the Roman god Pan who resembles such a god.
Here is what the book Insight on the Scriptures says:
Herodotus (II, 46) claims that from such Egyptian worship the Greeks derived their belief in Pan and also in the satyrs, woodland gods of a lustful nature, who were eventually depicted as having horns, a goat’s tail, and goat’s legs. Some suggest that such half-animal form of these pagan gods is the source of the practice of picturing Satan with tail, horns, and cloven feet, a custom prevalent among professed Christians in the Dark Ages.
Insight on the Scriptures – Vol 1, p. 966
3. The Tomb of the Prophet Daniel
Honestly, there are several sites that claim to be the final resting place of the prophet Daniel. But here is one of them. It is located here.
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| One of the supposed burial places of the prophet Daniel in Tarsus, Turkey |
How did Daniel end up in Tarsus? A good question. There is a legend that near the end of the prophet Daniel’s life, there was a famine in Babylon. He was then invited to Tarsus to live out the remainder of his days. Since Tarsus was a prosperous city and food was abundant, he travelled there. Of course there is no mention of this in the Bible and hence it is just a legend.
What evidence is there that this is Daniel’s tomb? During the 11th century, Tarsus was captured by Islamic forces. At this site, a large coffin was found. On one of the fingers of the body was a ring. On this ring was the figure of a boy and two lions. Hence the deduction was made that this must be the prophet Daniel. The coffin was then reburied there.* Of course it’s a long shot, but this belief continues to this day.
I also want to mention that this site is underneath a mosque. Hence it requires entry to the mosque in order to see it. If this is something that you are uncomfortable with, then you might want to skip this site on your to-do list.
4. Paul’s Well
The location of “Paul’s Well” is here. Admission is about two dollars.
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| Paul’s Well – Tarsus, Turkey. You can still draw drinkable water to this day |
We inquired as to why people believe that this is the actual well that belonged to Paul. We are told that it has been visited for centuries and is simply a popular belief that is passed down through the centures. The area around the well is covered in glass and is claimed to be the place where Paul was born. Whether you believe that or not us up to you.
We were suprised to learn that the well is 38 meters deep and it can be drawn from year round. Pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem would stop here and claimed it had healing powers.
If you walk around the area of the well, you will see the base of a house that many claim belonged to the apostle Paul.
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| The area below the glass is claimed to be where the apostle Paul was born. |
The site is in a small but beautiful little park.
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| The park is small but beautiful |
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| The park takes about 10 minutes to see everything. |
5. Man on a Stake
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| Statue of the satyr Marsyas found in Tarsus – Archaeological Museum of Istanbul, Turkey |
This last item is from Tarsus, but not actually located in Tarsus. Instead you will need to go to the Istanbul Archaeology Museum. It is located here. You can also view it here.
Why we found this interesting is because it depicts a man undergoing a common form of torture and execution on a tree or stake. This underminds a common belief that the Romans executed people on a cross. The Bible doesn’t even agree with this. Instead it says that he died on a tree or stake.
It was recovered from Tarsus and is a statue that was copied many times by the Romans because of it’s connection with Roman folklore. The story is that this man Marsyas challenged Apollo to a musical contest and lost. Therefore he was tortured and executed on a stake.
Summary
I hope you enjoy Tarsus as much as we did and all the things to see connected with the Bible. I certainly recommend having a car to drive around if you want to see these things.
Please visit our other pages to see places that we have visited in Turkey.
The Garden of Eden – Possible Modern Day Location
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