Following Peter and Paul (...Cont)

Rachel gets another week off while I continue writing about my adventures in Turkey. On Sunday I went to Tarsus, the place where the apostle Paul is from. I wasn't able to find a tour group going, so I convinced a taxi driver to take me and a coworker around for $100. Tarsus is only about 30 minutes from where I am working. As you can see from the picture above, it is very dry.
The first place we visited in Tarsus was Paul's home (supposedly). I am standing next to the well at Paul's house. From what I read, the water level does not go up or down and the water has healing powers. The well was covered, so I couldn't tell you one way or the other. Next to the well are excavated ruins. They are covered with glass and the pictures were not worthy of the blog.

Our next stop was the ruins of an old Roman road. The road dates back to Paul's time, so he would have used it while traveling through Tarsus.
Paul was not the only celebrity to travel through Tarsus. The picture above is of me in front of Cleopatra's Gate. Tarsus was surrounded by a city wall and this is the only gate still standing. From what I read online, the city used to be right on the Mediterranean. Cleopatra would have used this gate when visiting Marc Antony. The plaque at the gate casts doubt that this was the actual gate. It could have been, but I'm pretty sure they renamed it that because it was the only gate still standing.
Our last noteworthy stop was at the Cave of the Seven Sleepers. There is a large Mosque outside the entrance to the cave, and I'm pretty sure I was one of the very few non-Muslims there. There are many versions to the story of the cave, one of the similar themes is that seven men went into the cave and fell asleep for 309 years. The Christian-based story tells of early believers going there to escape persecution. However, the Qur'an also mentions the cave, and therefore it is important to Muslims.