Tarsus

Tarsus is a city in Mersin Province, Turkey, about 20 kilometers inland from the Mediterranean Sea, with a population of 350,732 across an area of 2,029 square kilometers at the 2022 census. With more than 6,000 years of history, it served as capital of the Roman province of Cilicia, was the setting of the celebrated 41 BC meeting between Mark Antony and Cleopatra, and is the birthplace of Paul the Apostle, making it a significant Christian pilgrimage site; standing at a junction of trade routes linking the Cilician plains, central Anatolia and the Mediterranean, it preserves landmarks including Cleopatra's Gate, Roman bridges and St. Paul's Church alongside a modern textile and food processing economy.