» Day 7 - Cappadocia/Tarsus/Adana (B,L,D)

After breakfast we will begin our drive to Tarsus. On our way we will stop for a visit at the Gumusler Monastry, a monastery church that has been carved out of the rock. We enter this 10th century monastery  via a vaulted door. The church, which is built on a closed cruciform plan with a central dome, four columns, cross vaults and three apses, is situated on the north side of the courtyard, while rooms carved from the rock line the rest of the courtyard. From here we will continue to Tarsus,  the birth place of the Apostle Paul. The city was very old even in his time, predating him by 4000 years. Tarsus ranked as one of the great towns of the Hittites in the 2nd millennium BC and may have been the capital of the Hittite state of Kizzuwatna. There is a gate in the Roman wall known affectionately as St. Paul’s or Cleopatra’s Gate. From Tarsus we continue our drive to Adana with a visit stop at the Viransehir Ruins on the way. Once in  Adana we check into our hotel where we will dine and spend the night.