June 2026 12 Day Biblical Turkey Tour, with Dr. John DeLancey

Day 5 – Friday, June 12: Cappadocia, Gumusler Monastery, Tarsus, Adana

Today was another great day here in the heartland of Turkey. The weather was once again perfect, with full sun and highs in the 80s. “For 20 of us, starting the day early with a hot-air balloon ride was spectacular! There must have been between 75-100 balloons up in the air (there is a total of 165 used in Cappadocia). Ending the day in Paul’s home town of Tarsus was really special too!”

Hot Air Balloon Ride

For 20 of us, the morning started early with a hot-air balloon ride. For others it was a relaxing morning with a later breakfast and departure. The “ballooners” left the hotel at 3:45 a.m. Once we arrived at the launching area, we climbed a board our basket. The sunrise over the unique rock formations was spectacular! We climbed to 1000 meters (about 3,000 feet). The visibility was stunning in all directions. We returned to the hotel for breakfast. After loading the bus, we departed at 9 a.m. as we headed to Tarsus. We read a few verses from Acts 23, 26, and Philippians 3 about Paul’s upbringing and background as we started on our way.

Gumusler Monastery

On the way to Tarsus (about an hour’s drive), we enjoyed a fascinating stop at the Gumusler Monastery. There was another underground city here in the preserved Byzantine site. The monastery itself was carved out of a large rock and is one of the best preserved and largest of its kind in the Cappadocia region. There are quite a few monasteries hewn out of the rock in Cappadocia and some scholars split these into two types: those with dining halls and those with open courtyards. The Gümüşler Monastery is part of the second group. The monastery was carved from the main rock between the 8th and 12th centuries. It consists of a middle courtyard and outbuildings such as the church, underground spaces, etc. connected to this courtyard. According to the iconographic and stylistic features of the paintings in the church, it is possible to date them to the 11th and 12th centuries. We all had fun exploring the narrow tunnels and chambers.

“For 20 of us, starting the day early with a hot-air balloon ride was spectacular! There must have been between 75-100 balloons up in the air (there is a total of 165 used in Cappadocia). Ending the day in Paul’s home town of Tarsus was really special too!”

Tarsus

Next, we embarked on a longer drive to Tarsus, the birthplace of Paul (Acts 9:11, 9:30, 11:25, 21:39, 22:3). On the way we heard more teaching about Paul and the background of his life. Before seeing some of the limited ruins of Tarsus, we enjoyed a simple but wonderful lunch at a nearby traditional Turkish restaurant for locals. It’s been fun to experience a variety of Turkish foods! The population of the city of Tarsus today is about 250,000.

Across the street and behind an enclosed fence, we saw a portion of the Roman pavement that would have been here during Paul’s day. Paul walked on this road! The road was actually discovered by accident in 1993, during construction works. The construction work was stopped immediately and the site was fully excavated. Scientists believe that the road was built in the 1st century CE. The road/pavement was as wide as about 20 feet and made of basalt stone. There were sewage pipes under the road. Because Tarsus served as the capital of the region of Cilicia, it is suggested that the population of the city in the 1st century was around 50,000. It grew to about 150,000 in the 2nd century.

We also saw the traditional water well of the city. Although we cannot be sure this dates back to Paul’s day, the well played an important role in helping the city of Tarsus thrive during the later Roman period! Here we considered Paul’s beginnings here in his home town and how God called him to be an ambassador for the kingdom! We read from Ephesians 1 and sang “Amazing Grace.” On the way out of the city, we made a brief stop to see the Gate of Cleopatra. She sailed into the city for the purpose of meeting (and seducing) Marc Anthony.

Adana

We ended our day in Adana. We checked into our beautiful hotel (the 16-story Hilton) at 4:15 and enjoyed dinner (at 6:30) and overnight stay. This will be the first of two nights here. It’s a lovely place! Tomorrow we travel further south to Antioch Seleucia, the location of the first church in this region and from where Paul (and Barnabas) began their first missionary journey.