St. Paul's Well, Tarsus

The well known as St. Paul's Well lies in the centre of Tarsus, in the Kızılmurat quarter, about 300 metres north of Cumhuriyet Square. The surrounding streets are lined with old Tarsus houses, and the courtyard that holds the well has long been accepted as the site of the home of Saint Paul.

The well is 1.15 metres across. Its mouthstone is cylindrical, but the shaft below is square and lined with cut stone blocks. According to local accounts, its water never dries up, summer or winter. Landscaping and expropriation of the neighbouring plots were still reported as under way in the latest information.

A small excavation in the courtyard uncovered wall remains beside the well, and the stone walls of a house thought to be Paul's birthplace were revealed right next to it. Because of Paul's importance to Christianity, both the walls and the well have long been treated as sacred, an idea usually seen as the mark of the Christian community that lived in the town until recent times. Christians passing through on pilgrimage to Jerusalem are said to have drunk from the well, and it remains a place of visit for people from Turkey and abroad.