TARSUS AS A NEW DESTINATION FOR BELIEF TOURISM: HERITAGE FROM

DIFFERENT RELIGIONS

Gürkan AKDAĞ

Mersin University

Kamil YAĞCI

Pamukkale University

Melih AYDIN

Kilis 7 Aralık University

ABSTRACT

Throughout the history mankind travelled because of their

beliefs as a means to reach spiritual happiness. Belief, as a

word, means something believed; an opinion or conviction, a

religious tenet or tenets, confidence, faith, trust in

something or somebody. Beliefs and personal perceptions

influence peoples’ way of lives as well as their social lives.

From this point of view belief tourism may be considered as an

important alternative to mass tourism that has gained

significant importance in the recent years. This study aims to

promote Tarsus city which has a great potential to become an

important touristic destination in terms of belief tourism

because of its strong historical heritage. For this purpose,

touristic items that are believed sacred both by Muslims and

Christians located in Tarsus city are investigated in detail

1

with a belief tourism focus. Secondary data analysis was

carried out with the help of scientific literature and after

the assessment of belief tourism items, especially the St.

Paul’s well, all of them were photographed in place. Based on

the results, the promotion of Tarsus and contribution to its

familiarity as a preferred destination for belief tourism are

among the targeted outcomes.

Keywords: Religious belief, Belief tourism, Turkey, Tarsus

INTRODUCTION

Throughout the history mankind undertook long journeys in

order to fulfill the requirements of their faith. From

Paganistic era to monotheistic religions these journeys have

continued to increase. From the second half of the 20th

century, financial welfare and the incredible progress of the

technology has led an increase in disposable income as well as

leisure time for the people, which in turn positively affected

general tourism activities and the number of faith based trips.

Being a host for many great civilizations and different beliefs

from the ancient times, Anatolia is a rich region for belief

tourism.

Tarsus city has competitive advantage in terms of

touristic attractions due to its cosmopolitan structure and

everlasting cultural heritage. Many religious heritage items,

both for Christianity and Islam, currently are in Tarsus city

boundaries. This study aims to evaluate the potential for2

belief tourism in Tarsus city which is located near Mersin,

another touristic destination, with the assumption that mass

tourism would not be beneficial for both short and long terms.

Recommendations based on different religious heritage of Tarsus

are made in terms of tourism potential and detailed

examinations of current religious assets are made.

BELIEF AND BELIEF TOURISM CONCEPT

According to Turkish Language Institution belief is

described as “An emotional state of believing, trust into

someone or something” (TDK, 2013). In other words belief is an

apprehension state as a result of perception of the outer world

(Hançerlioğlu, 1975:270). There ar other cognitive approaches

such as, belief is a result of the need of lessen the fear of

death or the human brain has the capacity to produce a

religious belief (Eşel, 2009:193). Belief is something like an

individual proof and if it is examined for masses, this “shared

proof” become important for people’s morale(Temren, 1998:303).A

quick examination of the history of mankind reveals that a

concept of “belief” always existed. Because the “wish to

believe” which surrounds the human internally and externally

and shapes the ideas and behaviors of his/her depends on the

commitment to a greater presence. From this point of view

“belief or faith” shows the “way out or solution” to the human

being who sometimes feels desperate (Yücedoğru, 2010:2).

Becoming aware of the known, discovering the unknown, and

desire to see the unseen or witness the phenomena are among the

motives that drive the people to travel. Which strengthen these

3

motives is the desire to see famous and historical sanctuaries,

visiting sacred sites, attending religious ceremonies or

pilgrimage as a result of the individual’s beliefs. Reasons

like these caused the term “belief or faith tourism” to be born

(Ayas, 2013:851). Belief tourism is the evaluation of people’s

travels which are made to religious attraction destinations in

order to satisfy their religious needs, in terms of tourism

concept (Şahiner, 2012:11). A similar definition to belief

tourism asserts that belief tourism is visiting holy/sacred

places and the socio-economic benefits of these visits (Özgen,

2012:1). From a sociological perspective, belief tourism is the

sum of activities of individuals in order to understand the

historical background of the religious group that they belong

to and connect with society that they live in. (Gil & Curiel,

2008:423). For final words, belief tourism consists of

touristic activities towards holy/sacred places shaped by

partly or completely religious motives (Shinde, 2007:184).

IMPORTANCE OF BELIEF TOURISM

The concept of religion has an undeniable effect on travel

phenomenon and with regard to this fact tourism is closely

related to religion. Religion factor has been an important

value which directs people to travel ever since the history.

Religious buildings, rituals, religious festivals and events

are among important factors that drive people to belief tourism

(Kurar & Akbaba, 2013:784). On the other hand, in many

religions it is an obligation to visit holy places for those

who are in healthy conditions and those who can afford such a

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visit (Egresi et al., 2012:6). The inner peace of fulfilling a

religious commandment, spiritual comfort of pilgrimage, meeting

with, getting enlightened by other members of the same religion

or a leader, seeing a holy place, the emotion of feeling close

to Allah/God, feeling of conserving cultural or religious

heritage are just some of the motives that drives an individual

to take part in touristic activities. (Dinç, 2013:594). Belief

tourism is today an ever-growing industry that generates an

economy of USD 18 billion and serves around 300 million people.

According to a report, one of four travelers are interested in

religious travels and make plans accordingly in the new

millennium (Güzel, 2010:94). With the help of belief tourism

many people can travel to different cities and countries,

generating economic, social and cultural development for the

host destination (Şaman, 2009:9). With regard to this, it is

possible to say that belief tourism has some features like

softening the inter-communal differences as well as acting like

glue between different cultures (Yılmaz, 2002:11).

THE SCOPE OF BELIEF TOURISM

What is usually first associated in minds with belief

tourism is travels related to three major monotheistic

religions and belief systems of Far East. However it would not

be correct to limit belief tourism with the current living

belief systems. It would be necessary to look at the issue from

a different perspective in places or regions like Anatolia

5

which has a very old historical heritage for beliefs. Because

there are various evidences, monuments and documents that show

many different beliefs reigned in the Anatolian region before

monotheism gained power. These also have great importance in

terms of belief tourism (Duru, 2007:209).

According to Küçükaltan (2013:666) belief tourism has

three essential elements. Travels to sacred places with the

purpose of pilgrimage either as an individual or with a group.

Comprehensive meetings that take place on specific religious

dates or on religious anniversaries. Regardless of the tours’

duration, visiting important religious places or monuments on

route. Belief tourism is the sum of activities of people

directed to a belief tourism destination towards gaining

experience related to their faith. However worshipping or

practicing a religious service is not the only goal of belief

tourism. Taking part in the rituals as an individual, living

that “specific” moment or just being at a holy place may be

among belief tourism activities (Kasim, 2011:444). On the

other hand 12 different touristic activities are counted among

belief tourism concept in Europe and America which is important

to understand the volume and extent of belief tourism(Güzel,

2010:90; Ayan & Yılmaz, 2013:29). These activities are:

1) Pilgrimage: is a journey to a holy place with religious

purposes. Such journeys are primary economic activities for

cities and countries like, Jerusalem, Mecca, Santiago de

Compostela and Vatican. It is known facts that over 2 million

Muslims take part in pilgrimage activities annually and it is

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possible to say that one fourth of the visitors to Israel have

religious purposes in mind (Okuyucu & Somuncu, 2013:628).

2) Missionary: is the activity of inviting people to and

informing them about Christianity based on Bible’s doctrine.

3) Ship Travels: May be counted as a very different alternative

in terms of belief tourism as they may host short religious

tours and/or rituals.

4) Leisure time: People who have a common sense of morale tend

to share and enjoy time together. Such organizations are

sometimes called “sharing of emotions”.

5) Conferences / Congresses: The numbers of academic meetings

which have a religious focus are increasing day by day.

6) Destinations / Attractions: Religious plays, rituals,

festivals, religious events are some of the motivators that

drive people to belief tourism activities.

7) Hermitage: is a settlement where a person or a group of

people lives religiously, in seclusion. Although these

settlements are mostly used by Christians, they are places to

worship for any member of different religions.

8) Religious Camps: A common practice in Christianity with the

purpose of religious education and spreading of the religion.

9) Adventure Activities: means, groups which consist of

individuals who share similar religious sensitivities going on

holiday together and participate in a joint activity.

10) Voluntary Journeys: Religious groups aim to have a

spiritual contribution to those who experienced a disaster.

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11) Activities Towards Students / Youth: Religious groups show

great sensitivity in training their students. According to

Wright only in North America more than 3 million students are

educated in 10.000 special religious schools.

12) Activities Towards Families: Religious journeys,

pilgrimage and similar activities that are performed with the

family may be examined in this context.

An overall evaluation reveals that people are generally

motivated for belief tourism by four fundamental factors which

are psychological reasons, religious days and/or holidays,

attractiveness of religious supply sources and religious

dissemination activities (Aksoy, 1998:8). With the help of the

increase in interest in the subject, the numbers of scientific

national and international studies are increasing in the recent

years. Table 1 shows only a part of the studies conducted on

belief tourism in Turkey.

Table:1. Examples of Studies in Turkey on belief tourismYEAR TITLE AUTHOR(S) CONTENT2006 Faith tourism in Yalvaç Sevil Sargın Yalvaç which is important for

Christianity is evaluated.2012 Şeyh Şaban-ı Veli’s

effects on Turkish Culture and Religious Tourism

Assoc.Prof.Dr.Ünal İbret

Evaluation of Sheik Şaban VeliKülliyesi as a touristic attraction

2009 The Cultural And Belief Tourism In Vicinity Of Konya

Tahsin Tapur Aimed to evaluate Konya in scope of culture and belief tourism. Assets of the city have been examined historically.

2010 A New Dynamic Within Touristic Product Diversity : Faith Tourism

F.Özlem Güzel Faith tourism, its importance and its economic returns has been evaluated in terms of touristic product diversity.

2012 Developing Haçka Yayla with its Belief TourismFunction

Ahmet Çavuş Touristic activity and belief tourism relationship

2013 An Evaluation on the State of the Visit Sites

Hakan Yılmaz Christianity in Anatolia and important places for the

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Took Part In Holy Bible inFaith Tourism

religion has been examined.

2013 Spiritual Leaders of Konya in Early Christianity

Nermin Öztürk A comprehensive analysis of related era and Saints of Konyawere examined.

2013 Belief tourism potential of Tarsus and perceptionsof local people

İhsan KURAR, Atilla Akbaba

Belief tourism potential of Tarsus has been examined from asociological perspective.

2013 Göbeklitepe’s importance in belief tourism

Tolga Fahri Çakmak

Observations from Göbeklitepe excavation site.

2012 Belief tourism potential and perceptions of local people in Karaman

Tuba Şahiner Belief tourism assets of Karaman were examined

2012 An Example To Faith Tourism And GeomorphologyInteraction: Makkah (Saudi Arabia)

Emre Özşahin Development as a result of belief tourism was investigated.

2010 Evaluation Of Faith Tourism Potential In Terms Of Demre

Gülşah Yörük Demre, The church and monasteryof Santa Claus, cultural valuesand historical sites were mentioned

2003 The place of Pergamon andEphesus in the cultural tourism of Izmir

Gözde Emekli Cultural and belief tourism aspects of Ephesus were examined.

2005 The Cultural Tourism Potential of Mardin Province

Veysi Günal Belief tourism potential of Mardin which is accounted for the cradle of civilizations wasevaluated.

2009 Evaluating belief tourismpotential of Mersin: A profile study on belief tourism participants

Ebru Şaman Problems of Mersin in terms of belief tourism as well as tourist profiles with the purpose of belief tourism were investigated.

METHODOLOGY

In this study, descriptive analysis, which is a

qualitative research method, is used. Descriptive analysis

contains summarization and interpretation of data, according to

pre-determined themes, which is previously gathered through

various data collection methods (Özdemir, 2011:336). Within

this context first of all documents that were previously

published about Tarsus in the scientific literature were

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examined. After that, by going to the town of Tarsus, items

that are belief tourism related were examined and photographed

on site. Finally, information on described supply sources were

given.

TARSUS and ITS VALUE IN TERMS OF BELIEF TOURISM

Anatolia is a rich geography in terms of belief tourism.

There are many valuable attraction centers in terms of belief

or religious tourism such as Eyup Sultan Mosque, Suleymaniye

Mosque, Selimiye Mosque in Edirne, The Tomb of Mevlana in Konya

for Muslims; Ephesus, Iznik, Antakya, Istanbul etc. for

Christians and Şanlıurfa, Hatay for the Jewish society (Sargın,

2006:3,Papur, 2009: 477; Özgen, 2012:257). Tarsus, with its

history dating back many thousand years, is quite an old

settlement. Tarsus contains thousands of historical items

belonging to many different eras and acts as a meeting point

for countless civilizations. The excavations and literature

search reveals that a 8.000 year-old continuous settlement took

place. The presence of artistic, historical and natural

heritage across the town shows that there is a significant

value for culture and belief tourism (Tarsus Tanıtım Rehberi,

2010: 35).

HERITAGE FROM DIFFERENT ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS OF TARSUS

Tarsus hosts many touristic supply elements important for

both Muslims and Christians because of its history dating back

many thousand years. Although not being able to make it to

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present times Jewish people also lived in Tarsus and

contributed greatly to the town’s culture.

1) Important Religious Elements for Christianity

A) Saint Paulus House and Well: Located in Tarsus town

center, in Kızılmurat district, 300 m. north of Republic

Square. The area is mainly consists of authentic Tarsus homes.

The well is within the atrium of a house which is accepted as

Saint Paulus’s. Being closely related to the importance of

Saint Paulus’s to Christianity, the house and the well are

counted sacred by local community. This can be interpreted as

the traces of Christian community that lived in the vicinity

until recently. The well which is currently undergoing a

landscape restoration has a diameter of 1,15 meters. Although

its entrance, which might be called as the mouth, has a

cylindrical form well’s body has a square form made from

quadrilateral cut stones. The well has a depth of 38 meters and

is full of water throughout the year. Historical evidence shows

that pilgrims on the way to Jerusalem drank water from the well

which is counted as holy. (http://www.kulturvarliklari.gov.tr).

Picture:1. St.Paulus Well

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B) Saint Paulus Church: Having been built in 1862, the church

stayed empty for years after the Christian community left

Tarsus. It has been used for governmental purposes for a short

period. It has been restored and put under protection by the

Ministry of Culture and is now open for worshipping

(Kara,2007:4).

Picture:2. Saint Paulus Church

2) Important Religious Elements for Muslims

A) Seven Sleepers Cave: *The cave is known as Seven Sleepers

among public. It is also named as cave of Ashab al Kahf. It is

located on a hill 15 km from Tarsus, near Dedeler village. The

cave is counted holy as both Christians and Muslims and its

name is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an (Surah 18, Verse 9-26). It

is accessible with a 15-20 stairs descent and a mosque is built

nearby (Bingöl, 2007:237).There are different opinions on where

Ashab al Kahf lived and their geography from various researches

which are made in Turkey and other Islamic countries (Güllü,

2003:14).

12

The story of the Seven Sleepers: Rumors of a pagan king

“Bakyanus” has been mentioned in early times of the

Christianity. The king, upset by the spread rate this new

religion, tortures those who accepts Christianity. Seven

faithful people who are trying to escape from the king seeks a

safe place to hide and finds this cave today known as “Seven

Sleepers’ Cave” with their dog Kıtmir. The king Bakyanus

follows the party to the cave but a landslide closes the

entrance to the cave which makes him think he got rid of them.

After a 300 year sleep, the seven awakes as if they have slept

only an overnight. (Şaman, 2009:38).

Piture:3. Ashab al Kahf Cave

* A religious center which is holy for both Muslims andChristians.

B) Tomb of Prophet Daniel: One of the important Islamic figures

of Tarsus is the tomb that is believed to belong to Daniel.

When he was alive, it is believed that he brought wealth and

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prosperity to Tarsus. His tomb, today, is located in Tarsus

Centrum.

Picture:4. Tomb of Prophet Daniel

C) Bilal-i Habeşi Mescid:The building is situated where Prophet

Mohammed's Muezzin, Bilal-i Habeşi did his 'Namaz' while

traveling with the armies of Islam. The place is today known as

Kırkkaşık. It is found near the southwestern corner of the

Majestic Mosque. The Bilal-i Habeşi religious foundation

archives go back as far as 1519, establishing the buildings

origins before that time. Distinctively, the water found in the

well situated on the site is considered holy. The mosque was

placed there after Bilal-i Habeşi traveled through during the

7thcentury. The mosque is simple in appearance; the main place

of worship is reached by passing past the three pillars of its

northern portico. The main building is divided into two parts

consisting of a three-vaulted section and a single-vaulted one.

The water which come from the well inside the mosque is

considered holy (www.tarsusmanset.com).

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Picture:5. Bilal-i Habeşi Mescid

D) GrandMosque (Cami-i Nur):The mosque had been built in 1579

by Ibrahim Bey of Ramadanid dynasty who is the son of Piri

Pasha. The entrance to mosque courtyard is via a monumental

marble gate at the north. The narthex with 14 columns to bear

16 domes has been decorated with tiles. The building material

of the main building is carved stone. The columns in the main

building have been connected with half pointed arch so

called Iranian Arch. The pulpit and the niche (directed to Mecca)

is made of marble. The mosque also hosts the tombs of Khalifah

Memnun who is the son of Harun Reşid of the Abbasids and Sheikh

Muhammed Hasan (Tarsus Tanıtım Rehberi, 2010: 59).

15

Picture:6. Grand Mosque (Cami-i Nur)

E) Old Mosque:It had been built in the 13th century originally

as a church under the Armenian Kingdom by king Oşin. It has

been reconstructed in 1102 AD by the French Crusaders. There

are rumors that say the mosque is built to be dedicated to

Saint Paulus. It has been converted to mosque in 1415. The

mosque’s architecture resembles Roman style and has high wall,

deep windows, and spacious interior and thick columns. The

south door was replaced with a 'mihrap'. The north section of

the worship area, beside the apse, consists of two small rooms.

A minaret was built in the southwest afterwards. A campanile

can be seen on the northwest corner (www.tarsus.bel.tr).

Picture:7. Old Mosque

DISCUSSION

As a result of global tourism activities and mass tourism,

some significant progress has been observed especially from the

second half of the 20th century. Among all the different

tourism activities “belief tourism” is one of the oldest and

important motivators. Belief tourism is the collection of all

touristic activities covering journeys that are related to

religions or beliefs of the participants from the early ages to

16

present day. As touristic demand varies each year in the

current economic conditions belief tourism is known as an

alternative tourism type which does not face a negative demand.

Because of the increase in personal income with each passing

year it would not be wrong to assume that people would be

participating more in belief tourism activities. As the

economic gains from belief tourism are more and more

recognized, number of scientific studies on the subject also

began to increase. Nolan (1992) analyzed belief tourism and

those who participate such activities in Europe; Santiago

(2002) mentioned the importance of Santiago de Compostela which

became a popular belief tourism destination in northwest Spain.

Woodward (2004) examined the effects of belief tourism on

structure of the cities in Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka;

Stamenkovic et al (2009) emphasized the potential of “Fruska

Gora” mountain in north Serbia with regard to belief tourism.

It is possible to assume that research on belief tourism

potentials of destinations will increase in the following years

as the destinations will be more globally promoted. Because

tourism supports destinations both economically and socially

and belief tourism helps destinations reveal their potential in

the shortest way. This study aimed to reveal the supply sources

of Tarsus in terms of belief tourism and contribute to its

awareness as a destination. Being a settlement from the

polytheistic era and a home to many different civilizations,

Tarsus holds a heritage which is considered holy for both

Christians and Muslims. The promotion of this heritage on a

17

national and international level, in the long run, will help

Tarsus to become a well-known belief tourism destination.

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Online References

http://www.kulturvarliklari.gov.tr/TR,44415/st-paul-kilisesi-

st-paul-kuyusu-ve-cevresi-mersin.html (Accessed, 13.01.2014)

http://www.tarsusmanset.com/hd.asp?id=204 (Accessed,

14.01.2014)

http://www.tarsus.bel.tr/tr/tarsus/kulturel-yapisi.aspx

(Accessed, 13.01.2014)

http://www.tdk.gov.tr/index.php?

option=com_gts&arama=gts&guid=TDK.GTS.52d7fe746ece72.04930712(A

ccessed, 14.01.2014)

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