Cicilian Gates

The Cicilian Gates has been called a Corridor of History [Jenkins, Ferrell "Biblical Sites in Turkey" [http://bibleworld.com/turkey/eturk1.html] ] . North West of Adana, the Cilician Gates is one of the three passes through the snow covered Taurus Mountains (some peaks more than 11,000 feet above sea level), which connect the Anatolian plateau, with an elevation of about 3000 feet above sea level, with the Mediterranean coast. In ancient history the Hittites, Alexander the Great, the Romans, and the Crusaders have all traveled this route. It is also thought that Saint Paul of Tarsus and Silas went this way as they went through Syria and Cilicia to the Galatians cities of Derbe, Lystra and Iconium - cities visited by Paul on his first journey (Acts 14; Gal. 1:2), strengthening the churches, at the beginning of the second preaching journey (Acts 15:40-41).

The distance from the Anatolian plateau to the Cilician plain is about 70 miles. In ancient times this was a journey of nearly five days. Saint Paul spoke about being in "dangers from rivers" and "dangers from robbers" (2 Cor. 11:26). This may explain why at 4.500 BCE, Mersin, at the south eastern end of the Cilician Gates was one of the world's first fortresses.

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