This is the ancient road that used to pass through Tarsus. The road was dicovered when plans were made to build a highrise and digging began to build the foundation. If excavation continued hroughout the city, the road would run directly to Cleoparta's gate. Polygonal slabs of basalt were cut to make the road (being such a hard rock it was able to withstand more wear and tear than other rocks, and is still in perfect condition). The road lies over an underground sewer system that was flushed out to sea, and if you look closely you can see the rain gutters that line the road on either side. The granite columns were brought to Tarsus from Egypt in 200AD. And, in typical Turkish fashion, a lot of the ruins are considered "extras" so they are available for touching and sitting upon.
A lot of famous people walked these roads, Paul and Antony and Cloepatra, even the Roman Emperor Hadrian (who eventually made his way up to the British Isles and had a wall built along the boundary of Scotland to keep down raids from the "barbarians") . So we were able to add ourselves to the numbers who have trekked through the ancient city of Tarsus.
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