Tarsus is the birthplace of Paul,known as Saul of Tarsus.He was born a few years after the birth of Jesus.As growing up in a very traditional Jewish family,when he was young he went to Jerusalemto study under the famous rabbi Gamaliel.He began to persecute the followers of Jesus so much that he had bad reputation among people.One day,on the road to Damascus,he had a vision of Christ and he became Christian.He spent rest of his life bringing Christianity to Gentiles(non-Jews).His letters to the churches of Anatolia form a large part of the New Testament of the Bible.After he went back to Jerusalem,he was arrested because of opposition from hostile Jews.As being Roman citizen he was sent to Rome for trial and imprisoned for two years.He died in Rome sometime ca AD 66.

St. Paul’s Well claimed to have belonged to Paul the Apostle when he lived there. The well, along with Saint Paul's Church, is on the UNESCO Tentative list of World Heritage Sites in Turkey and is under the control of the public authorities.