Where was the city of Tarsus located?
Tarsus was located in Cilicia, just around the corner of the Mediterranean Sea and up along a river valley a few miles inland from the Mediterranean coast. This region was Saul's hometown area, as the context identifies Cilicia as the state where the city of Tarsus was situated.
Les explains that Cilicia was just around the corner of the Mediterranean Sea. A few miles inland from the Mediterranean, up along a river valley, was the city of Tarsus. The state was called Cilicia, and this was Saul's hometown area of Tarsus. This geographical detail appears in the context of Paul's travels after Jerusalem and the three years with the Lord at Sinai, when he was ready to fulfill his commission to go to the Gentiles, as seen in Acts chapter 9, and he came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.