The city of Tarsus, where the Berdan flows into the sea; at the crossroads of land and sea routes extending between Anatolia, Syria and Mesopotamia, has maintained its strategic importance in every period with its climate, location and topography.

Its strong historical and cultural heritage forms the basis for Tarsus to be an internationally recognized center of culture and art today.

The International Tarsus Festival was launched in 2022 as a contemporary reflection of this accumulation.

The first festival was held on November 4-5-6, 2022 with the "Cleopatra" theme. The program, inspired by the city's legendary past, was etched in memories with a cortege march recreating the meeting of Cleopatra and Marcus Antonius. With international folk dances, historical costume parades, culinary presentations from Tarsus cuisine, guided city tours, art exhibitions and children's workshops, Tarsus transformed into an open-air stage for three days.

The second festival took place on November 17-18-19, 2023 with the "Şahmeran" theme. Şahmeran, one of Tarsus's best-known legends, inspired many events from outdoor art installations to theater performances, from dance shows to visual stage designs. The city was enveloped in a fairy-tale atmosphere with traditional handicrafts market, gastronomy shows, local music groups' concerts and theme-specific decorations.

The third festival was held on November 1-2-3, 2024. The festival offered a comprehensive program covering all cultural riches of Tarsus. Open-air concerts, modern art exhibitions, documentary screenings, talks, workshops, gastronomy street and children's workshops spread to different parts of the city. Thanks to the diversification of festival areas, events were held in museums, squares and parks as well as the city center.

In 2025, the festival will meet Tarsians and their guests on November 7-8-9 with even richer content. With international dance and music groups as well as art exhibitions, talks, workshops, children's activities, local producer stalls, stage performances in historical venues and innovative gastronomic experiences, the festival will continue to blend the city's thousands of years of heritage with today's understanding of art.

Today, the International Tarsus Festival continues on its path not just as a collection of events, but as a powerful cultural diplomacy tool that introduces Tarsus's thousands of years of history, legends, cuisine, art and hospitality to the world. The participation and interest growing each year is writing the most colorful pages of this ancient city's story extending from past to future through the festival.

Tarsus… A city breathing on the same lands for thousands of years, carrying the traces of civilizations, woven with legends. At the point where the Berdan River flows into the sea, like a crossroads between Anatolia, Syria and Mesopotamia. This ancient city, which has had strategic importance in every period with its climate, location and natural structure, is one of the rare settlements continuously inhabited from the Neolithic Age to the present day.

City of Thousands of Years of Layers

Tarsus's past begins at Gözlükule Mound. The life that started as a small village in the 7th millennium BC turned into a city surrounded by thick walls in the 3rd millennium BC. The mound is like a library of history rising 22 meters from the plain; each layer tells the story of a different age.

Meeting Point of Civilizations

The first known inhabitants of Tarsus were the Luvians. Then Hittites, Assyrians, Persians, Alexander the Great, Romans, Byzantines, Umayyads, Abbasids and many others left their marks on these lands. During the Roman period, Tarsus became a center of art, culture and philosophy competing with cities like Athens, Ephesus and Alexandria.

City of Legends

Places Touched by History

Kubat Pasha Madrasa, Kırkkaşık Bedesten, St. Paul Church, Donuktaş, Ancient Roman Road… Each opens a different page of history.

City Where Nature and Culture Meet

Fascinating not only with its history, but also with its fertile lands, citrus groves and beauty extending to the sea. Those who step into Tarsus touch both the past and the present.

More Than a Festival

The International Tarsus Festival held here is not just an event; it means witnessing a thousands-year-old story, the dance of civilizations.

While walking in the streets of Tarsus, your steps build a bridge between past and future.

The International Tarsus Festival aims to make the cultural heritage, artistic potential and natural riches of Tarsus, which is the intersection point of history, culture and civilizations with its thousands of years of accumulation, visible on a national and international scale.

The festival brings together local people with artists, academics and visitors from different regions of the world and Turkey by blending the values fed from the city's ancient past with today's understanding of art.

The event program focuses on strengthening Tarsus's cultural identity, increasing its tourism potential, and bringing different disciplines of art together with city residents.

Highlighting local production and gastronomy, preserving historical heritage and transferring it to the future, making cultural diversity visible, improving young people's access to art, and strengthening international cultural ties constitute the festival's main working areas.

The International Tarsus Festival shapes the vision of the future while bringing together the deep traces of the past with today's creativity.

With its content enriched each year, it positions Tarsus not only as a festival city, but also as a regional culture and art center.

This gathering, which decorates the city's streets, squares and historical venues with art, will continue to carry Tarsus's story to the world cultural stage.