Tarsus and school campus

Well, Tarsus is pretty spread out and we haven't explored too much as we generally get picked up and dropped off after school.  It's also been incredibly hot and there are no street names really, so venturing is a little challenging.  Lots of little markets, green grocers, tea houses, etc are scattered about. (Several markets are right by our apartment building.)
Right by the school is kind of the "downtown" of Tarsus and there are lots of restaurants where one can get tantuni...Turkey's version of a burrito but with no salsa, sour cream or cheese. Pastry shops--some just for baklava--and bakeries are everywhere as bread is indeed a big deal.  And it's not just any bread, but is stuffed with cheese, olives, or meat. (At the school canteen one can get 'tost' for about 1.50 TL or about .75, which kind of like a round grilled cheese sandwich)  Olives and cheeses are also big and lots of corner markets have a large variety of both.
There are lots of ruins in Tarsus like Cleopatra's gate and St. Paul's Well, and many statues of Ataturk, (Father of the Turks) who radically changed Turkey to make it more Westernized.

Govt. bldg in downtown Tarsus

Teachers on walking tour of Tarsus

Kiskalesi

When we went to Kiskalesi (Maiden's Castle in Turkish) a little beach town, there were ruins everywhere.  Most spectacular was the remains of a castle out in the ocean that one can swim to. After the heat of Tarsus, and all the settling in, meetings, orientation and language classes, it was lovely to relax on the beach and swim in the beautiful, warm Mediterranean!