The Cilician Gates: the Pass through the Taurus Mountains
When Paul and Silas traveled on the “Second Missionary Journey” (Acts 15:36-18:23), they had to pass through the Taurus Mountain range as they made their way westward through Cilicia to Galatia. There is consensus that they would have used the mountain pass known as the Cilician Gates.
The Cilician Gates were the narrow pass through which the travelers, traders, and armies of many ages funneled through the Taurus Mountains. About 35 miles north of Tarsus, this short defile saw the passage of the Hittite forces, the hosts of Persia, the 10,000 of Xenophon, and the armies of Alexander the Great on their way to defeat Darius at Issus. (In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible, Vol. 2, p. 2037).
Here is a photo showing the direction from which Paul and Silas would have come.
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