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From Tarsus to Rome

In the footsteps of Paul

Trace Paul’s recorded travels from Tarsus and Damascus through Cyprus, Anatolia and Greece to Malta and Rome, with Bible references and the stories behind later memorials.

Church of Saint Paul · Damascus
Heretiq / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · resized for display

A journey of changing direction: from the road to Damascus to communities around the Mediterranean, and finally to Rome as a prisoner. Follow the places named in Acts, compare the evidence of Paul’s letters, and discover how later churches remember his life.

A biblical visit, a passing ship and a later local tradition are different kinds of evidence. This reading journey keeps them distinct and does not claim to reconstruct every mile or every place Paul ever visited.

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Follow the journey, stage by stage

This itinerary follows the named places in Acts, with repeated visits retained. Regions and passages at sea are labelled separately. Paul’s letters supply additional evidence; neither source records everywhere he travelled. The churches he gathered were communities, not the later buildings shown today.

FIRST CENTURY · THE MEDITERRANEAN WORLD

Follow Paul across the ancient world

1st century AD

Antioch on the Orontes (Antakya)Antioch on the OrontesSeleucia PieriaSeleucia PieriaSalamis, CyprusSalamis, CyprusPaphosPaphosPergaPergaPisidian AntiochPisidian AntiochIconium (Konya)IconiumLystraLystraDerbeDerbeAttalia (Antalya)Attalia
LandSea1 · Antioch on the Orontes (Antakya)

A geographical overview with illustrative connections, not reconstructed roads or exact sailing tracks. City and island anchors are approximate; broad regions and offshore passages have no precise pin.

Paul’s figure is an artistic interpretation, not a known portrait. Clothing and transport evoke the first century; later second-century traditions are not eyewitness evidence.

Modern coastlines provide orientation; ancient harbours and shorelines differed.

Natural Earth · OpenBible.info · CC BY 4.0

Origins and the Damascus turning point

Acts describes Paul’s upbringing and early travels; Galatians adds Arabia without naming a town. These accounts are shown with their own references, without forcing an exact combined chronology.

  1. TarsusVisit recorded in ActsActs 22:3
  2. JerusalemVisit recorded in ActsActs 22:3Acts 7:58–8:3
  3. DamascusVisit recorded in ActsActs 9:1–25
  4. Arabia — region, not a named townRegion, not a precise stopGalatians 1:17
  5. DamascusReported in a letterGalatians 1:17
  6. JerusalemVisit recorded in ActsActs 9:26–29Galatians 1:18–19
  7. Caesarea MaritimaVisit recorded in ActsActs 9:30
  8. TarsusVisit recorded in ActsActs 9:30Acts 11:25
  9. Antioch on the Orontes (Antakya)Visit recorded in ActsActs 11:26
  10. JerusalemVisit recorded in ActsActs 11:29–30Acts 12:25
  11. Antioch on the Orontes (Antakya)Visit recorded in ActsActs 13:1–3

First mission: Cyprus and Anatolia

Barnabas accompanies Paul. The return through Lystra, Iconium and Pisidian Antioch revisits communities they had established. Antioch on the Orontes and Pisidian Antioch are different cities.

  1. Antioch on the Orontes (Antakya)Visit recorded in ActsActs 13:1–3
  2. Seleucia PieriaVisit recorded in ActsActs 13:4
  3. Salamis, CyprusVisit recorded in ActsActs 13:5
  4. PaphosVisit recorded in ActsActs 13:6–12
  5. PergaVisit recorded in ActsActs 13:13
  6. Pisidian AntiochVisit recorded in ActsActs 13:14–50
  7. Iconium (Konya)Visit recorded in ActsActs 13:51–14:6
  8. LystraVisit recorded in ActsActs 14:6–20
  9. DerbeVisit recorded in ActsActs 14:20–21
  10. LystraVisit recorded in ActsActs 14:21–23
  11. Iconium (Konya)Visit recorded in ActsActs 14:21–23
  12. Pisidian AntiochVisit recorded in ActsActs 14:21–23
  13. PisidiaRegion, not a precise stopActs 14:24
  14. PamphyliaRegion, not a precise stopActs 14:24
  15. PergaVisit recorded in ActsActs 14:25
  16. Attalia (Antalya)Visit recorded in ActsActs 14:25
  17. Antioch on the Orontes (Antakya)Visit recorded in ActsActs 14:26–28

The Jerusalem meeting

Acts places a journey through Phoenicia and Samaria between the first and second missions. Galatians 2 describes a Jerusalem meeting too; its alignment with Acts is debated.

  1. Antioch on the Orontes (Antakya)Visit recorded in ActsActs 15:1–2
  2. PhoeniciaRegion, not a precise stopActs 15:3
  3. SamariaRegion, not a precise stopActs 15:3
  4. JerusalemVisit recorded in ActsActs 15:4–29
  5. Antioch on the Orontes (Antakya)Visit recorded in ActsActs 15:30–35

Second mission: across to Macedonia and Greece

Silas and Timothy join the mission. Philippi brings Lydia’s household into the story; Athens and Corinth follow. Jerusalem after Caesarea in Acts 18:22 is inferred from “going up”, not explicitly named.

  1. Antioch on the Orontes (Antakya)Visit recorded in ActsActs 15:35–40
  2. Syria — ancient regionRegion, not a precise stopActs 15:41
  3. CiliciaRegion, not a precise stopActs 15:41
  4. DerbeVisit recorded in ActsActs 16:1
  5. LystraVisit recorded in ActsActs 16:1–5
  6. PhrygiaRegion, not a precise stopActs 16:6
  7. Galatian regionRegion, not a precise stopActs 16:6
  8. MysiaRegion, not a precise stopActs 16:7–8
  9. Alexandria TroasVisit recorded in ActsActs 16:8–10
  10. SamothraceTransit / sea passageActs 16:11
  11. Neapolis (Kavala)Transit / sea passageActs 16:11
  12. PhilippiVisit recorded in ActsActs 16:12–40
  13. AmphipolisTransit / sea passageActs 17:1
  14. Apollonia, MacedoniaTransit / sea passageActs 17:1
  15. ThessalonicaVisit recorded in ActsActs 17:1–9
  16. Berea (Veria)Visit recorded in ActsActs 17:10–14
  17. Athens — agora and AreopagusVisit recorded in ActsActs 17:15–34
  18. CorinthVisit recorded in ActsActs 18:1–18
  19. CenchreaeVisit recorded in ActsActs 18:18
  20. EphesusVisit recorded in ActsActs 18:19–21
  21. Caesarea MaritimaVisit recorded in ActsActs 18:22
  22. JerusalemInferred identificationActs 18:22
  23. Antioch on the Orontes (Antakya)Visit recorded in ActsActs 18:22

Third mission: Ephesus and the return to Jerusalem

Ephesus becomes a teaching centre. Acts then names regions, ports and return visits; it does not identify every town. “Off Chios” and the sighting of Cyprus are sea passages, not evidence of landing.

  1. Antioch on the Orontes (Antakya)Visit recorded in ActsActs 18:23
  2. Galatian regionRegion, not a precise stopActs 18:23
  3. PhrygiaRegion, not a precise stopActs 18:23
  4. EphesusVisit recorded in ActsActs 19:1–20:1
  5. Macedonia — ancient regionRegion, not a precise stopActs 20:1–2
  6. Greece — cities not specified hereRegion, not a precise stopActs 20:2–3
  7. Macedonia — ancient regionRegion, not a precise stopActs 20:3
  8. PhilippiVisit recorded in ActsActs 20:6
  9. Alexandria TroasVisit recorded in ActsActs 20:6–12
  10. AssosVisit recorded in ActsActs 20:13–14
  11. Mitylene, LesbosVisit recorded in ActsActs 20:14
  12. Off ChiosTransit / sea passageActs 20:15
  13. SamosTransit / sea passageActs 20:15
  14. MiletusVisit recorded in ActsActs 20:15–38
  15. Cos (Kos)Transit / sea passageActs 21:1
  16. RhodesTransit / sea passageActs 21:1
  17. PataraVisit recorded in ActsActs 21:1–2
  18. Cyprus — offshore passageTransit / sea passageActs 21:3
  19. TyreVisit recorded in ActsActs 21:3–6
  20. Ptolemais (Acre / Akko)Visit recorded in ActsActs 21:7
  21. Caesarea MaritimaVisit recorded in ActsActs 21:8–14
  22. JerusalemVisit recorded in ActsActs 21:15–17

Arrest, shipwreck and the road to Rome

The prisoner’s route includes an overnight transfer through Antipatris and detention at Caesarea. Acts records Malta but not the exact shipwreck beach. Lasea is a nearby town, not a separately stated stop.

  1. JerusalemVisit recorded in ActsActs 21:27–23:30
  2. AntipatrisVisit recorded in ActsActs 23:31
  3. Caesarea MaritimaVisit recorded in ActsActs 23:33–26:32
  4. SidonVisit recorded in ActsActs 27:3
  5. Cyprus — offshore passageTransit / sea passageActs 27:4
  6. CiliciaTransit / sea passageActs 27:5
  7. PamphyliaTransit / sea passageActs 27:5
  8. Myra, LyciaVisit recorded in ActsActs 27:5–6
  9. Off CnidusTransit / sea passageActs 27:7
  10. Cape Salmone, CreteTransit / sea passageActs 27:7
  11. Fair Havens, near LaseaVisit recorded in ActsActs 27:8–9
  12. Shelter of Clauda (Gavdos)Transit / sea passageActs 27:16
  13. MaltaVisit recorded in ActsActs 28:1–10
  14. Syracuse, SicilyVisit recorded in ActsActs 28:12
  15. Rhegium (Reggio Calabria)Visit recorded in ActsActs 28:13
  16. Puteoli (Pozzuoli)Visit recorded in ActsActs 28:13–14
  17. Forum of AppiusVisit recorded in ActsActs 28:15
  18. Three TavernsVisit recorded in ActsActs 28:15
  19. RomeVisit recorded in ActsActs 28:16–31

Letters, plans and textual variants

These entries are not extra confirmed stages after Rome. Spain and Nicopolis are plans; Bithynia and Phoenix were not reached in the cited account. Illyricum marks a reported reach of ministry, not a named town. The authorship and dating of Titus and 2 Timothy are debated. Trogyllium occurs in some manuscripts of Acts 20:15, including the KJV, but not all.

  1. Syria — ancient regionReported in a letterGalatians 1:21
  2. CiliciaReported in a letterGalatians 1:21
  3. JerusalemReported in a letterGalatians 2:1
  4. Antioch on the Orontes (Antakya)Reported in a letterGalatians 2:11
  5. Illyricum — extent of missionRegion, not a precise stopRomans 15:19
  6. SpainPlanned / not established as visitedRomans 15:24,28
  7. BithyniaPlanned / not established as visitedActs 16:7
  8. Phoenix, CretePlanned / not established as visitedActs 27:12
  9. CreteReported in a letterTitus 1:5
  10. NicopolisPlanned / not established as visitedTitus 3:12
  11. Alexandria TroasReported in a letter2 Timothy 4:13
  12. CorinthReported in a letter2 Timothy 4:20
  13. MiletusReported in a letter2 Timothy 4:20
  14. Trogyllium — textual variantTextual variantActs 20:15

Galatians 2 · 1 Timothy — Read the source

Churches and later memorials

Basilicas and Octagon, Philippi

The later churches preserve the growth of the community associated with Paul. Their surviving buildings postdate his visit.

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Saint Paul’s Grotto, Rabat, Malta

Venerated since medieval times as Paul’s place of residence. Acts records his stay on Malta without identifying this grotto.

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Saint Paul’s Church, Tarsus

A later commemorative church in Paul’s home city, not a building he entered.

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Chrysopolitissa / Agia Kyriaki and Paul’s Pillar, Paphos

Acts records Paphos; the flogging at this pillar is a later tradition. The church is later too.

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Saint Paul’s Catacombs, Rabat, Malta

Their name does not establish a visit by Paul. Heritage Malta explains the association as a supposed link to his grotto.

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Saint Paul Outside-the-Walls, Rome

The basilica preserves the Roman tradition of Paul’s burial. Acts ends with his residence in Rome, not his death or this basilica.

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Related sites already in the directory

The map below locates only these documented sites. It is not a map of the whole ancient route. Damascus’s chapels commemorate traditions; Caesarea preserves the ancient city where Acts places Paul’s detention.

Where the stops are

The dots locate the stops. Their reading order is not a verified travel route or advice on access.

  1. Stop 1 of 3

    Chapel of Saint Ananias

    Damascus · Old City · Roman Catholic · Franciscan custody

    CHURCH BUILDING

    This ancient underground structure at the end of the Street Called Straight in Old Damascus is held to be the remains of the house of Ananias of Damascus.

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  2. Stop 2 of 3

    Church of Saint Paul

    Damascus

    CHURCH BUILDING

    This chapel stands at Bab Kisan, one of the seven ancient gates of Damascus, in the south-east of the Old City.

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    Church of Saint Paul · Damascus
    Heretiq / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · resized for display

  3. Stop 3 of 3

    Caesarea Maritima: the harbour and the Roman city

    Caesarea · Haifa District

    BIBLICAL SITE

    Caesarea Maritima was built by Herod the Great between about 22 and 10 BC, with an artificial harbour raised on hydraulic concrete poured into the sea.

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    Caesarea Maritima: the harbour and the Roman city · Caesarea · Haifa District
    Yulia Kuprina / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · resized for display

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