In tetrapods, the tarsi are the cluster of bones in the foot between the tibia and fibula and the metatarsus. The bones of the tarsus do not belong to individual toes, whereas those of the metatarsus do. The joint between the tibia and fibula and the tarsus is called the ankle. One of the bones is the calcaneus or heel. The corresponding part of the hand is the carpus.

Most long-footed tetrapods have an elongated metatarsus. The tarsier instead has an elongated tarsus, hence the name.

In insects, the tarsi are the short segments which appear in series after the tibia. It is the part that functions as the foot.

Tarsus is a province of the city of Mersin, which is in the Mediterranean region, with history, culture, art, commerce and natural beauties. As a centre of history and science, serving many different religions for years, it was a centre of interest for much of the world. St. Paul, the first disciple of Jesus Christ, the prophet Daniel, Bilal - ı Habeşi, muezzin of Hz. Muhammed, Harun Reşid's son Caliph Ma'mun, and the famous philosopher of Antic Era, Aristo, descendant of doctors, Lokman Hekim, the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra, and the Roman Commander Antonius lived in Tarsus.

The pre-historical development of Tarsus reaches back to Neolithic Period. The Neolithic Period is followed by the Kalkeolitic and Early Bronze Age settlements. It was ruled by the Hittites, Assyria, Persia, Macedonia, Rome, Byzantium, the Seljuks and the Ottomans.

In Tarsus, at the junction point of the land and maritime routes connecting Çukurova to Central Anatolia in the Mediterranean Region, the typical Mediterranean climate is dominant.

See also: Tarsus in Cilicia