Mersin Province (), formerly İçel Province (), is a

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

and

metropolitan municipality A metropolitan municipality is a municipality established to serve a metropolitan area. Canada In generic terms and in practical application within Canada, a metropolitan municipality is an urban local government with partial or complete consol ...

in southern

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, on the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

coast between

Antalya Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...

and

Adana Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...

. Its area is 16,010 km², and its population is 1,916,432 (2022). The provincial capital and the biggest city in the province is

Mersin Mersin () is a large city and port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of Mediterranean Region, Turkey, southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of the Mersin Province (formerly İçel). It is made up of four district governorates ...

, which is composed of four municipalities and district governorates:

Akdeniz Akdeniz is a municipality and district of Mersin Province, Turkey. Its area is 265 km2, and its population is 255,946 (2022). It covers the central and eastern part of the city of Mersin and the adjacent countryside. History The municipal ...

Mezitli Mezitli is a municipality and district of Mersin Province, Turkey. Its area is 371 km2, and its population is 225,824 (2024). It covers the westernmost part of the city of Mersin and the adjacent countryside. The Mayor of Mezitli is Ahmet Ser ...

Toroslar Toroslar is a municipality and district of Mersin Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,075 km2, and its population is 319,711 (2022). It covers the northern part of the city of Mersin and the adjacent countryside. Geography The district of Akd ...

and Yenişehir. Next largest is Tarsus, the birthplace of

Paul the Apostle Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...

. The province is considered to be a part of the geographical, economical and cultural region of

Çukurova Çukurova (), or the Cilician Plain (''Cilicia Pedias'' in antiquity), is a large fertile plain in the Cilicia region of southern Anatolia. The plain covers the easternmost areas of Mersin Province, southern and central Adana Province, western Os ...

, which covers the provinces of Mersin, Adana,

Osmaniye Osmaniye () is a city on the eastern edge of the Çukurova plain in southern Turkey. It is the seat of Osmaniye Province and Osmaniye District.Hatay Hatay Province (, ) is the southernmost Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality of Turkey. Its area is , and its population is 1,686,043 (2022). It is situated mostly outside Anatolia, ...

. The capital of the province is the city of

Etymology

The province is named after its biggest city Mersin. Mersin was named after the aromatic plant genus ''

Myrsine ''Myrsine'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. It was formerly placed in the family Myrsinaceae before this was merged into the Primulaceae. It is found nearly worldwide, primarily in tropical and subtropical areas. It co ...

'' (, ) in the family

Primulaceae The Primulaceae ( ), commonly known as the primrose family (but not related to the Onagraceae, evening primrose family), are a family (biology), family of Herbaceous plant, herbaceous and woody flowering plants including some favourite garden pla ...

, a myrtle that grows in abundance in the area. The 17th-century Ottoman traveler

Evliya Çelebi Dervish Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi (), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman explorer who travelled through his home country during its cultural zenith as well as neighboring lands. He travelled for over 40 years, rec ...

has recorded in his ''

Seyahatnâme ''Seyahatname'' () is the name of a literary form and tradition whose examples can be found throughout centuries in the Middle Ages around the Islamic world, starting with the Arab travellers of the Umayyad period. In a more specific sense, the ...

'' that there was also a clan named Mersinoğulları in the area.

Geography

Ninth biggest province of Turkey by land area, Mersin consists 2,02% of

. 87% of the land area is mountain, leading up to the rocky heights of the central

Taurus Mountains The Taurus Mountains (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar,'' Greek language, Greek'':'' Ταύρος) are a mountain range, mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coastal reg ...

, the highest peak is Medetsiz (3,584 m) in the Bolkar range, and there are a number of important passes over to central

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. There are many high meadows and small plains between 700 and 1500m. The coastal strip has many large areas of flatland, formed from soil brought down by rivers and streams running off the mountains. This is fertile land, the largest area being the plain of Tarsus. The largest rivers are the

Göksu The Göksu River (), known in antiquity as the Calycadnus and in the Middle Ages as the Saleph, is a river on the Taşeli Plateau in southern Turkey. Its two sources arise in the Taurus Mountains—the northern in the Geyik Mountains and the s ...

and the Berdan (Göksu ''Calycadnus'' and Berdan ''Cydnus'' of antiquity), but there are many small streams running into lakes, reservoirs or the Mediterranean sea. Mersin has 321 km of coastline, much of it sandy beach. The climate is typical of the Mediterranean; very hot and rainless in summer, mild and wet in winter. The winter rains can be very heavy and flooding is a problem in many areas, but it never snows on the coast, only in the mountainous areas.

History

In antiquity, this coast was part of

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

, named for a

Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...

n or

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...

n prince that had settled here. Trade from

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

over the mountains to central

passed through here, through the

Cilician Gates The Cilician Gates or Gülek Pass is a pass through the Taurus Mountains connecting the low plains of Cilicia to the Anatolian Plateau, by way of the narrow gorge of the Gökoluk River. Its highest elevation is about 1000m. The Cilician Gates ...

. The geographer

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

, described the region as being divided into "Rugged Cilicia" (''Cilicia Trachea'', Κιλικία Τραχεία in

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

) and "Flat Cilicia" (''Cilicia Pedias'', Κιλικία Πεδιάς). The capital of both sections of Cilicia was Tarsus and

was its seaport. The

Seljuks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persian culture. The founder of th ...

later captured it from the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

s and it then came under the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

then the

again and finally the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

captured it and it remained part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

until 1922.

Administration

The province of Mersin until 1933 didn't include the western territories of the modern province, which then constituted the separate İçel province, with

Silifke Silifke is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Mersin Province, Mersin Province, Turkey. Its area is 2,692 km2, and its population is 132,665 (2022). It is west of the city of Mersin, on the west end of the Çukurova plain. ...

as its administrative center. In 1933, the provinces of Mersin and İçel were merged. The new province was named "İçel" and the city of

was made its capital. The province was renamed to "Mersin" on 28 June 2002.

Districts

Mersin province is divided into thirteen districts four of which are actually included within the municipality of Mersin city (shown in boldface letters). *

Anamur Anamur is a municipality and district of Mersin Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,430 km2, and its population is 66,846 (2022). It is the westernmost district of that province, bordering on Antalya Province. Anamur contains Anatolia's southernm ...

* Aydıncık *

Bozyazı Bozyazı is a municipality and district of Mersin Province, Turkey. Its area is 642 km2, and its population is 26,812 (2022). It is on the Mediterranean coast, west of the city of Mersin. Geography Bozyazı is a remote coastal district with ...

Çamlıyayla Çamlıyayla is a municipality and district of Mersin Province, Turkey. Its area is 602 km2, and its population is 8,164 (2022). Çamlıyayla is a small district high in the Taurus Mountains. In summer the lakes, streams and pine forests of ...

Erdemli Erdemli is a municipality and district of Mersin Province, Turkey. Its area is 2,279 km2, and its population is 151,928 (2022). It is west of the city of Mersin. Geography Erdemli is located between the districts of Mezitli (to the east) a ...

Gülnar Gülnar is a municipality and district of Mersin Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,416 km2, and its population is 27,889 (2022). It is south-west of the city of Mersin. Geography The town of Gülnar is inland on a plain high in the Taurus Mo ...

Mut Mut (; also transliterated as Maut and Mout) was a mother goddess worshipped in ancient Egypt. Her name means ''mother'' in the ancient Egyptian language. Mut had many different aspects and attributes that changed and evolved greatly over th ...

* Tarsus *

* Yenişehir

Demographics

About 50% of the population of the province is younger than 24 years of age. 68% were born in Mersin. The

literacy rate Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...

is 89%. About 43% of the male population and about 27% of the female population graduated from middle school.

Infant mortality Infant mortality is the death of an infant before the infant's first birthday. The occurrence of infant mortality in a population can be described by the infant mortality rate (IMR), which is the number of deaths of infants under one year of age ...

is 0.48%. Urban population growth rate is 2.42%.

Population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

is 117 as of November 2020.(In the table below, the four second-level municipalities are merged within Mersin proper.)

Economy

The city of Mersin is one of busiest cities in Turkey. Due to the economic activity in this part of Turkey generated by the

GAP Project The Southeastern Anatolia Project (, GAP) is a multi-sector integrated regional development project based on the concept of sustainable development for the 9 million people (2023) living in the Southeastern Anatolia region of Turkey. According to ...

Mersin is Turkey's biggest Mediterranean port, and also hosts an oil refinery and a

free trade zone A free-trade zone (FTZ) is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be imported, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re- exported under specific customs regulation and generally not subject t ...

; there are a number of factories along the road between Mersin and

, manufacturing glass, detergents, fertilizers and many more. With all this activity a modern city has grown with a university and other major amenities.

Tourism

Mersin does not have the huge volume of tourists enjoyed by neighbouring

or the

Aegean Aegean may refer to: *Aegean Sea * Aegean Islands *Aegean Region (geographical), Turkey * Aegean Region (statistical), Turkey *Aegean civilizations * Aegean languages, a group of ancient languages and proposed language family *Aegean Sea (theme), ...

coast, but Turkish people do come to this coast, especially now that the hotels have air-conditioning, and perhaps more to the mountain country behind where there are healing mineral water springs. In summer the hills are a popular retreat from the high humidity and extreme heat on the coast. West of Mersin includes bays, and little islands. Yacht touring is a tourism income in these areas.

Places of interest

* The city of Tarsus, birthplace of

St Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

, whose house and well are sites of Christian pilgrimage. *

Alahan Monastery Alahan Monastery ()''Some Recent Finds at Alahan (Koja Kalessi)'', Michael Gough, Anatolian Studies, Vol. 5, (1955), 115. JSTOR is a complex of fifth-century buildings located in the mountains of Isauria in southern Anatolia, Asia Minor (Mersin Pr ...

- ancient

Seleucia in Isauria Silifke is a municipality and district of Mersin Province, Turkey. Its area is 2,692 km2, and its population is 132,665 (2022). It is west of the city of Mersin, on the west end of the Çukurova plain. Silifke lies on the Göksu River, the ...

, buildings include the church of Aya Tekla, the first female saint. *The ancient Roman town of Soloi-Pompeiopolis, now within the city
About Mersin
*The ancient Roman town of

Anemurium Anemurium (), also called Animurium, is an ancient city whose ruins, now called ''Eski Anamur'' or ''Anemuryum'', are close to the modern Turkish city of ''Anamur''. It was in the Roman province of ancient Cilicia, Cilicia, later Isauria, and was ...

, adjacent to the modern town of

. *Another ancient city of

Elaiussa Sebaste Elaiussa Sebaste or Elaeousa Sebaste () was an ancient Roman town located from Mersin in the direction of Silifke in Cilicia on the southern coast of Anatolia (in the modern-day town of Ayaş, Erdemli District in Turkey). Elaiussa (Ελαιού ...

, 55 km from the city of Mersin. * Castles including Mamure,

Kızkalesi Kızkalesi () is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Erdemli, Mersin Province, Turkey. Its population is 1,781 (2022). Before the 2013 Turkish local government reorganisation, 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (''belde''). The to ...

and Namrun. * Yerköprü Waterfall

Towns and other geographic features

Towns

Arslanköy Arslanköy (also called Efrenk) is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Toroslar, Mersin Province, Turkey. Its population is 1,683 (2022). Before the 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (''belde''). Geography Arslanköy is a ...

Ayvagediği Ayvagediği is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Toroslar, Mersin Province, Turkey. Its population is 1,316 (2022). Before the 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (''belde''). Geography Ayvagediği is a mountain town at an aver ...

Büyükeceli Büyükeceli is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Gülnar, Mersin Province, Turkey. Its population is 2,529 (2022). Before the 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (''belde''). Geography Büyükeceli had been founded on the sou ...

* Çarıklar *

Çeşmeli Çeşmeli is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Erdemli, Mersin Province, Turkey. Its population is 5,925 (2022). Before the 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (''belde''). Geography Çeşmeli midtown is situated two kilometers ...

Gözne Gözne is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Toroslar, Mersin Province, Turkey. Its population is 1,505 (2022). Before the 2013 Turkish local government reorganisation, 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (''belde''). Geography ...

Gülek Gülek is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Tarsus, Mersin Province, Turkey. Its population is 1,483 (2022). Before the 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (''belde''). Geography Gülek is situated along a valley on the Tau ...

* Fındıkpınarı *

Kargıpınarı Kargıpınarı (former ''Gilindire'') is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Erdemli, Mersin Province, Turkey. Its population is 13,959 (2022). Before the 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (''belde''). Geography Kargıpınarı ...

Kocahasanlı Kocahasanlı is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Erdemli, Mersin Province, Turkey. Its population is 4,495 (2022). Before the 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (''belde''). Geography The distance to Erdemli is and to Mers ...

* Köseçobanlı * Kuskan *

Limonlu Limonlu (ancient: ''Antiochia Lamotidos''; Byzantine: ''Lamousia''; Arabic: ''Lāmis''; Armenian: ''Lamos'', popularly called ''Lamas'') is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Erdemli, Mersin Province, Turkey. Its population is 2,93 ...

Narlıkuyu Narlıkuyu (; in Turkish language, Turkish) is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Silifke, Mersin Province, Turkey. Its population is 2,476 (2022). Before the 2013 Turkish local government reorganisation, 2013 reorganisation, it ...

* Ören *

Sebil A sabil or sebil (; ) is a small kiosk in the Islamic architectural tradition where water is freely dispensed to members of the public by an attendant behind a grilled window. The term is sometimes also used to refer to simple unmanned fountain ...

Taşucu Taşucu is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Silifke, Mersin Province, Turkey. Its population is 15,184 (2022). Before the 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (''belde''). It had obtained the status of ''belde'' after the local el ...

* Tekeli * Tekmen *

Uzuncaburç Uzuncaburç is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Silifke, Mersin Province, Turkey. Its population is 878 (2022). Before the 2013 Turkish local government reorganisation, 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (''belde''). Geography ...

* Yenice *

Yeşilovacık Yeşilovacık (former Hacıisaklı) is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Silifke, Mersin Province, Turkey. Its population is 3,877 (2022). Before the 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (''belde''). Geography Yeşilovacık is ...

* Yeşiltepe * Zeyne

Archaeological and historical

Adamkayalar Adamkayalar (literally "man-rocks") is a location in Mersin Province, Turkey famous for its eponymous ancient rock-carved figures. Geography Adamkayalar is on the southern slopes of the Toros Mountains only several kilometers north of the Kızk ...

* Altından geçme *

Akhayat sinkhole Akhayat (also known as Aşağı Dünya Obruğu) is a sinkhole in Mersin Province, Turkey. The Akhayat Sinkhole is located in a rural area of the Silifke ilçe (district), to the north of Atayurt town. Geography The sinkhole is situated to the n ...

Aya Tekla Church Aya Tekla Church (, ''Hagia Thékla''; ), also known as Aya Thecla or Aya Thekla, is a ruined historic church (building), church of the Byzantine period in Turkey. It was a popular pilgrimage site, and still attracts visitors today. Location ...

Baç Bridge Baç Bridge ( also called ''Justinyen Köprüsü'') is a bridge in Tarsus, Mersin, Tarsus in Mersin Province, Turkey Geography The bridge is situated to the east of the city at about . Its distance to Tarsus city center is about and to the Tars ...

Bilal Habeşi Masjid __NOTOC__ Bilal may refer to: People * Bilal (name), or Belal or Bilel, including a list of people with the name * Bilal ibn Rabah, a companion of Muhammad, made calls for prayers * Bilal (American singer) * Bilal (Lebanese singer) Places *Bilal ...

* Canbazlı ruins * Caracalla's inscription *

Cennet and Cehennem Cennet and Cehennem (heaven and hell in Turkish) are the names of two large sinkholes in the Taurus Mountains, in Mersin Province, Turkey. The sinkholes are among the tourist attractions of the province. Geography Cennet and Cehennem are situa ...

* Cleopatra's gate *

Corycus Corycus (; also transliterated Corycos or Korykos; ; , lit. "maiden castle") was an ancient city in Cilicia Trachaea, Anatolia, located at the mouth of the valley called Şeytan deresi; the site is now occupied by the town of Kızkalesi (for ...

Çanakçı rock tombs Çanakçı is a town in Giresun Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is the seat of Çanakçı District.

* Dörtayak *

Gözlükule Gözlükule is a tumulus within the borders of Tarsus city, Mersin Province, Turkey. It is now a park with an altitude of with respect to surrounding area. History Initially settled in the Neolithic Period, Gözlükule became an important set ...

Kanlıdivane Kanlıdivane (''ancient'' Canytelis, Greek: Κανυτελής) is an ancient city situated around a big sinkhole in Mersin Province, Turkey. Geography Kanlıdivane is in the rural area of Erdemli district, which is a part of Mersin Province at ...

Karakabaklı Karakabaklı is an archaeological site in Mersin Province, Turkey. Geography Karakabaklı is situated next to Karadedeli village (now a remote neighborhood of Atakent) in the rural area of Silifke district. In the antiquity this region was cal ...

Kırkkaşık Bedesten Kırkkaşık Bedesten is a bedesten (covered market) in Tarsus, Mersin, Tarsus, Turkey. There are figures of lotus (genus), lotus carved on the pediment of the bedesten. In the Medieval Age, the people named the bedesten ''Kırkkaşık'' (forty spo ...

Laal Pasha Mosque Laal Pasha Mosque is a Medieval mosque in Mut in Mersin Province, Turkey. (Names such as Lal Pasha, Lael Pasha and Lala Agha are also used.) History Laal Pasha was a high-ranking bureaucrat in the Turkmen state of Karamanids in Anatolia. I ...

* Lamas Aqueduct *

Mancınık Castle Mancınık Castle () is a Hellenistic castle ruin in Mersin Province, Turkey. Its original name is unknown. Geography The castle is situated in Silifke district of Mersin Province, at , about bird's flight to Mediterranean Sea. Visitors to the ...

Mamure Castle Mamure Castle () is a medieval castle in the Bozdoğan village, Anamur ilçe (district) of Mersin Province, Turkey. Geography The castle is on the Mediterranean coast about , on the D400 highway, east of Anamur and west of Mersin. Histor ...

Meydancık Castle Meydancık Castle () is a castle ruin in Mersin Province, Turkey. The original name was Kirshu and the name of the ruin during Ottoman times was Beydili Kale. Geography The castle is located at , south of Gülnar. It is on a hill at the w ...

Mezgitkale Mezgitkale is a 2nd- or 3rd-century mausoleum in Mersin Province of Turkey. Geography Mezgitkale (also known as ''Korkusuz Kral Mezarı'' “Mausoleum of fearless king” ) is a small mousoleum near Öztürkmenli village in Silifke district. I ...

* Mut Castle *

Olba (ancient city) Olba or Olbe (; ) was an ancient city and bishopric in the Roman province of Isauria, in present-day southern Turkey. It is included in the Catholic Church's list of Latin titular sees. Discovery The site of Olba, within the broader Olbian re ...

Öküzlü ruins Öküzlü is an archaeological site in Mersin Province, Turkey. Geography Öküzlü (''Öküzlüklü'') is situated in the rural area of Erdemli district which is rich in archaeological ruins. It is close to Batısandal village. There are many ru ...

* Paşa Türbesi * Roman road in Cilicia * Saint Paul's Church, Tarsus *

Silifke Castle Silifke Castle () is a medieval castle in Turkey. Geography The castle is in Silifke district of Mersin Province. It is situated to the west of Silifke city center, to the south of Göksu River (''Calydanus'' of the antiquity) and to the north o ...

Sinekkale Sinekkale (literally "The castle of flies") is an archaeological site where the architectural remains of a large villa rustica have been identified in Turkey. The original name is unknown. Location Sinekkale is located in the rural area of Silif ...

Soli, Cilicia Soli (, ''Sóloi''), often rendered Soli/Pompeiopolis (), was an ancient city and port in Cilicia, 11 km west of Mersin in present-day Turkey. Geography Located in Southern Anatolia, on the edge of the timber-rich Taurus Mountains and fe ...

* Tapureli ruins *

Tarsus Grand Mosque Tarsus Grand Mosque () is a mosque in Tarsus, Mersin, Tarsus, Mersin Province, Mersin Province, Turkey. Geography The mosque is at the center of Tarsus in ''Camii Nur'' neighbourhood. It is the biggest mosque of Tarsus. It is close to Saint ...

* Taşgeçit Bridge *

Tekir ambarı Tekir may refer to: * Erdinç Tekir (born 1966), Turkish member of the IHH * Tekir, located at the ancient settlement of Knidos Knidos or Cnidus (; , , , Knídos) was a Greek city in ancient Caria and part of the Dorian Hexapolis, in south- ...

Üçayaklı ruins The Üçayaklı ruins are a Byzantine-era archaeological site in Mersin Province, Turkey. Geography Üçayaklı ruins are on the plateau at the south of Toros Mountains with an altitude of between two Turkmen villages named Küstülü an ...

* Veyselli rock reliefs *

Yanıkhan Yanıkhan is an archaeological site in Mersin Province, Turkey. It is about northwest of Limonlu town. It is to the east of Limonlu-Esenpınar road and west of Limonlu River at about . Its distance to Erdemli is and to Mersin is . History The ...

Yumuktepe Yumuktepe, also known as Yümüktepe, is a tell (ruin mound) within the city borders of Mersin, Turkey. In 1936, the mound was on the outskirts of Mersin, but after a rapid increase of population, the mound was surrounded by the Toroslar munic ...

Museums

Anamur Museum Anamur Museum is a museum of archaeology and ethnography in Anamur ilçe (district) of Mersin Province, southern Turkey. Location The museum is the Yalıevleri (coastal) neighborhood of Anamur at . Mouth of Dragon Creek is to the to the east of ...

Mersin Museum Mersin Museum is the main museum of Mersin, Turkey. It is operated by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. However after establishing a new museum, i.e., Mersin Archaeological Museum most of the exhibits were moved to the new museum. History ...

* Mersin Atatürk Museum * Mersin Naval Museum *

Mersin Urban History Museum Mersin Urban History Museum () is a private museum in Mersin, Turkey. Location and the History The museum at is in Akdeniz secondary municipality of Mersin, ant it lies about from the Mediterranean Sea. It is a restored 150 year-old house w ...

* Mersin Water Museum *

Narlıkuyu Museum Narlıkuyu Mosaic Museum is a small museum in Narlıkuyu, Turkey that encompasses a Roman bath with a mosaic tile floor. The mosaic depicts the charites, Three Graces. Location Narlıkuyu is a town in Silifke ilçe (district) of Mersin Provin ...

Silifke Museum Silifke Museum is in Silifke district of Mersin Province, Turkey. History The first museology activity in Silifke dates back to 1939. The findings in Silifke district which is rich in archaeological wealth were collected in a former primary scho ...

Silifke Atatürk Museum Silifke Atatürk Museum () is a two-storey house in Silifke which hosted the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and his wife in 1925. Location Silifke is an ''ilçe'' (district) of Mersin Province, Turkey. The museum is in the cit ...

* Tarsus Museum

Other

2013 Mediterranean Games The 2013 Mediterranean Games (), officially known as the XVII Mediterranean Games () and commonly known as Mersin 2013, was an international multi-sport event held from 20 to 30 June 2013 in Mersin, Turkey. Mersin was announced as the host cit ...

Berdan River The Berdan (also Baradān or Baradā), the ancient Cydnus (), is a river in Mersin Province, south Turkey. The historical city of Tarsus is on the river and it is therefore sometimes called the Tarsus River. Originally the watercourse passed dir ...

* Cyprus Memorial Cemetery in Silifke *

Dana Adası Dana Island (, also called ''Kargıncık Adası'', Greek Latin ''Pithyussa'') is a small Mediterranean island of Turkey. Geography Dana Adası lies parallel to south coast of Turkey at in the province of Mersin. The distance from the shore i ...

Gulf of Mersin Gulf of Mersin () is one of the widest gulfs in Turkey. It is in the northeast of the Mediterranean Sea between the gulfs of İskenderun and Antalya. Location The gulf of Mersin is between Taşucu in the west and Karataş in the east.''Tür ...

Karabucak Forest Karabucak Forest is a forest plantation in Turkey. Geography The forest is at the south of Tarsus city in Mersin Province. The center of the forest is at about . The distance to Tarsus is and to Mersin is . There are two sections in the fore ...

* Karakız Lake * List of municipalities in Mersin Province *

List of populated places in Mersin Province A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...

* Mersin Congress and Exhibition Center *

Mersin Grand Mosque Mersin Grand Mosque () is a Grand Mosque in Mersin, Turkey. History The original mosque, then named Yeni Cami (), was built in 1898 by the leading people (like Abdülkadir Seydavi) of Mersin. In the 1970s, the mosque has been rebuilt and was r ...

Mersin Harbor The Port of Mersin (), is a major seaport located on the north-eastern coast of Mediterranean Sea in Mersin, southern Turkey. As one of the largest harbors in the country, it is Turkey's main gateway to the Mediterranean Sea. It was constructed d ...

Mezitli River Mezitli River (''Liparis'' of the antiquity) is a rivulet in Mersin Province, Turkey The river flows in the mid-southern portion of the Toros Mountains from north to south. It is a short river and the birds flight distance between the headwaters a ...

* Muğdat Mosque *

Müftü River The Efrenk River (also called Suntras or Arslanlöy River in the upper reaches and Müftü River in the lower reaches) is a short river in Mersin Province, Turkey. It was originally called the Efrenk River. After a mosque named Müftü Mosque was ...

Tourism centers of Mersin Province Tourism centers of Mersin Province, are eight officially determined locations where the touristic investments will be promoted through incentive scheme. in Mersin Province, Turkey. Six of the locations are known as Tourist centers and the last two i ...

Transport in Mersin Province Mersin Province is a Mediterranean Sea, Mediterraneran province of Turkey. The south eastern plain of the province is a part of Çukurova (or historically Cilicia Pedias ). But most of the province is mountainous with a number of small alluvial pla ...

* Yenice Conference (''Yenice Görüşmesi'' )

Gallery

File:Mersin Yenişehir shore.JPG ,

Mediterranean sea shore File:Refah monument from the south, Mersin.JPG, Mersin
Refah monument File:Mersin lighthouse from the south.jpg, Mersin
Light house File:Mersin harbor from the west.jpg, Mersin
Harbor File:Soli ruins, Mersin.jpg , Mersin
Soli ruins File:Castle in Mamure, Anamur, Turkey from the Sea.jpg,

Mamure castle File:Aynalıgöl cave.JPG , Aydıncık
Aynalıgöl File:Kelenderis.jpg, Aydıncık
Detail from the mosaic File:Dörtayak.jpg , Aydıncık
Dörtayak File:Mezgitkale, Mersin Province, Turkey.jpg,

, Mersin Province File:Mut citadel in 2008 3678.jpg,

citadel File:Yerköprü Şelalesi.jpg, Yerköprü Şelalesi File:Kadıncık 1 HES, Çamlıyayla.jpg,

Kadıncık dam File:Berdan Çayı.jpg,

Berdan river The Berdan (also Baradān or Baradā), the ancient Cydnus (), is a river in Mersin Province, south Turkey. The historical city of Tarsus is on the river and it is therefore sometimes called the Tarsus River. Originally the watercourse passed dir ...

File:Kızkalesi (Maiden's castle).jpg,

Maiden's castle File:Hasanaliler Church, Mersin Province, Turkey.jpg, Hasanaliler Church, Mersin Province. File:View from Gülek Castle.jpg, View from Gülek Castle, Mersin Province.

Notes

External links

University of Mersin

Mersin Technoscope

Mersin Chamber of Commerce and Industry (in English)

Mersin Photographic society (in English)

Mersin Free Zone
{{Authority control Provinces of Turkey