Mersin () is a large city and port 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 of 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 ...

. It is the provincial capital of the

Mersin Province Mersin Province (), formerly İçel Province (), is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast between Antalya Province, A ...

(formerly İçel). It is made up of four district governorates, each having its own municipality: Akdeniz, Mezitli, Toroslar and Yenişehir. Mersin lies on the western side 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 ...

, a geographical, economic and cultural region of Turkey. It is an important hub for Turkey's economy, with Turkey's largest seaport located here. The city hosted the 2013 Mediterranean Games. As urbanisation continues eastward, a larger metropolitan region combining Mersin with Tarsus 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 ...

(the Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area) is in the making with more than 3.3 million inhabitants.

Çukurova International Airport Çukurova International Airport is an airport in the Tarsus, Mersin, Tarsus district of Mersin Province, southern Turkey. It serves the provinces of Mersin, Adana Province, Adana, and Osmaniye Province, Osmaniye, as well as the rest of the regio ...

(COV), 74 kilometres (46mi) from Mersin city center, is the nearest international airport. There are ferry services from Mersin to Famagusta (Mağusa) in

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, island of Cyprus. It is List of states with limited recognition, recognis ...

. Mersin is linked to Adana via Tarsus by way of TCDD trains. The urban population of the city is 1 084 789 (Mezitli, Yenisehir, Toroslar, Akdeniz), with a metropolitan population of 1 954 279..

Etymology

The city was named after the aromatic plant genus '' Myrsine'' (, ) in the family Primulaceae, a myrtle that grows in abundance in the area. The 17th-century Ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi also recorded in his '' Seyahatnâme'' that there was a clan named the Mersinoğulları (Sons of Mersin) living in the area. In the 19th century Mersin was also referred to as Mersina.

History

Prehistory

This coast has been inhabited since the 9th millennium BC. Excavations by John Garstang of the hill of

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 ...

have revealed 23 levels of occupation, the earliest dating from ca. 6300 BC. Fortifications were put up around 4500 BC, but the site appears to have been abandoned between 350 BC and 300 BC.

Classical era

Over the centuries, the city was ruled by many states and civilisations including the

Hittites The Hittites () were an Anatolian peoples, Anatolian Proto-Indo-Europeans, Indo-European people who formed one of the first major civilizations of the Bronze Age in West Asia. Possibly originating from beyond the Black Sea, they settled in mo ...

, Assyrians, Urartians,

Persians Persians ( ), or the Persian people (), are an Iranian ethnic group from West Asia that came from an earlier group called the Proto-Iranians, which likely split from the Indo-Iranians in 1800 BCE from either Afghanistan or Central Asia. They ...

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

, Seleucids and

Lagids The Ptolemaic dynasty (; , ''Ptolemaioi''), also known as the Lagid dynasty (, ''Lagidai''; after Ptolemy I's father, Lagus), was a Macedonian Greek royal house which ruled the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Ancient Egypt during the Hellenistic period ...

. During the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

period, the city bore the name Zephyrion ( Greek: Ζεφύριον) and was mentioned by numerous ancient authors. Apart from its natural harbour and strategic position along the trade routes of southern

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 ...

, the city profited from trade in

molybdenum Molybdenum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mo (from Neo-Latin ''molybdaenum'') and atomic number 42. The name derived from Ancient Greek ', meaning lead, since its ores were confused with lead ores. Molybdenum minerals hav ...

(white lead) from the neighbouring mines of Coreyra. Ancient sources attributed the best molybdenum to the city, which also minted its own coins. The area later became a part of the Roman province of Cilicia, which had its capital at Tarsus, while nearby Mersin was the major port. The city, whose name was Latinised to Zephyrium, was renamed as Hadrianopolis in honour of the Roman emperor

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

. After the death of the emperor

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. He won two civil wars and was instrumental in establishing the Nicene Creed as the orthodox doctrine for Nicene C ...

in 395 and the subsequent permanent division of the Roman Empire, Mersin fell into what became the

Byzantine Empire 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 History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

. The city was an

episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...

under the Patriarchate of Antioch.

Le Quien Michel Le Quien (8 October 1661, Boulogne-sur-Mer – 12 March 1733, Paris) was a French historian and theologian. Biography Le Quien studied at , Paris, and at twenty entered the Dominican convent in Faubourg Saint-Germain, where he made ...

names four bishops of Zephyrium: Aerius, present at the

First Council of Constantinople The First Council of Constantinople (; ) was a council of Christian bishops convened in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) in AD 381 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius I. This second ecumenical council, an effort to attain consensus in the ...

in 381; Zenobius, a Nestorian, the writer of a letter protesting the removal of Bishop Meletius of Mopsuestia by Patriarch John of Antioch (429–441); Hypatius, present at the Council of Chalcedon in 451; and Peter, present at the Council in Trullo in 692. The bishopric is included in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

's list of

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

s, but since the Second Vatican Council no new

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of this Eastern see has been appointed.

Medieval period

Cilicia was conquered by the

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

in the early 7th century, by which time it appears Mersin was a deserted site. The Arabs were followed by the Egyptian Tulunids, then by 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 between 965 and c.1080 and then by the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. Under Armenian Cilicia, the region of Mersin served as the powerbase for the House of Lampron. From 1362 to 1513 the region was captured and governed by the Ramadanid Emirate, first as a protectorate of the

Mamluk Sultanate The Mamluk Sultanate (), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz from the mid-13th to early 16th centuries, with Cairo as its capital. It was ruled by a military caste of mamluks ...

, then as an independent state for roughly a century and then as a protectorate 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 ...

from 1513 until 1518 when it was annexed into the

and turned into an imperial province.

Ottoman Empire

During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, the region became a major supplier of

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

to make up for the high demand due to shortage. Railroads were extended to Mersin in 1866 from where cotton was exported by sea, and the city developed into a major trade centre. In 1909, Mersin's port hosted 645

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

s and 797,433 tons of goods. Before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Mersin exported mainly sesame seeds, cotton, cottonseed, cakes and cereals, and livestock. Cotton was exported to Europe, grain to Turkey and livestock to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. Coal was the main import into Mersin at this time. Messageries Maritimes was the largest shipping line to use the port at Mersin. In 1918, the

collapsed and Mersin was occupied by French and British troops in accordance with the

Treaty of Sèvres The Treaty of Sèvres () was a 1920 treaty signed between some of the Allies of World War I and the Ottoman Empire, but not ratified. The treaty would have required the cession of large parts of Ottoman territory to France, the United Kingdom, ...

. It was recovered by the

Turkish Army The Turkish Land Forces () is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for Army, land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Significant campaigns since the ...

in 1921 at the end of the Franco-Turkish War. In 1924, Mersin was made a province, and in 1933 Mersin and İçel provinces were merged to form the (greater Mersin) İçel Province. The capital of the province was Mersin. In 2002 the name of the province was changed to Mersin Province. As of 1920, Mersin had five piers at its port, with one privately owned by a railroad company serving Mersin, Tarsus, and

Modern Mersin

Today, Mersin is a large city spreading out along the coast. It has the longest seashore in Turkey as well as in the

Eastern Mediterranean The Eastern Mediterranean is a loosely delimited region comprising the easternmost portion of the Mediterranean Sea, and well as the adjoining land—often defined as the countries around the Levantine Sea. It includes the southern half of Turkey ...

. The Metropolitan Municipality has rescued long stretches of the seafront with walkways, parks and statues, and there are still palm trees on the roadsides. Since the start of the Syrian War in 2011 Mersin has acquired a large population of Syrian refugees. On 6 February 2023 Mersin was shaken by the twin Turkish-Syrian earthquakes. Citizens made homeless in cities further to the east also flocked to Mersin in search of shelter.

Local Attractions

There are six museums within the Mersin urban area; Mersin Archaeological Museum, Mersin Atatürk Museum, Mersin Naval Museum, Mersin State Art and Sculpture Museum, Mersin Urban History Museum, Mersin Water Museum. In the western suburb of Viranşehir (Ruined City) the remains of the ancient city of Soli/Pompeiiopolis stand close to the sea. Only two colonnades dating from the 2nd or 3rd century are obvious although the outline of the agora and of a mole from the harbour can just about be made out. The Chasms of Heaven and Hell are located in the rural region of

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. ...

, a district in Mersin. The chasms are two sinkholes that were naturally formed from underground waters melting the layer of limestone above. The heaven sinkhole has a small monastery located in the corner of the entrance. The deepest point of the sinkhole is 135 meters deep. The hell sinkhole is 128 meters deep. In mythology, there is a story of

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

temporarily trapping Typhon in the sinkhole. The city has a total of three modern shopping malls, from which the Forum Mersin is the largest one. Mersin Marina can also be considered a shopping center with over 40 shops, apart from its main function as a

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

. In the old city center you will find further shopping opportunities and bazaar-like shopping areas.

Geography

Unlike the mountainous rugged terrain of the whole province Mersin is located at the western edge of the

plain. Earthquake risk of the city is relatively low especially compared to other regions of Turkey, but due to its closeness to several other fault lines in Anatolia, the city center, which was built on an alluvial deposit is considered to be a risk region.

Climate

Mersin has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

: ''Csa'', Trewartha climate classification: ''Cs''), a type of subtropical climate with hot, humid summers and mild, wet winters. Mersin has its highest rainfall in winter. The driest months are in summer with hardly any rainfall at all. The highest temperature of Mersin was recorded on 3 September 2020 at 41.5 °C (106.7 °F), and the lowest was recorded on 6 February 1950 at .

Demographics

The population of the city was 1,040,507 according to 2022 estimates. This figure refers to the urban part of the four districts Akdeniz, Mezitli, Toroslar and Yenişehir, that had a total population of 1,077,054 at the end of 2022. As of a 2021 estimation, the population of the Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area was 3,300,000 inhabitants, making it the 4th most populous area of Turkey.

Religion

The Mersin Interfaith Cemetery, in the Yusuf Kılıç district, serves as a cemetery for all religions with graves of

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

and

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. File:Sent Antuan Latin Katolik Kilisesi ön cepheden.JPG, Cathedral of St. Anthony of Padua File:Muğdat Camii.JPG, Muğdat Mosque in Yenişehir was built in the 1980s File:MersinCemevi.jpg, Mersin Cemevi, an Alevi place of worship

Economy and transportation

The Port of Mersin is the mainstay of city's economy. It is an international hub for many vessels routing to European countries, with a capacity of 6,000 ships per year. Next to the port is the Mersin Free Zone, established in 1986 as the first free zone in Turkey, the zone is a publicly owned centre for foreign investors, close to major markets in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, Russia and

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

. In 2002 the free zone's trading volume was US$51.8 billion. Historically, Mersin was a major producer of cottonseed oil. The area around Mersin is famous for citrus and cotton production. Bananas, olives and assorted other fruits are also produced. Mersin has

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

connections to the north, east and west. It is also connected to the southern railroad. Mersin railway station in the district of Akdeniz has been in use since 1886. Opened on 28 February 2015, Mersin Bus Terminus is the terminus for intercity bus services, replacing the bus station that had been in the city centre since 1986. A metro system with 11 stations and a length of is scheduled to open at the end of 2026. Since August 2024, the city is served by

. Work is underway to complete the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, Turkey's first nuclear power plant, some 80 miles west of Mersin. Environmental groups, such as

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...

, have opposed the construction.Demonstration against nuclear power in Mersin
Firat News agency

Culture

Mersin is home to a State Opera and Ballet, the fourth in Turkey after

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

and

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

. Mersin International Music Festival was established in 2001 and takes place every October. The photography associations Mersin Fotoğraf Derneği (MFD) and Mersin Olba Fotoğraf Derneği (MOF) are amongst the city's most popular and active cultural organisations. Some cultural activities are sponsored by the İçel Sanat Kulübü (Art Club of Mersin) and

Mediterranean Opera and Ballet Club Mediterranean Opera and Ballet Club (, AKOB) is a non-profit cultural organization based in Mersin, Turkey. History Mersin Culture Center Association, another association known for valuable contributions in the past to musical life of Mersin, is ...

. The Mersin Citrus Festival is a festival organized to promote the citrus produced in Mersin. The festival typically includes folk dancers from different traditions and sculptures constructed from different types of citrus. The first festival was held in 2010. The festival is held annually on a weekend in November.

Cuisine

Mersin is best known in Turkey for its tantuni, and restaurants serving it can be found all over the country. The provincial cuisine includes specialties such as: * Ciğer kebap, (liver on mangal), typically served on lavaş with an assortment of meze at 12 skewers at a time, * Tantuni, a hot lavaş wrap consisting of julienned lamb stir-fried on a sac on a hint of cottonseed oil, * Bumbar or mumbar, lamb intestines filled with a mixture of

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...

and

pistachio The pistachio (, ; ''Pistacia vera'') is a small to medium-sized tree of the Anacardiaceae, cashew family, originating in Iran. The tree produces nut (fruit)#Culinary definition and uses, seeds that are widely consumed as food. In 2022, world ...

s, that are served either grilled or steamed, famous throughout the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

, * Cezerye, a lokum-like delight made of caramelized carrot paste, covered in (sometimes sliced)

s and often also sprinkled with ground

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

, * Karsambaç, a variety of shaved ice served with pekmez or

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

as toppings, * Künefe, a wood-oven baked dessert based on a mixture of cheese and pastry; known all throughout the

, * Kerebiç, a shortbread filled with pistachio paste, also famous throughout the

, * Şalgam suyu, a beverage made of fermented red carrots, very popular in Southern Turkey.

Media

;Local TV channels
Kanal 33
* İçel TV * Sun RTV * Güney TV ;Local radio channels * Radyo Metropol (101.8) *Tarsus Süper FM (91.1) * Tempo 94 FM (94.3) * Örgün FM (94.7) * Tarsus Star FM (95.5) * Tarsus Radyo Time (97.7) * Flaş FM (98.3) * Mix FM (91.6) (sadece yabancı müzik, 1993-günümüz) * Kent Radyo (98.5)

Sports

The city was formerly home to Mersin İdman Yurdu, a football club that played in the

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

as recently as the 2015–16 season. The men's basketball team of the Mersin Büyükşehir Belediyesi S.K. plays in the Turkish Basketball League while its women's basketball team plays in the Turkish Women's Basketball League. The city has one football stadium,

Mersin Arena The Mersin Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Mersin, Turkey. Completed in 2013, it was the new home ground for Mersin İdman Yurdu, replacing the old Tevfik Sırrı Gür Stadium. It hosted the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2013 Medit ...

, with a seating capacity of 25,534. There was another stadium, Tevfik Sırrı Gür Stadium, which had a capacity of 10,128 and is now demolished and turned into a park. The men's and women's basketball teams of the Mersin Büyükşehir Belediyesi S.K. play their home matches at the Edip Buran Sport Hall, which has a seating capacity of 2,700. Eleven new sports venues were built for Mersin to host the 2013 Mediterranean Games. The Servet Tazegül Arena, the fourth biggest indoor arena of Turkey with its 7,500 seating capacity, hosted the men's basketball events and the volleyball finals of the Games. The athletics and

paralympic athletics Para-athletics is the sport of athletics practiced by people with a disability as a disabled sports, parasport. The list of athletics events, athletics events within the parasport are mostly the same as those available to able-bodied people, w ...

events were held at the Nevin Yanıt Athletics Complex. File:Mersin Gymnastics Hall, Turkey.JPG, Mersin Gymnastics Hall File:Mersin Olympic Swimming Pool, Turkey.jpg, Mersin Olympic Swimming Pool File:Mersin_Olympic_Stadium.JPG,

File:Sportshall in Mersin, Turkey.JPG, Sporthall in Mersin

Universities

Mersin University was founded in 1992 and started teaching in 1993–1994, with eleven faculties, six schools and nine vocational schools. The university has had about 10,000 graduates, has broadened its current academic staff to more than 2,100 academicians. Toros University is a non-profit private foundation established in Mersin in 2009. Çağ University Tarsus University

Twin towns – sister cities

Mersin is twinned with: *

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

, South Africa * Gazi Mağusa, Northern Cyprus Gazi Mağusa, also known as Famagusta is ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...

'' a part of

Republic of Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the third lar ...

, but the city is '' de facto'' administrated by the self declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus since the

Turkish invasion of Cyprus The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of Cypriot intercommunal violence, intercommunal violence between Greek Cypriots, Greek and Turkish Cy ...

. The twinning is between Northern Cypriot and Turkish administration. *

Kherson Kherson (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and , , ) is a port city in southern Ukraine that serves as the administrative centre of Kherson Oblast. Located by the Black Sea and on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, Kherson is the home to a major ship-bui ...

, Ukraine *

Klaipėda Klaipėda ( ; ) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. It is the List of cities in Lithuania, third-largest city in Lithuania, the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, fifth-largest city in the Baltic States, and the capi ...

, Lithuania * Kushimoto, Japan, where there is a Turkish Memorial and Museum in commemoration of the 1890-sunken Ottoman frigate ''Ertuğrul''. A street in Mersin is named after the Japanese town. * Nizhnekamsk, Russia *

Oberhausen Oberhausen (, ) is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen ( ). The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Rout ...

, Germany * Ölgii, Mongolia * Ufa, Russia * Valparaíso, Chile * West Palm Beach, United States

Notable people

References

* Blue Guide, Turkey, The Aegean and Mediterranean Coasts (), pp. 556–557. * Blood-Dark Track: A Family History (Granta Books) by Joseph O'Neill, contains a detailed and evocative history of the city, viewed from the perspective of a Christian Syrian family long resident in Mersin. * Richard Talbert, Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World, (), p. 66 *

External links

Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites

{{Authority control Çukurova Cilicia Mediterranean port cities and towns in Turkey Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Cities in Turkey Populated coastal places in Turkey Zephyrium Seaside resorts in Turkey Populated places in Mersin Province Geography of ancient Anatolia