A larger metropolitan region which combines Mersin withTarsus andErdemli houses more than 1.7 million inhabitants[note 1].Çukurova International Airport (COV) situated 50 kilometres (31 miles) from Mersin city centre, is its closest international airport. There are ferry services from Mersin toFamagusta (Mağusa) inNorthern Cyprus.[2] Mersin is linked to Adana via Tarsus by way ofTCDD trains.
The city was named after the aromatic plant genusMyrsine (Turkish:Mersin,Greek:Μυρσίνη) in the familyPrimulaceae, amyrtle that grows in abundance in the area. The 17th-century Ottoman travelerEvliya Çelebi also recorded in hisSeyahatnâme that there was a clan named the Mersinoğulları (Sons of Mersin) living in the area.[3] In the 19th century Mersin was also referred to as Mersina.
This coast has been inhabited since the9th millennium BC. Excavations byJohn Garstang of the hill ofYumuktepe[4] 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.
Over the centuries, the city was ruled by many states and civilisations including theHittites,Assyrians,Urartians,Persians,Greeks,Armenians,Seleucids andLagids. During theAncient Greek period, the city bore the nameZephyrion (Greek: Ζεφύριον[5]) and was mentioned by numerous ancient authors. Apart from its natural harbour and strategic position along the trade routes of southernAnatolia, the city profited from trade inmolybdenum (white lead) from the neighbouring mines of Coreyra. Ancient sources attributed the best molybdenum to the city, which also minted its own coins.[citation needed]
The area later became a part of theRoman province ofCilicia, which had its capital atTarsus, while nearby Mersin was the major port.[citation needed] The city, whose name wasLatinised toZephyrium, was renamed asHadrianopolis in honour of the Roman emperorHadrian.[citation needed] After the death of the emperorTheodosius I in 395 and the subsequent permanent division of the Roman Empire, Mersin fell into what became theByzantine Empire.[citation needed]
Cilicia was conquered by theArabs in the early 7th century, by which time it appears Mersin was a deserted site. The Arabs were followed by the EgyptianTulunids, then by theByzantines between 965 and c.1080 and then by theArmenian Kingdom of Cilicia. UnderArmenian Cilicia, the region of Mersin served as the powerbase for theHouse of Lampron. From 1362 to 1513 the region was captured and governed by theRamadanid Emirate, first as a protectorate of theMamluk Sultanate, then as an independent state for roughly a century and then as a protectorate of theOttoman Empire from 1513 until 1518 when it was annexed into theOttoman Empire and turned into an imperial province.[citation needed]
This sectionneeds expansion with: the city's history between 16th and 19th century. You can help byadding missing information.(November 2020)
During theAmerican Civil War, the region became a major supplier of cotton 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.[8] In 1909, Mersin's port hosted 645steamships and 797,433 tons of goods. BeforeWorld War I, Mersin exported mainlysesame seeds, cotton,cottonseed, cakes and cereals, and livestock. Cotton was exported to Europe, grain to Turkey and livestock toEgypt. Coal was the main import into Mersin at this time.Messageries Maritimes was the largest shipping line to use the port at Mersin.[9]
In 1918, theOttoman Empire collapsed and Mersin was occupied by French and British troops in accordance with theTreaty of Sèvres. It was recovered by theTurkish Army in 1921 at the end of theFranco-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.[10]
As of 1920, Mersin had five piers at its port, with one privately owned by a railroad company serving Mersin,Tarsus, andAdana.[11]
Today, Mersin is a large city spreading out along the coast. It has the longest seashore in Turkey as well as in theEastern Mediterranean.[12]
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 theSyrian War in 2011 Mersin has acquired a large population of Syrian refugees.
On 6 February 2023 Mersin was shaken by the twinTurkish-Syrian earthquakes. Citizens made homeless in cities further to the east also flocked to Mersin in search of shelter. The urban population of the city is 1,084,789 (Mezitli, Yenisehir, Toroslar, Akdeniz), with a metropolitan population of 1,954,279.
In the western suburb of Viranşehir (Ruined City) the remains of the ancient city ofSoli/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.[14] Mersin lies on the western side ofÇukurova, a Turkish economic hub housingTurkey's largest seaport. The city also hosted the2013 Mediterranean Games.
TheChasms of Heaven and Hell are located in the rural region ofSilifke, a district in Mersin.[15] The chasms are twosinkholes that were naturally formed from underground waters melting the layer of limestone above.[15] The heaven sinkhole has a small monastery located in the corner of the entrance.[15] The deepest point of the sinkhole is 135 meters deep.[15] The hell sinkhole is 128 meters deep.[15] In mythology, there is a story ofZeus temporarily trappingTyphon in the sinkhole.[15]
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 amarina. In the old city center you will find further shopping opportunities and bazaar-like shopping areas.
Unlike the mountainous rugged terrain of the whole province Mersin is located at the western edge of theÇukurova plain. Earthquake risk of the city is relatively low especially compared to other regions of Turkey, but due to its closeness to several otherfault lines in Anatolia, the city center, which was built on analluvial deposit is considered to be a risk region.[17][18]
Mersin has ahot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification:Csa,Trewartha climate classification:Cs), a type ofsubtropical 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 −6.6 °C (20.1 °F).
Climate data for Mersin (1991–2020, extremes 1940–2025)
The population of the city was 1,040,507 according to 2022 estimates.[1] This figure refers to the urban part of the four districtsAkdeniz,Mezitli,Toroslar andYenişehir, that had a total population of 1,077,054 at the end of 2022.[22] 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.[citation needed]
According to church estimates, the total number ofChristians in Mersin is around 3,000. Of these, roughly 1,500 belong to theOrthodox Church and about 1,300 areCatholics, while a small remainder consists ofArmenians and Christians ofLevantine origin.[25]
Next to the port is theMersin Free Zone, established in 1986 asthe 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. In 2002 the free zone's trading volume was US$51.8 billion.[26]
Historically, Mersin was a major producer ofcottonseed oil.[27] The area around Mersin is renowned for its citrus and cotton production. Additionally, bananas, olives and other assorted fruits are also produced.
Mersin has highway connections to the North, East and West. It is also connected to the Southern railroad.Mersin railway station in the district ofAkdeniz has been in use since 1886. Opened on 28 February 2015,Mersin Bus Terminus is the terminus forintercity bus services, replacing the bus station that had been in the city centre since 1986. Ametro system with 11 stations and a length of 13.4 kilometres (8.3 mi) is scheduled for opening at the end of 2026.[28]
Work is underway[when?] to complete theAkkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, Turkey's first nuclear power plant, some 80 miles west of Mersin.[29] Environmental groups, such asGreenpeace, have opposed the construction.[30]
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 theİçel sanat kulübü (Art Club of Mersin) andMediterranean Opera and Ballet Club.
TheMersin Citrus Festival is a festival organized to promote the citrus produced in Mersin.[31] The festival typically includes folk dancers from different traditions and sculptures constructed from different types of citrus.[32] The first festival was held in 2010. The festival is held annually on a weekend in November.[32]
Mersin is best known in Turkey for itstantuni, and restaurants serving it can be found all over the country. The provincial cuisine includes specialties such as:
Ciğer kebap, (liver onmangal), typically served onlavaş with an assortment ofmeze at 12 skewers at a time,
Bumbar or mumbar, lambintestines filled with a mixture of rice, meat andpistachios, that are served either grilled or steamed, famous throughout theLevant ,
Cezerye, alokum-like delight made of caramelized carrot paste, covered in (sometimes sliced)pistachios and often also sprinkled with groundcoconut,
The city has one football stadium,Mersin Arena, 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 theEdip Buran Sport Hall, which has a seating capacity of 2,700.
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.
Blue Guide, Turkey, The Aegean and Mediterranean Coasts (ISBN978-0-393-30489-3), pp. 556–557.
Blood-Dark Track: A Family History (Granta Books) byJoseph O'Neill, contains a detailed and evocative history of the city, viewed from the perspective of a Christian Syrian family long resident in Mersin.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Zephyrium".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
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