Municipal Government of Mersin, Turkey

About

Mersin, also called as the “Pearl of the Mediterranean” is a “Blue” and “Green” city with a very important commercial port on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey, situated on the western part of the famous plain of Çukurova, a geographical, economic, and cultural region.  

The coast of Mersin has been inhabited since the 9th millennium BC. The region has witnessed the succession of many different civilizations such as the Hittites, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, Seleucids, Lagids, Roman, Byzantine Seljuk and the Ottomans. 

Mersin is an open air museum with numerous of ruin sites and still standing monuments especially with 9 thousand years old Yumuktepe and Gözlükule Tumulus. The city offers a variety of tourism options with its distinctive natural charm and sea, sand, and sun triad, including culture, faith, congress, hiking, tracking, rafting, paragliding, and mountain climbing, in addition to its 321 km long seashore. Mersin’s natural sandy coastline stretches for around 108 kilometers.  

Mersin, with 13 administrational districts and a population of 2,200,000, is an important hub of Turkey’s economy. The Mersin Port is the mainstay of Mersin’s economy. There are 21 piers, a total port area of 785,000 square meters (194 acres), with a capacity of 6,000 ships per year. Historically, Mersin was a major producer of cotton and cottonseed oil. The rural area around Mersin is famous for citrus and cotton production. Banana, olive and various fruits are also produced.