Mersin

Introduction

Narlikuyu

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Mersin, the capital of Mersin province, is an unpopular destination among travellers. Set along the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, it has some of the most beautiful and most isolated beaches of Turkey thus providing a great opportunity for travelers who do not like being surrounded by other tourists.

Ethnicwise, it is one of the most diverse cities with Turkish, Kurdish and Arabic inhabitants. Mersin province was formerly known as İçel until 2002 when the name was changed to match that of its capital.

Neighbourhoods

Sights and Activities

• Ulu Cami
• Mersin Museum
• Kizkalesi

Events and Festivals

• Mersin Art and Culture Festival - September

Weather

The summers are hot and dry with temperature ranging from 35 °C to 43 °C. Winters are warm but usually there is rain. The temperature never falls down below 0 °C.

Getting There

By Plane

Adana Şakirpaşa Airport (IATA: ADA, ICAO: LTAF) in the city of Adana is the closest to Mersin.

Airlines flying into the airport include Blue Wings (Düsseldorf; Stuttgart), Onur Air (Antalya, Ercan, Istanbul-Atatürk, Izmir), Pegasus Airlines (Antalya, Berlin-Tegel, Düsseldorf, Ercan, Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen, Trabzon) and Turkish Airlines (Ankara, Berlin-Schönefeld, Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Istanbul-Atatürk, Jeddah, Venice).

By Train

The Mersin train station is located in the city centre. The Turkish State Railways operate train services to Tarsus and Adana frequently. From these cities there are services to Ankara and Istanbul.

By Car

By Bus

The bus station is located in the city centre and there are buses almost from every city in Turkey. There are free shuttles from the bus station to different parts of the city.

By Boat

There is a marina in the city centre for those who own private boats. Even though one of the biggest ports of Turkey is in Mersin, it is not used for passenger boats. The closest port used for public transportation is in Tasucu, a town two hours away from the city centre. There are connections to Cyprus from there.

Getting Around

By Car

By Public Transport

State run public transportation is free on Islamic and national holidays.

By Foot

By Bike

Even though there are no bike paths in the city, due to the weather a lot people choose to bike around the city. Drivers are used to bikers, though they may not be friendly.

Eat

• Tantuni is minced beef along with onions, peppers and tomatoes wrapped in lavash bread. It is sold in every other restaurant in the city and is a must-try dish for non-vegetarians.
• Another specialty of Mersin is cezerye, sweet that is slightly similar to Turkish delight, lokum, but has totally different ingredients such as carrot, walnuts, coconut and biscuits.
• Offal is widely sold and eaten in Mersin. Even though there are restaurants selling offal through out the day street sellers only sell offal at night.

Drink

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

Work

Learn

Keep Connected

Internet

There are internet cafes all over the city even in less developed neighborhoods. The cost of computer use ranges from 1 YTL to 1.5 YTL on average.

Phone

See also: International Telephone Calls

There are telephone booths in main streets and there are usually telephone card sellers next to these booths. If no booths are available one should look for signs of "kontorlu telefon" which can be found in small markets.

Post

There is a post office in city center near the port which is open 24/7.
PTT is the national post service. Services are generally moderately fast but quite reliable. Sending a standard letter or postcard costs €0.65 within Turkey and €0.80 (letters) or €0.85 (postcards) internationally. There is an extended price list on the PTT website. For sending packages one might also use international companies such as DHL and UPS and local companies such as Yurtici Kargo. Post offices bear the distinctive yellow PTT sign and are generally open between 9:00am to 12:00 noon and 1:30pm to 5:00pm from Monday to Friday.