Mersin

Mersin is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is part of an interurban agglomeration, the Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area, and lies on the western part of Çukurova, a geographical, economic and cultural region.Mersin is an important hub of Turkey’s economy, and Turkey’s largest seaport is located in the city. Mersin’s nickname in Turkey is “Pearl of the Mediterranean” and the city hosted the 2013 Mediterranean Games. Mersin is the provincial capital of the eponymous Mersin Province of Turkey.

Mersin stands near the site of an unidentified ancient settlement. The ruins of the Roman harbour town of Soli-Pompeiopolis lie immediately to the west. Excavations in a mound called Yumuk Tepesi, 2 miles (3 km) north of the modern harbour, indicate settlements in the remote Neolithic (New Stone Age) Period: a village was fortified there as early as about 3600 BCE and again during the period of Hittite dominance (c. 1750–1200 BCE) but was abandoned after the foundation of Pompeiopolis.