Adana-Mersin metropolitan area


The Adana-Mersin polycentric metropolitan area is the fourth largest metropolitan area in Turkey with a population of 3 million. The metropolitan area lies in the core area of Çukurova, stretching 70 km east-west and 25 km north-south, encompassing the cities of Mersin, Tarsus, and Adana.
Along the state road D400 from Mersin to Adana, large scale industries, businesses that serve the entire metropolitan area, are lined up, leaving almost no farmland at the side of the road. Commuting to work is mostly one-way, towards Adana. Transportation of agricultural and industrial goods is mostly towards Mersin, which hosts the third largest seaport in Turkey.

Education and Culture

Commuting to school is mostly towards Adana and Mersin, both home of a large state university. Tarsus attracts students in the metropolitan area with Tarsus American College, one of the most popular high schools of Turkey. Çağ University, on the midway from Tarsus to Adana, is a commuter university serving the students who reside in Adana, Tarsus and Mersin. Cultural trips are usually both ways as Mersin is also a major city of arts and culture. Çukurova State Symphony Orchestra concerts and Adana State Theater plays in Adana and Mersin State Opera and Ballet performances in Mersin and Tarsus are the major cultural events of the area. Tarsus, as being in the middle of the metropolitan area, attracts metropolitan residents with its well-preserved history and culture. In the summer, many metropolitan residents drive to their cottages in Erdemli and further west.

Population

Four districts of the Adana Province and five districts of the Mersin Province form the metropolitan area. The population of the districts from the west end to the east end as of December 2015 are;
ProvinceDistrictPopulation
MersinMezitli171,837
MersinYenişehir240,452
MersinToroslar285,971
MersinAkdeniz272,366
MersinTarsus326,063
AdanaSeyhan788,722
AdanaÇukurova359,315
AdanaYüreğir419,011
AdanaSarıçam150,425
Total3,014,162

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