Yenişehir (Turkish pronunciation:['jeniʃehiɾ]) is a municipality and district of Mersin Province, Turkey.[2] Its area is 139 km2,[3] and its population is 278,961 (2022).[1] It covers the west-central part of the city of Mersin and the adjacent countryside.
History
Originally a part of Mersin municipality, the municipality of Yenişehir was established in 1993 as a secondary level municipality of Mersin. In 2008 the district Yenişehir was created from part of the former central district of Mersin, along with the districts Mezitli, Toroslar and Akdeniz. At the same time, the former municipality Çiftlikköy was absorbed into the municipality of Yenişehir.[4][5] At the 2013 Turkish local government reorganisation, the rural part of the district was integrated into the municipality, the villages becoming neighbourhoods.[6]
According to 2022 figures, the population of Yenişehir was 278,961.[1] Approximately 25% of Mersin citizens live in Yenişehir. The annual population growth is over 3.7% which is higher than Mersin average.
Living
Yenişehir, also regionally known as Pozcu, is the most densely populated intracity district of Mersin and serves as the City's commercial center. Mersin's largest shopping center "Forum" lies at the middle of Yenişehir.[8] Both Mersin University and Toros University are located in Yenişehir. Muğdat Mosque, the largest mosque in Mersin is also in Yenişehir.
For the 2013 Mediterranean Games, a 1,288-seat new Mersin Gymnastics Hall was built, and the existing multi-sport venue Edip Buran Arena as well as the Nevin Yanıt Athletics Complex were renovated and modernized. The Edip Buran Arena is home to Turkish Basketball League (TBL) player Mersin Büyükşehir Belediyesi men's[10] and Turkish Women's Basketball League (TKBL) player Mersin Büyükşehir Belediyesi women's[11] basketball teams. Tevfik Sırrı Gür Stadium is the home to Mersin İdmanyurdu. Another new sports venue built for the 2013 Mediterranean Games is the Mersin Volleyball Hall with 1,000 seating capacity, which hosted the men's tournament matches.[12][13][14] The Macit Özcan Sports Complex, built in 2008, consists of three football fields, three tennis courts and three swimming pools, one of them in Olympic-size. The water polo events took place at this site on June 19–26.[15]
Sites of interest
Muğdat Mosque, the City's largest Mosque and one of five Mosques in Turkey with six minarets.