Toroslar is a municipality and district governorate in Greater

Mersin Mersin (), also known as İçel, is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Mersin Province, Mersin (İçel) Province. It is made up of four municipalities and dis ...

, Turkey. Mersin is one of 30 metropolitan centers in Turkey with more than one municipality within city borders. Now in Mersin there are four second-level municipalities in addition to Greater Mersin (''büyükşehir'') municipality. The mayor of Toroslar is Atsız Afşin Yılmaz (member of MHP, elected in 2019)).

Geography

Toroslar composes the northern quarters of Mersin at about . The sister municipality of

Akdeniz Akdeniz is a municipality and district governorate in Greater Mersin, Turkey. Mersin is one of the 30 Metropolitan centers in Turkey with more than one municipality within city borders. Now in Mersin there are four second-level municipalities ...

lies in the southeast.

Müftü River Efrenk River (also called Suntras or Arslanlöy River in the upper reaches and Müftü River in the lower reaches) is a short river in Mersin Province, Turkey. It was originally called Efrenk River. After a mosque named Müftü Mosque was built by ...

and the sister municipality of Yenişehir lie in the south west. Southern slopes of Toros mountains lie in the north. Mersin intrafaith cemetery is in Toroslar.

History

Yumuktepe, the ruins of one of the earliest human settlements in Anatolia is in Toroslar. Excavations by John Garstang and Seton Lloyd both of which were directors of the

British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara The British Institute at Ankara (BIAA), formerly British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara, is a research institute that supports, promotes, and publishes research into the humanities and social sciences of Turkey and the Black Sea region. The ...

, revealed 23 levels of occupation, the earliest dating from c. 6300 BC. The site however was abandoned during Byzantine Empire period. Modern settlement began in the 19th century. Originally a part of Mersin municipality, the municipality of Toroslar was established in 1993 as a secondary level municipality and the corresponding district governorate was established in 2008.

Population

According to 2020 figures the population of Toroslar is 310,606 (155,881 male and 154.725 female citizens), which makes it the most populous intracity municipality of Mersin.Population page
/ref> Approximately 30% of Mersin citizens live in Toroslar. The majority of residents are blue-collar workers who work at factories or in the fields. Toroslar, Mersin

Politics

Different ethnic groups live together in Toroslar. Among these groups are the Yörüks living in the higher parts of the district, the Alevis who came from all over Turkey, the Kurds who immigrated from the eastern provinces and the Arabs who are native to Mersin. The diversity of ethnicities in the district means that all of the country's major political parties receive more than a certain percentage of votes. While the Yörüks generally support the ultranationalist MHP and the conservative AKP, it is observed that most of them are moving to the Good Party. There is an intense Alevi

social democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...

population supporting the CHP. The dense Kurdish population ensures that HDP's vote is quite high.

Rural area

There are 32 villages and five towns in the rural area of Toroslar. These are situated to the north of Toroslar.

Sport

Sports venues in the district are the 325-seat multi-sport venue,

Mersin District 7 Sports Hall The Mersin District 7 Sports Hall ( tr, 7. Bölge Spor Salonu) is a multi-sport indoor arena located at Toroslar district of Mersin Province, Turkey. Owned by the Mersin National Education Directoriate, the sports hall was leased free of charge to ...

, and new-built Toroslar Bocce Facility, both used during the

2013 Mediterranean Games The 2013 Mediterranean Games ( tr, 2013 Akdeniz Oyunları), officially known as the XVII Mediterranean Games ( tr, XVII Akdeniz Oyunları) and commonly known as Mersin 2013, was an international multi-sport event held from 20 to 30 June 2013 i ...

International relations

Toroslar is twinned with: * Uzgen, Kyrgyzstan

References

{{Mersin Province Populated places in Mersin Province Toroslar District Districts of Mersin Province