Atatürk Park is a public park in

Mersin Mersin () is a large city and port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of Mediterranean Region, Turkey, southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of the Mersin Province (formerly İçel). It is made up of four district governorates ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Geography

The park is a

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

coastal park of

Akdeniz Akdeniz is a municipality and district of Mersin Province, Turkey. Its area is 265 km2, and its population is 255,946 (2022). It covers the central and eastern part of the city of Mersin and the adjacent countryside. History The municipal ...

district. The longer dimension of the park, which is more than lies along the sea coast in north east to south west direction. The total area of the park is . about . The east of the park is bounded by the harbour facilities and the west is bounded by the old Mersin

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

and Efrenk River. The north is bounded by

İsmet İnönü Boulevard İsmet İnönü Boulevard () is a major avenue in Mersin, Turkey. It is named after İsmet İnönü (1884-1973), the second president of Turkish Republic between 1938 and 1950. Geography The eastern end of the boulevard is to the north of the ...

. Although, coastal park continues to south west beyond Müftü river, the name Atatürk Park is used only for the section between the harbour facilities and the marina.

History

The park is actually the fill area of

Mersin Harbor The Port of Mersin (), is a major seaport located on the north-eastern coast of Mediterranean Sea in Mersin, southern Turkey. As one of the largest harbors in the country, it is Turkey's main gateway to the Mediterranean Sea. It was constructed d ...

dredging in the 1950s. In the 1970s, the park was designed by the municipality as an area for coffee houses and open air theaters. Up to the 2000s, the park was also reserved for domestic fairs. But after a new fair ground was established about away, the park lost most of its former activities. However, within the scope of a renewal project, the park is now transforming into a culture park.

Park today

The main excursion area is by the sea side. The amateur fishermen's club is at the west, next to the anchoring berth of the fishing boats (old marina). Most of the park is covered by flower beds. At the main entrance, there is a monument called ''Refah Şehitleri Abidesi'' (Martyrs of Refah), commemorating the deaths of the sunken ship '' Refah'' during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Ottoman frigate Ertuğrul ''Ertuğrul'', launched in 1863, was a sailing frigate of the Ottoman Navy. While returning from a goodwill voyage to Japan in 1890, she encountered a typhoon off the Kushimoto coast of Wakayama Prefecture. It subsequently drifted into a reef a ...

, another sunken ship of the late 19th century in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

is also commemorated by this monument. In 2008, at the north east of the park a complex of Congress and Exhibition Center () has been established. with conference and performance halls, a pool and related services.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ataturk Park Parks in Turkey Tourist attractions in Mersin Buildings and structures in Mersin 2013 Mediterranean Games venues