Determination of cultural identity in Mersin historical city center commercial structures

Mersin, located on the coast of the Eastern Mediterranean, emerged as a port and commercial city in the 19th century, when the trade and colonialism competition of the western states in the region greatly affected the port cities. The city, which was a fisherman's shelter consisting of a wooden pier and a few buildings around it, emerged from almost nothing and entered a rapid development process with the effect of regional and global developments that took place one after another in the same period. Foreign merchants and companies that flocked to the city to do trade, ensured the increase in the population of the city and the formation of a trade culture. Differentiating from other Ottoman and Eastern Mediterranean port cities, Mersin has created a unique urban construct in the centre of maritime trade. Over time, developments in trade and method changes continued to shape this setup. At the same time, these developments have also affected the commercial structures in the urban construct, and they have constantly transformed them in terms of architecture and function. The study aims to reveal the ways in which maritime trade affects the function and architecture of the traditional buildings in the historical city center. Cultural identity elements were determined by considering the transformations of commercial buildings in the city center, such as khans, warehouses and merchant houses, which are affected by trade, in the focus of maritime trade. Thus, it is aimed to contribute to the creation of conservation approaches suitable for their cultural identities for the commercial buildings, which are the representatives and documents of Mersin's lost port city identity today.