Buildings of Byzantine era in Mersin in terms of tangible culturalheritage tourism

This thesis buildings of Byzantine Era in Mersin province in terms of tangible cultural heritage. The aim of the study is to identify the Byzantine Age buildings in Mersin province in terms of tangible cultural heritage tourism, to contribute to the tourism of Mersin province by creating route suggestions. Qualitative research method was used in the thesis study and on-site observation, photographic documentation and SWOT (GZFT) analysis techniques were utilized. In the literature research, the inventory and database of Byzantine buildings in the region, articles on the subject, unpublished theses and official websites were examined. The structures examined on site were photographed and up-to-date data were created. Many regions of Anatolia continue to be discovered archaeologically and Cilicia is one of these regions. According to the Geographika of Strabon, who lived in the Roman Age, the Cilicia Region covers the geography starting from Anamur to the Amanos Mountains and is divided into two parts as Plain and Mountainous. The mountainous part starts from Anamur and extends to Soloi-Pompeiopolis, while the plain part starts from Soloi-Pompeiopolis and extends to the Amanos Mountains. As the only province that includes the mountainous and lowland parts of the Cilicia Region within its borders, Mersin has an important place on the stage of history. Traces of the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine Eras can be found in the Plain and Mountainous Cilicia regions within Mersin borders. Mersin province, which is very productive in terms of tangible cultural heritage, is an important province that needs to be researched, analyzed and evaluated. As a result, it is predicted that Mersin province will contribute to cultural tourism with the cultural routes proposed as a result of determining the current situation of Byzantine tangible cultural heritage artifacts.