Establishment, development and functions of Merzifon city

This is a master's thesis titled "The Establishment, Development and Urban Functions of Merzifon City". The development of Merzifon's urban functions, the effects of employment and the process of urbanization that took place depending on them were taken up. In addition, historical development of the settlement, rational predictions about the future situation have been made. Merzifon is estalished in the inner parts of the Middle Black Sea section of the Black Sea Region, where the North Anatolian Fault formed a depression at 750 meters. The most important elevation in the vicinity is the Tavşan Mountain at 1907 m north of the city. Merzifon, which is 110 km. away from the sea, has an annual rainfall of 423 mm and an annual average temperature of around 11,5 ° C. Therefore, it is the transition zone between humid and arid climate regions. However, the arid conditions are a little more dominant. In Merzifon, mounds showing the settlement history go up to 3000 BC were found. However, today, except for the mounds, the historical development processes belong to the Ottoman period. Merzifon became a city settlement in the Ottoman period with the textile sector and commercial activities. Even if it was seriously affected by physical and human events, it continued this feature and left behind many settlements in Anatolia with a population of over 10,000 in the first census. In addition to its efficient farming areas, it has gained the qualification of industrial city with its textile sector and commercial functions, howewer the services sector has become a dominant settlement when this industry is slowly losing its vitality. With the established Organized Industrial Zone, industrial sector have also been added to the services sector. Thus a city of services and industry that has exceeded the threshold of 50000 population by the 2007 census has emerged. Key Words: Merzifon, Function, Geography