The old houses of Tarsus are built of stone, mudbrick and timber, in two parts: a store on the ground floor and living quarters above. There is a reason for that arrangement, and it is the local economy — cotton grown on the Çukurova takes up a great deal of space, and it was kept in the store below. Over the years bathrooms, kitchens and other additions were made as needs changed. High walls and a courtyard are the other defining features of the traditional Tarsus house.
The houses have been renewed in the current rehabilitation work and are back in use along the old streets as boutique hotels, cafes and restaurants, which is how most visitors now see the inside of one. They are in the Kızılmurat, or Sofular, quarter.
Getting there
- Access
- City transport reaches it.
When to go
- Climate
- Across Mersin as a whole, monthly mean temperatures run from 10.4 °C in January to 28.5 °C in August; the mean stays between 15 and 25 °C in April, May, October and November; rainfall is heaviest in December (137 mm) and lightest in August (7 mm). Long-term means for 1929-2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM).
