Mertim, an acronym for Mersin Ticaret Merkezi (Mersin Trade Center), is a 52-story skyscraper in Mersin, Turkey. It was the tallest building in Turkey between 1987 and 2000, until the completion of the İş Bankası Towers in Istanbul. It is also the tallest hotel building in Turkey.
History
The Port of Mersin, which is the largest seaport in Turkey and the main port for international trade with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, had been declared as a free trade zone and a series of buildings were constructed in the city to be used in business and commerce, which included the Mertim Tower.
The construction
The architect of the complex was Cengiz Bektaş who designed the building in 1985. The tower was constructed during the second half of the 1980s by the Üstay Corporation. The tower was completed in 1987 and the entire complex entered service in 1993. Immediately after its opening in 1993, a part of the building was used by the University of Mersin for several years during the 1990s.
Building
The complex at 36°48′N 34°37′E / 36.800°N 34.617°E / 36.800; 34.617 includes a shopping center of 1100 stores and a 52-floor skyscraper which is popularly known as Metropol or the Tower. The total height of the building is 176.8 metres (580 ft) and it is claimed that the building was the highest skyscraper between Singapore and Frankfurt as of the early 1990s. Sixteen floors of the building are used as a hotel and the rest are reserved for offices. At present, the hotel is operated by the Radisson Hotel Group.
References
- "Official page of Cengiz Bektaş". Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2010-09-09.
- Official page of Üstay Archived 2010-06-01 at the Wayback Machine
- "ÜSTAY İnşaat Projeler". Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2010-09-09.
- Page of Taksim International
External links
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| Preceded byBanking Regulation and Supervision Council | Tallest Building in Turkey 1987—2000 171 m |
Succeeded byİşbank Tower 1 |
| Preceded byUnknown | Tallest Building in Mersin 1987—Present 177 m |
Succeeded byNone |
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|  Istanbul skyline in 2012. | |||||||||
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