Research Information System
International Symposium on New Trends in Social and Liberal Sciences, Milano, Italy, 28 April - 01 May 2016, pp.122
t Afyonkarahisar, and even Konya prior to the First World War, as the islands in the region were lost, this port has preserved its position as the second biggest port among the Turkish ports. Because the Port of Mersin was geographically the sole port of Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean, it has maintained its importance since the early years of the Republic of Turkey. As a matter of fact, the value of the export through the Port of Izmir was 7.29 million liras in 1913 and had gone up to 80.8 million liras by 1929. On the other hand, the value of the export through the Port of Mersin was 1.12 million liras in 1913 and had gone up to 16.25 million liras by 1929. As to the number of the foreign ships entering and exiting these ports, 771 ships engaged in commercial activities through the Port of Izmir and 118 ships had commercial activities through the Port of Mersin in 1930. A considerable decrease occurred in the number of the ships entering and exiting the ports in the period when the Second World War began, but a process of recovery was experienced from 1945 on. In 1950, 855 foreign ships engaged in commercial affairs through the Port of Izmir while 377 foreign ships had commercial affairs through the Port of Mersin. To determine the place and importance of the ports of Izmir and Mersin, a comparison was made between the commercial activities through these ports and the overall commercial activities of Turkey. Considering export rates, the overall export of Turkey amounted to 151.454.371 liras in 1930. Of this amount, 28.278.875 was achieved through the Port of Izmir while 7.069.718 was achieved through the Port of Mersin. In 1960, the overall export of Turkey amounted to 2.158.466.541 liras. Of this amount, 693.998.121 was achieved through the Port of Izmir while 183.673.686 was achieved through the Port of Mersin. The products exported through these ports the most are livestock, carpet and felt products, fruit & vegetable, leather, cotton, wool-hair, yarn, grain, cereals, and the things produced out of them.