List of Famous people born in Mersin Province

Oral Çalışlar is a Turkish journalist and writer, currently columnist for Radikal and Serbestiyet, after briefly working as editor-in-chief of Taraf. He was previously a columnist for Cumhuriyet and Radikal. In the 1960s he participated in the student movement and contributed to Aydınlık. He was imprisoned for 3 years after the 1971 Turkish coup d'état. He became editor of newly re-established Aydınlık in 1978 and was imprisoned again after the 1980 Turkish coup d'état. As a benefactor of an amnesty, he was eventually released in 1988. From 1990 and 1992 he settled in Hamburg, following an invitation by the cities senate. In 1993 he interviewed two personalities of the Kurdish left-wing politics, Abdullah Öcalan, the founder of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Kemal Burkay the chairman of the Socialist Party of Kurdistan for eighteen days. The publications of the interviews later within a book about the Kurdish question in 1993, led to his conviction for 2 years for separatist propaganda, a verdict he appealed. After several trials concerning the book, he was sentenced for 13 months imprisonment on grounds that he disseminated separatist propaganda. Also this verdict he also appealed. Both, the Turkish Industry and Business Association (TUSIAD) as well as the Committee to protect Journalists (CPJ) made an opposing statement to Çalışlar being sentenced. Later he was an activist in defense of the freedom of expression. He is the author of around 20 books.

Ömer Onan is a Turkish former professional basketball player. Standing 1.94 m and weighing 95.4 kg (210 lbs.), he played at the shooting guard position.

Athenodoros Cordylion was a Stoic philosopher, born in Tarsus. He was the keeper of the library at Pergamon, where he was known to cut out passages from books on Stoic philosophy if he disagreed with them:

The passages disapproved by the school were expunged from his [Zeno's] works by Athenodorus the Stoic, who was in charge of the Pergamene library; and that afterwards, when Athenodorus was detected and compromised, they were replaced.

Antipater of Tarsus was a Stoic philosopher. He was the pupil and successor of Diogenes of Babylon as leader of the Stoic school, and was the teacher of Panaetius. He wrote works on the gods and on divination, and in ethics he took a higher moral ground than that of his teacher Diogenes.

Theodore of Tarsus was Archbishop of Canterbury from 668 to 690. Theodore grew up in Tarsus, but fled to Constantinople after the Persian Empire conquered Tarsus and other cities. After studying there, he relocated to Rome and was later installed as the Archbishop of Canterbury. Accounts of his life appear in two 8th-century texts. Theodore is best known for his reform of the English Church and establishment of a school in Canterbury.