Adana Attractions
South Coast (Eastern Mediterranean)
The provincial capital of Adana, Turkey's fourth largest city (after Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir) and one of its most prosperous economic centers, lies in the southeast of the country in the Cilician Plain (known today as the Çukurova or "Hole Plain", and in antiquity as Aleion Pedion) below the southern slopes of the Taurus. It is built on both banks of the Seyhan (the ancient Saros), which is spanned by a number of bridges, some of them ancient, and a railroad bridge.
The town draws its subsistence from the fertile plain which extends in the form of a delta towards the Mediterranean. Its situation near the "Cilician Gate", from time immemorial has been the principal pass through the Taurus, and also on the Baghdad railroad. The principal sources of employment are food-canning and preserving factories, spinning- and weaving mills, engineering plants, cement works and rail workshops. The corn and cotton trades are also important (Cotton Exchange). As well as being very hot the climate is humid.
History
Human settlement in Adana reaches far back into pre-Christian times. The Hittite town of Ataniya may have been situated on Velican Tepe, a hill about 12km/7.5mi outside the town. Under the Seleucids the town was known as Antiocheia on the Saros. In Roman times Adana, then called by its present name, was overshadowed by the regional capital Tarsus. Its real development began under Ottoman rule and, even more markedly, under the Turkish Republic.
The provincial capital of Adana, Turkey's fourth largest city (after Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir) and one of its most prosperous economic centers, lies in the southeast of the country in the Cilician Plain (known today as the Çukurova or "Hole Plain", and in antiquity as Aleion Pedion) below the southern slopes of the Taurus. It is built on both banks of the Seyhan (the ancient Saros), which is spanned by a number of bridges, some of them ancient, and a railroad bridge.
The town draws its subsistence from the fertile plain which extends in the form of a delta towards the Mediterranean. Its situation near the "Cilician Gate", from time immemorial has been the principal pass through the Taurus, and also on the Baghdad railroad. The principal sources of employment are food-canning and preserving factories, spinning- and weaving mills, engineering plants, cement works and rail workshops. The corn and cotton trades are also important (Cotton Exchange). As well as being very hot the climate is humid.
History
Human settlement in Adana reaches far back into pre-Christian times. The Hittite town of Ataniya may have been situated on Velican Tepe, a hill about 12km/7.5mi outside the town. Under the Seleucids the town was known as Antiocheia on the Saros. In Roman times Adana, then called by its present name, was overshadowed by the regional capital Tarsus. Its real development began under Ottoman rule and, even more markedly, under the Turkish Republic.
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Karatepe
The ruins of the 8th C walled town of Karatepe show interested reliefs which portray battles, hunting scenes, and ships. The buildings themselves have long since fallen.
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Anavarza (Anazarbus)
The ruins at Anavarza date from the 1st C B.C. and were once the minor capital of Lesser Armenia.
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Snake's Castle
The 12th C Snake's Castle was once rumored to be the home of Sheikh Meran, a man who was half snake.
Archeological Museum
The Archeological Museum in Adana contains a fine collection of prehistoric pottery from Cilicia, some Hittite items and interesting Turkish ethnographic material.
Hierapolis (Kastabala)
5km/3mi beyond the village of Yenice on the road from Osmaniya to Karatepe stand the ruins of Hieropolis (Kastabala). Between 52 B.C. and 17 B.C. this Cilician town became the center of an independent principality under Tarcondimotus I. Rome (under Augustus) then restored its influence by making Tarcondimotus II, the new king, Governor of Cilicia in Anazarbus.
Mosques
Besides Ulu Cami in Adana there are two mosques worth visiting in Adana. The Akça Mesçit (1409; a mescit is a small mosque) and the 15th century Ramazanoglu Camii, both Syrian in style.
Stone Bridge
Practically nothing remains of ancient Adana. All that it has to show is the 310m/340yds long Stone Bridge (Tas Köprü) over the Seyhan. Frequently destroyed and restored in the course of its history, the bridge preserves fourteen of its original 21 arches, including one (at the western end) which is believed to date from the time of the Emperor Hadrian (117-38).
Yumurtalik, Turkey
(Near Adana)
The main road from Adana continues from Yilanlikale to the chief town of the district Ceyhan (a short distance off the road to the right), some 35km/22mi south of which, on the Gulf of Iskenderun, lies the little port of Yumurtalik (previously called Ayas). In Marco Polo's time it was known as Layaze and was once the chief port of Lesser Armenia. In addition to being a seaside resort popular with the local people, it is now the terminus of two oil pipelines from Iraq.
