Adana

Found in: Ancient Greek sites in Turkey Roman sites in Turkey Archaeological sites in Turkey

Adana (the ancient Antioch in Cilicia or Antioch on the Sarus) is the capital of Adana Province in Turkey. The city administrates two districts, Seyhan and Yuregir, with a total population of 1,530,257 and an area of 1,945 km. It is the fifth most populous city of Turkey .

For most Turkish people, the word 'Adana' associates with Kebab, algam, cotton, oranges and very hot weather.

Adana is named among the 25 European Regions of the Future for 2006/2007 by Foreign Direct Investment Magazine. Chosen alongside Kocaeli for Turkey, Adana scored the most points for cost effectiveness against Kocaeli's points for infrastructure development, while Adana and Kocaeli tied on points for the categories of human resources and quality of life.

Location

One of the largest and most dynamic cities in Turkey and situated thirty kilometers (nineteen miles) inland, Adana is the gateway to the Cilician plain, now known as the Cukurova plain, the large stretch of flat and fertile land which lies to the south-east of the Taurus Mountains. This is possibly the most productive area in this part of the world.

From Adana, crossing the Cukurova going west, the road from Tarsus enters the foothills of the Taurus Mountains. The temperature decreases with every foot of ascent; the road reaches an altitude of nearly . It goes through the famous Cilician or Cukurova Gates, the rocky pass through which armies have coursed since the dawn of history, and continues to the Anatolian plain.

The north of the city is surrounded by the Seyhan reservoir and HEP, which was completed in 1956. The dam has constructed for hydroelectric power (HEP) and to provide irrigation water to the lower part of Cukurova plain, agricultural cultivating area located in the south part of the city. Two irrigation channels in the city flow to the plain passing through the city center from east to west. Also there is another canal for irrigating the Yuregir plain to the southeast of the city.

Climate

Adana has a typical Mediterranean climate. Winters are warm and summers are hot and humid. Winters are about 13 to 15C, and very humid and summers are 34 to 46C.

Etymology

Some claim that the name is derived from the Hittite ^URUAdaniya of Kizzuwatna, while others contend that it is related with the legendary Danaus and the Danaoi, a legendary Greek tribe. In the Iliad of Homer, the city is called Adana. In Hellenistic times, it was known as Antiochia in Cilicia or Antiochia ad Sarum . The editors of The Helsinki Atlas tentatively identify Adana as Quwe (as contained in cuneiform tablets), the Neo-Assyrian capital of Quwe province. The name also appears as Coa, and may be the place referred to in the Bible, where King Solomon obtained horses. .

The name of the city is believed to have come from a legend that Adanus and Sarus, two sons of Uranus, came to a place near the Seyhan River where they built Adana.

Alternatively, it is believed that Adad (Tesup), the name of the Hittite Thunder God that lived in the forest was given to the region. The Hittites ideas, names and writings have been found in the area so this is a strong possibility. The theory goes that since the Thunder God brought so much rain and this rain in turn brought such great abundance in this particular region, this god was loved and respected by its inhabitants and, in his honor, the region was called the 'Uru Adaniyya'; in other words 'The Region of Ada'.

Adana's name has had many different versions over the centuries: Adanos, Ta Adana, Uru Adaniya, Erdene, Edene, Ezene, Batana, Atana, Azana, Addane.

History

The history of Adana is intrinsically linked to the history of Tarsus; they seem often to be the same city, moving as the neighbouring Seyhan River changed its position, and the name changed too over the course of centuries. Adana was of little importance in ancient history, while Tarsus was the metropolis of the area. Also, Ayas (today Yumurtalik), and Kozan (formerly Sis) have been population and administrative centers, especially during the time of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia.

The history of Adana goes back more than 3000 years; finds in the region reveal human occupation of the area during the Paleolithic Age.

Tepebag Tumulus, where archaeologists found a stone wall and a city center, was built in the Neolithic Age; it is considered to be the oldest city of the Cilicia region.

An Adana is mentioned by name in a Sumerian epic, the Epic of Gilgamesh, but the geography of this work is too imprecise to identify its location.

According to the Hittite inscription of Kava, found in Hattusa (Bogazkale), Kizzuwatna was the first kingdom that ruled Adana, under the protection of the Hittites by 1335 BC. In that time, the name of the city was Uru Adaniyya, and the inhabitants were called Danuna.

Beginning with the collapse of the Hittite Empire, c. 1191-1189 BC, invasions from the west caused a number of small kingdoms to take control of the plain, as follows: Kue Assyrians, 9th century BC; Cilician Kingdom, Persians, 6th century BC; Alexander the Great in 333 BC; Seleucids; and the pirates of Cilicia and Roman statesman Pompey the Great.

During the era of Pompey, the city was used as a prison for the pirates of Cilicia. For several centuries thereafter, it was a waystation on a Roman military road leading to the East. After the split of the Roman Empire, the area became part of the Byzantine Empire, and was probably developed during the time of Julian. With the building of large bridges, roads, government buildings, and irrigation and plantation, Adana and Cilicia became the most developed and important trade centers of the region.

Middle Ages

In the mid 7th century, the city was captured by the Arab Abbasids. According to an Arab historian of that era, the name of the city was derived from Ezene, the prophet Yazene's grandson.

The Byzantines recaptured Adana in 964. After the victory of Alp Arslan at the Battle of Manzikert, the Seljuk Turks overran much of the Byzantine Empire. They had reached and captured Adana sometime before 1071 and continued to hold the place until Tancred, a leader of the First Crusade, captured the city in 1097.

In 1132, it was captured by the forces of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, under its king, Leo I. It was taken by Byzantine forces in 1137, but the Armenians regained it around 1170. In 1268 there was a terrible earthquake which destroyed much of the city. Adana was rebuilt and remained a part of the Kingdom of Cilician Armenia until around 1360, when the city was ceded by Constantine III to the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt in return for obtaining a peace treaty. The Mamluks' capture of the city allowed many Turkish families to settle in it. The Ramazanoglu family, one of the Turkish families brought by the Mamluks, ruled Adana until the Ottomans captured the city.

Modern Era

From the end of the Renaissance to the modern era (15171918), the Ottoman Empire ruled the area.

In the 1830s, in order to secure Egypt's independence for the Ottoman Empire, the army of Muhammad Ali Pasha, the viceroy of Egypt, invaded Syria on two occasions, and reached the Adana plain. The subsequent peace treaty secured Egypt's independence, but required the evacuation of all Egyptian forces from Syria, and its return to Ottoman sovereignty. In the aftermath, Adana was established as a province in its own right.

In 1909 Adana was the location of the Adana massacre.Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition (1911), sv. Adana; for the Adana massacre, sv. Turkey . Turkish scholars and some others refer to the event as the Adana rebellion, based on a thesis of its underlying causes.Justin McCarthy, The Population of the Ottoman Armenians, page(65-85)

After World War I, the Ottoman government surrendered control of the city to French troops, and an Armenian troop equipped by French was sent to occupy the city. During the Turkish War of Independence, Adana was strategically important. Mustafa Kemal came to the city on October 31, 1918, and stayed there for eleven days. As a result, he decided to fight against the Allies, and the idea of Kuvayi Milliye was born.

Turkish nationalists fought against Allied forces, and on October 20, 1921, the Treaty of Ankara was signed between France and the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Based on the terms of the agreement, France signified the end of the Cilicia War; afterwards French invasion troops together with the Armenian volunteers withdrew from the city on January 5, 1922.

On 30 January 1943, Adana played host to Winston Churchill, determined to secure Turkey's entry into the Second World War on the side of the Allies, for a conference with the President Ismet Inonu (Adana Conference). The Turkish neutrality and Inonu's policy based on rationing concessions to both sides meant that the conference remained without substantial results.

Chronology

Luvi Kingdom (1900 BC )

Arzava Kingdom (1500-1333 BC)

Hittite Empire (1900-1200 BC)

Assyrian Empire (713-663 BC)

Persian Empire (550-333 BC)

Hellenistic (333-323 BC)

Seleucid Empire (312-133 BC)

Pirates of Cilicia (178-112 BC)

Romans (112 BC-395 AD)

Byzantines

Abbasids

Great Seljuk Sultanate

Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (1078-1375)

Mamluks

Beylik (principality) of Ramazanoglu

Ottoman Empire

Adana today

Adana has become an international metropolis, stretching and swallowing its neighbors. Adana is the marketing and distribution center for the Cukurova agricultural region, where cotton, wheat, corn, soy bean, barley, grapes and citrus fruits are produced in great quantities. The main industries of the city are textile manufacturing, leather tanning, and wool processing. The houses in Adana have flat tops, and the roofs serve as bedrooms for the inhabitants during the hot summers.

The city of Adana today is administered by three district council authorities: Seyhan, Yuregir, and Karaisali. Seyhan is the more developed part of the city on the west bank of Seyhan river, Yuregir is located on the east bank. Karaisali is best-known for growing myrtleberries (myrtus communis).

The city is also famous for its cuisine, including; the Adana kebab; algam, a salty fermented juice made from turnips; Sirdan a kind of home-made sausage stuffed with rice, and eaten with cumin; paca, boiled sheep's feet; bicibici (pronounced as bee-jee-bee-jee) made from diced semolina, rose water and sugar and served with crushed ice, consumed especially in summer time. Furthermore, the city has a number of famous desserts, such as Halka Tatli a round shaped dessert and Ta Kadayif a bow shaped dessert. Several types of fruit, including the apricot, are native to this area.

NATO's Incirlik Air Base is located in town of Incirlik, east of Adana. Shopping in Adana is enhanced the 'American bazaar' a street market selling new and second-hand goods that have seeped out of the Incirlik Air-base.

Mr. Aytac Durak has been the mayor of Adana for two terms: 1984 - 1989, 1994 - present. He is a member of AK Parti.

Sightseeing

Stone Bridge, built in part during the 6th-century reign of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I, the oldest extant bridge in the world which is still in use.

Yilanli Kale The ruins of a castle dating from 782.

Buyuk Saat (The Great Clock), a large clock tower, was built by the local governor of Adana in 1882. Unfortunately, it was damaged during the French occupation but it was rebuilt in 1935, and its image can be found in the city's coat of arms. There are many historical buildings and tombs of local governors next to the Buyuk Saat.

The old bazaar, Kazancilar Carisi (Bazaar of Cauldron-Makers), founded around Buyuk Saat, where Cari Hamami (Bath of the Bazaar), a Turkish bath built in 1519 can be found.

Bebekli Kilise (Church of Babies) is an old Catholic church located in the city center. There are many historic houses in the street where the church is located.

Seyhan Dam

Ramazanoglu Turbesi

Mosques

Adana Ulu Camii

New Mosque

Butter mosque

Eski Camii

Sabanci Mosque

Alemdar Mescidi

Seyh Zulfi mescidi

Museums

Adana Museum

Adana Etnography Museum

Adana Archeological Museum

Adana Ataturk Museum

Misis Mosaic Museum

Hammams

Irmak Hamami

Mestenzade Hamami

Yeni Hamam

Festivals

Adana Golden Boll International Film Festival (Altin Koza Film Festivali)

Education

Cukurova University

Transport

Railway

Adana Railway Station on the Baghdad Railway.

Airport

Adana Sakirpaa Airport

Sports and Athletics

There is a race-track and also two well-known football teams:

Adanaspor

Adana Demirspor

Notable natives

Abidin Dino - Painter, Sculptor, Author

Ali Erdemir - Scientist in metallurgy

Ali Ozgenturk - Director

Ali Sabanci - Businessman, member of the Sabanci family in 3rd generation

Arzu Ozyigit - Female basketball player

Aye Arman - Leading journalist

Aytac Arman - Actor [*]

Bilge Kosebalaban - Rock music guitarist and vocalist

Cenk Koray - Talkshow Host

Can Kozanoglu - Author, Editor

Demir Demirkan - Rock musician and songwriter

Demir Karahan - Actor [*] [*]

Erol Buyukburc - Pop Music Singer - Turkish pop music

Eyup Can - Journalist

Faruk Logoglu - Former Ambassador

Fatih Terim - Former football player, ex-manager of Galatasaray and Coach of the Turkish national football team

Feridun Duzagac - Musician, Columnist

Ferdi Tayfur - Singer, composer and actor

Haluk Levent - Rock singer

Haroutioun Hovanes Chakmakjian - Armenian-American chemist and Armenian dictionary compiler. Father of Alan Hovhannes.

Hasan Sa - Galatasaray footballer

Irfan Mavruk - Nuclear Scientist, Inventor, Missile Design Engineer

Ismail Safa Ozler - Former Politician and Minister of Education

Ismet Atli - Olympic medalist wrestler

Kasim Gulek - Statesman

Kivanc Tatlitug - Actor and male supermodel

Mehmet Sabanci - Businessman, member of the Sabanci family in 3rd generation

Murat Kekilli - Rock singer

Mustafa Cihan - Mount Everest summiter

Mustafa Inan - Physicist

Muzaffer Izgu - Writer

Nebil Ozgenturk - Journalist, Editor

Orhan Kemal - Novelist

Ozan Colakoglu - Composer, songwriter, music producer

Omer Sabanci - Businessman, member of the Sabanci family in 3rd generation

Ozdemir Sabanci - Businessman, member of the Sabanci family in 2nd generation

Ozgur Petimalci - Rock music drummer

Roupen Altiparmakian - Armenian oud and violin player in Greece and New York.

Serra Sabanci - Businesswoman, member of the Sabanci family in 3rd generation

Suna Kan - Classical music violinist

Suphi Baykam - Statesman

Saziye Ivegin - Female basketball player

Sener Sen - Actor

Tatul Altunyan - Armenian musician, composer, arranger. Leader of the Soviet Armenian State Folk Song and Dance Ensemble.

Tayyibe Gulek - Economist and politician

Turgut Aykac - Olympic medalist boxer

Yaar Kemal - Writer

Yilmaz Guney - Actor and film director

Yilmaz Koksal - Actor

Sister Cities

Beersheba, Israel

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Cordoba, Spain

External links

Governorship of Adana

Adana Trade and Industry Chamber

Many pictures of this city with sub-gallery for the fine Ulu Camii

History of Adana

Adana Rock

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Adana