Adana (the ancient Antioch in Cilicia or Antioch on the Sarus) is the capital of Adana Province in Turkey. According to the 2000 census, with 1,130,710 inhabitants[1], it is the fifth most populous city of Turkey (after İstanbul, Ankara, İzmir and Bursa). The 2006 estimate of Adana's population is 1,271,894.
For most Turkish people the word 'Adana' associates with Kebab, cotton, oranges and very hot weather.
One of the largest and most dynamic cities in Turkey and situated thirty kilometres (nineteen miles) inland, Adana is the gateway to the Cilician plain, now known as the Çukurova 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 Çukurova 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 4000 feet. It goes through the famous Cilician or Çukurova 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, which was built in 1957. The lake is used to produce electricity, and to provide the irrigation water to the lower part of Çukurova plain, agricultural production area located in the south parth of the city. Two irrigation canals in the city flow to the plain passing through the city center from east to west. Also there is another canal for irrigating the Yüreğir plain to the southeast of the city.
Etymology
Its name is derived from the Hittite URUAdaniya of Kizzuwatna. In the Iliad of Homer, the city is called Adana. In Hellenistic times, it was known as Antiochia in Cilicia (Greek: Αντιόχεια της Κιλικίας) or Antiochia ad Sarum (Greek: Αντιόχεια η προς Σάρον; "Antiocia on the Sarus"). The editors of The Helsinki Atlas tentatively identify Adana as Quwê (as contained in cuneiform tablets), the Neo-Assyrian capital of Quwê province. The name also appears as Coa, and may be the place referred to in the Bible, where King Solomon obtained horses. (I Kings 10:28; II Chron. 1:16).[2]
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.
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 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 Kingdom of Lesser Armenia.
The history of Adana goes back 3000 years; finds in the region reveal human occupation of the area during the Paleolithic Age.
Tepebag Tumulus, where archeologists 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.
Then the city was directly and indirectly the subject of many epic poems and legends over the course of many millennia. Adana is mentioned by name in a Sumerian epic, the Epic of Gilgamesh.
According to the Hittite inscription of Kava, found in Hattusa (Boğazkale), Kitvanza Kingdom was the first kingdom that ruled Adana, under the protection of the Hittites in 1335 BC. In that time the name of the city was Uru Adaniyya and the inhabitants were called Danuna.
After the rule of the Hittites, circa 1191-1189 B.C, invasions from the west caused many 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, Leon I. It was taken by Byzantine forces in 1137, but the Armenians regained it around the year 1170. Adana 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 Turkmen families to settle in it. The Ramazanoğlu family, one of the Turkmen 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 (1517–1918), 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 occassions and reached the Adana plain. The subsequent peace treaty secured Egypt's independance but (at the insistance of Great Britain, Austria, Russia and Prussia) 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 what is generally termed the Adana massacre.[3] Turkish scholars and some others refer to the event as the Adana rebellion based on a thesis of its underlying causes.[4]
After World War I, the Ottoman government surrendered control of the city to Allied forces and French troops were 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 what he called Kuvayi Milliye was born. Turkish nationalists grouped together and fought until February 5, 1921.
Further information: Franco-Turkish War
Chronology
Luvi Kingdom (B.C.1900)
Arzava Kingdom (B.C. 1500-1333)
Hittite Empire (B.C. 1900-1200)
Assyrian Empire (B.C. 713-663)
Persian Empire (B.C.612-333)
Hellenistic (B.C. 333-323)
Seleucid Empire (B.C. 312-133)
Pirates of Cilicia (M.Ö. 178-112)
Romans (B.C.112-A.C 395)
Byzantines (395-638)
Abbasid
Great Seljuk Sultanate
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (1078-1375)
Mamluks
Beylik (principality) of Ramazanoğlu
Ottoman Empire
Features of Adana today
Adana has become an international metropolis, stretching and swallowing its neighbours. Adana is the marketing and distribution center for the Çukurova agricultural region, where cotton, wheat, barley, grapes, citrus fruits, olives, and tobacco are produced in great quantities. The main industries of the city are textile manufacturing, leather tanning, and wool processing. Foreign Direct Investment Magazine named Adana among the 25 European Regions of the Future for 2006/2007. [5] Chosen along with 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.
The city of Adana today is administered by two district council authorities: Seyhan and Yüreğir. Seyhan, the more developed western part of the city, is located on the right side of Seyhan River. Yüreğir is located on the left side of the river, and NATO's Incirlik Air Base is located within this province.
The houses in Adana have flat tops, and the roofs serve as bedrooms for the inhabitants during the hot summers. Several types of fruit, including the apricot, are native to this area.
The city is also famous for its cuisine, including; the Adana kebab; şalgam, a salty fermented juice made from turnips; Sirdan a kind of home-made sausage stuffed with rice, and eaten with cummin; Paça, 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. But especially the Adana kebab, this you have to try.
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.
And finally did we mention that it gets hot in summer!!! No one stirs in daytime unless absolutely necessary.
Sightseeing
Sabancı Mosque in AdanaStone 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.
Yilanlı Kale The ruins of a castle dating from 782.
Büyük 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 Büyük Saat.
The old bazaar, Kazancılar Çarşısı (Bazaar of Cauldron-Makers), founded around Büyük Saat, where Çarşı Hamamı (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.
OTHERS
Ramazanoğlu Türbesi
Alemdar Mescidi
Şeyh Zülfi mescidi
Irmak Hamamı
Mestenzade Hamamı
Yeni Hamam
Seyhan Dam
Adana Ulu Camii
New Mosque
Butter mosque
Eski Camii
Adana Museum
Adana Etnography Museum
Adana Archeological Museum
Adana Atatürk Museum
Misis Mosaic Museum
Festivals
Altın Koza (Golden Cocoon) Film Festival - Provincial Center (14-25 September)
Education
Çukurova University
Transportation
Airport
Adana Şakirpaşa Airport
AtlasJet Airlines: (Ercan, Istanbul)
Fly Air: (Stuttgart)
Kibris Turkish Airlines: (Ercan)
Sun Express: (Antalya, Erzurum, İzmir, Trabzon, Van)
Turkish Airlines: (Ankara, Berlin-Schönefeld International Airport, Köln, Istanbul,Jeddah, Sabiha Gökçen International Airport)
Sports and Athletics
There is a race-track and also two well-known football teams:
Adanaspor
Adana Demirspor
Notable natives
Ali Cem Kibar - businessman
Ali Erdemir - scientist in metallurgy
Ali Sabancı - businessman, member of the Sabancı family in 3rd generation
Ali Şen - Actor
Arzu Özyiğit - female basketball player
Aytaç Arman - actor
Bilge Kösebalaban - rock music guitarist and vocalist
Cenk Koray - Talkshow Host
Demir Demirkan - rock musician and songwriter
Demir Karahan
Erol Büyükburç - Pop Music Singer - Turkish pop music
Eyüp Can - journalist
Fatih Terim - former football player, ex-manager of Galatasaray and manager of the Turkish national football team
Ferdi Tayfur - singer, composer and actor
Haluk Levent - rock singer
Haroutioun Hovanes Chakmakjian - professor
Hasan Şaş - Galatasaray footballer
İsmet Atlı - Olympic medalist wrestler
Kasım Gülek - Statesman
Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ - actor and male supermodel
Mehmet Sabancı - businessman, member of the Sabancı family in 3rd generation
Murat Kekilli - rock singer
Mustafa Cihan - Mount Everest summiter
Mustafa İnan
Ömer Sabancı - businessman, member of the Sabancı family in 3rd generation
Özdemir Sabancı - businessman, member of the Sabancı family in 2nd generation
Özgür Peştimalci - Rock music drummer
Serra Sabancı - businesswoman, member of the Sabancı family in 3rd generation
Suna Kan - classical music violinist
Şaziye İvegin - female basketball player
Şener Şen - actor
Tayyibe Gülek - economist and politician
Turgut Aykaç - Olympic medalist boxer
Yaşar Kemal - writer
Yılmaz Güney - actor and film director
Yılmaz Köksal - actor
See also
Cilicia War
Chronology of the Turkish War of Independence
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