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Adana

Adana Travel Guide

When most people think of Adana, Adana kebab comes to mind, but there are many interesting places to discover in this city. In my "Places to Visit in Adana" article, you can find the prominent natural beauties and historical artifacts of Adana. You can also find the details you need to know about how to get to Adana, the city's climate and culture in this article.

It is very easy to reach Adana. Thanks to Şakirpaşa Airport and Adana Bus Terminal, which are very close to the city center, you can travel comfortably by purchasing the ticket suitable for you on obilet.com.

If you are planning to go by plane, you can find information about airlines, trips and prices on our Adana flight ticket page. For those who prefer to travel by bus, our Adana bus ticket page can be helpful. You can also take a nice train ride through the Taurus Mountains.

Since Şakirpaşa Airport is one of the most central airports in Turkey, you can even use a minibus to reach your hotel. In our Adana Airport Transportation Guide article, you can find detailed information about transportation options between the airport and the city center.

Traveling with your own vehicle may be the most comfortable way. I know because I travel frequently, the Ankara-Adana road is quite comfortable and can be easily covered in five hours; most of the road is two-lane and some of it is a highway. The Edirne-Istanbul-Ankara-Adana line has international road status.

Those arriving by road are greeted by the impressive view of the Taurus Mountains covered with pine trees. The Gülek Strait (formerly known as the Cilicia Gates) was a narrow passage where French soldiers were ambushed by the Kuvayi Milliye during the War of Independence, and despite technical developments, it still offers an impressive view.

Çiftehan region has long been known as a place where people from Adana go for thermal springs. My father also has childhood and youth memories here.

If you come with your own vehicle, urban transportation and reaching places such as Karataş and Yılankale will be much easier.

For those without a private vehicle, city transportation is usually provided by buses, and minibuses are also available. However, there is only one metro line in the city and it is not very long.

Climate of Adana

Adana is really hot. And not just like that, it is "yellow hot" as Yaşar Kemal said.

If you are thinking of going in July or August, reconsider. It is almost impossible to go out during the day; even if you did, it would be hard to find people. Most shops are closed during the day and stay open at night because that is when people can go out to shop.

A large portion of Adana residents escape to their summer houses in Karataş or Mersin during the summer months.

Even June can be quite hot. While other cities have a snow holiday in the winter, schools in Adana have a "heat holiday" in June, sometimes even in late May. This holiday allows students to stay out of school to avoid sunstroke (it never snows and there is no winter holiday). So even in June, the heat can be oppressive.

I would suggest April as the ideal time, but if they can't plan so precisely, they may also go in May or September.

Winters are usually not too cold but they are quite rainy. This can cause the roads to fill with water and cause traffic congestion. In the past, before the Seyhan Dam was built, flooding was a serious danger and caused loss of life.

Adana has a landscape adorned with natural orange trees throughout the city. You can also see palm trees added, but the main vegetation of the region consists of orange trees. These trees bear fruit without requiring any special farming process. Oranges may be too sour to be eaten directly, but they add a wonderful flavor when squeezed into salads or lahmacun.

The Orange Blossom Festival is held in Adana in April, this event creates a colorful and lively atmosphere in the city.

The Kebab – Turnip Festival is held in December. Since the exact date of the festival may change every year, I recommend checking the current date information online if you are planning to attend.

What to Take to Adana?

Until I moved to Ankara, I never had winter clothes like scarves, hats, gloves, etc. because we Adana residents get cold easily. Therefore, you don't need these kinds of things even on the coldest days in Adana. However, don't forget to add a raincoat and an umbrella to your suitcase.

For those visiting Adana between April and October, short-sleeved clothing is ideal. You should also bring sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses. Especially in the summer months, even short-sleeved clothing may not be enough, making it almost impossible to wear anything other than a tank top, shorts and sandals.

On your return, make sure to leave some space in your suitcase for products such as cezerye, karakuş, turnip juice and tomato paste, which are unique to Adana.

Adana Culture

Adana has attracted attention as a city where many different cultures have lived together since the Ottoman period. The Yoruks who came down from the Taurus Mountains and settled in the city, the Arabs who came from all over the Eastern Mediterranean and settled here with the Sultan's decree when the marshes of Çukurova were drained and opened to agriculture, and the Armenians who were forced to migrate and settled here by the order of Emperor Constantine Monomachos during the Byzantine period, have turned Adana into a rich cultural mosaic.

This mosaic was further diversified with the opening of the US Incirlik Military Base and the addition of Americans. The interaction of American soldiers with the bazaars and restaurants in the city and the opening of stores by Turkish tradesmen in Incirlik led to a cultural exchange, and many Turkish-American marriages took place during this period.

This diversity played a major role in Adana producing important artists. Yaşar Kemal became one of the most well-known writers of this region while describing the difficulties of agriculture, social problems, heat and malaria in Çukurova in his works such as the İnce Memed series and Sarı Sıcak.

Orhan Kemal is another important writer who grew up in Adana. Muzaffer İzgü, in his novel Zıkkımın Kökü, tells the story of the old days and culture of the city in an impressive way, based on his childhood in Adana.

Among the famous names representing Adana in the music world are Haluk Levent, Feridun Düzağaç, Murat Kekilli and Yaşar. In the field of cinema, Yılmaz Güney, Şener Şen and his father Ali Şen are important artists raised in Adana. Journalist Nebil Özgentürk was also born in Adana.

The Golden Boll Film Festival has been held in the city since 1969 (it could not be held between 1974 and 1992).

Adana has one of the oldest city names still in use today. The city is mentioned by this name in sources ranging from Sumerian clay tablets to the Epic of Gilgamesh. In addition, the name Adana appears in the Boğazköy documents of the Hittites and in Homer's Iliad.

The most common story about the name of Adana is that Adanus, the son of the sky god Uranus in ancient Greek mythology, founded the city on the banks of the Seyhan River. However, an older claim is that the name comes from Adad, the thunder god in ancient Mesopotamian mythology. This claim is seen as an origin compatible with Adana's rainy winters.