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Adana: Sights, Places of Interest & Links |
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Background |
Adana dates back to 6000 B.C., during the
time of antiquity, Adana and the region around it was called Cilicia, it
became the homeland, in turn, for Phoenicians, Assyrians, Hittites,
Persians, Macedonians, Romans, Byzantines, Abbasies, Seljuks and
Ottomans. That' s why Adana has been called cradle of civilizations.
Today, Adana is the fourth largest city in Turkey and one of its most
important industry centers. Its population is about 1,900,000. Adana is
a very well developed and a modern city. It carries all of the typical
features of a contemporary metropolitan city. People from all over the
World may find several facilities in the city with its plentiful shopping
malls, markets, cinemas, concert halls, night clubs and restaurants.
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Beti
has
put together some suggested itineraries for you. |
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1 Day
Tour |
If you have 1 day, take a visit to city' s three museums, the
Archaeological Museum, which displays locally excavated Hittite and
Roman remains, the charming
Ethnographical Museum and the
Atatürk
Culture Museum. All are all in the center of the city and should be included in a tour of the city.
Also close by are the 16th century Ulu
Mosque (Ulu Cami),
Hasan
Aga Mosque, the 19th century
Clock
Tower, the
Stone
Bridge and top the day off with a visit to the Carsi
Hamam (where you can take a sumptuous hamam!). In between
museums, visit the
Ramazanoglu Bazaar for some great shopping. All museums in Adana are open between 8am - 5pm
everyday except for Mondays. Mosques are open everyday, sunrise to
sunset. The bazaar is closed on Sunday.
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2 Day Tour |
If you have 2 days, spend the first day as
suggested above. On the second day, visit
Karatas (Magarsus) and
Yumurtalik (Ayas). You will have to find a car, daily
tour, rent a car, or there are minibuses that regularly go to this
village (often in summer time). If you prefer a tour, we recommend Cenk
Tourism who offer this tour with tour guide for about $10 per person.
You can contact them at (322) 453 3590.
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3 Day Tour
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If you have 3 days, spend the first two days
as outlined above. On the third day, you will have to find a car, daily
tour, rent a car, or there are minibuses that regularly go to this
village (often in summer time). Off the
road from Adana to İskenderun near Yakapınar, lies
Misis,
a city which derived its wealth from its position on the Silk Route.
There are several Roman ruins at the site, including a beautiful fourth
century mosaic depicting Noah' s Ark and animals. There you can visit
the Misis
Mosaic Museum.
Further along the road are the impressive ruins of the
Yilankale
Castle atop a rocky peak that dominates the Ceyhan River. South
of Yilankale in the Sirkeli region a somewhat weathered Hittite relief
marks Muvattalish' s stop here on his way to Egypt. North of Ceyhan lies
the village of Dilekkaya, the ancient
Anavarza,
where you can view the ruins of a Roman - Byzantine city. The small
museum at the site has two particularly fine mosaics from Roman baths.
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4 Day Tour
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If you have 4 days, spend the first
three days as
suggested above. On the fourth day, visit
Hieropolis
(Kastabala) and
Karatepe
(Osmaniye). You will have to find a car, daily
tour, rent a car, or there are minibuses that regularly go to this
village (often in summer time). If you prefer a tour, we recommend Cenk
Tourism who offer this tour with tour guide for about $20 per person
lunch included. You can contact them at (322) 453 3590.
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5 Day Tour |
If you have 5 days, spend the first
four days
as outlined above. On the fifth day, you will have to find a car or rent a
car to visit the
Shar Ruins.
There are no daily tour available.
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The Adana Archeological Museum was built in 1924 and museum is considered to be a museum of the whole
region, because the ancient artifacts exhibited were found not only during the
excavations in the Adana area but also were excavated in other towns
Kahramanmaras,
Gaziantep, Mersin (Yumuktepe), Tarsus (Gözlükule) and Tarsus.
Religious artifacts are also displayed. address: In the town center on the E - 5 high-way, Seyhan Cad. phone: (322) 454 38 55 hours: Open daily between 8am - 5pm. Closed Mondays. fax: (322) 454 38 56 admission: about $2 USD |
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The Adana Ethnography Museum is in the center of Adana, in
the Kuruköprü district. There are antiques from the Çukurova Turkoman
tribe and also Islamic stone antiques, Turkish carpets, swords,
manuscript books and tombstones are exhibited. The building itself is
interesting as well since it was built as a church by the
Crusaders. address: Ziya Pasa Bulvari, Kurukopru phone: (322) 363 3717 hours: Open daily between 8am - 5pm. Closed Mondays. admission: about $2 USD |
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Adana Ataturk Museum
is a house of masonry and
timber in Tepebağ was built in the 19th. century and the location where ATATÜRK
stayed as a guest on 15 March 1923. This building was converted into a museum
in 1981.
address: Seyhan Caddesi Taskopru Civari phone: (322) 359 7866: hours: Open daily between 8am - 5pm. Closed Mondays. admission: about $2 USD |
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Ulu Mosque was built by Halil bey in 1507, and enlarged in 1541 with the
addition of a building. The mausoleum of Halil Bey is also here. The
mosque was built from soft stone. There is a monumental portal with
large-lettered Arabic inscription, and there are eight minarets. The
mosque is an interesting example from the 16th century. It is famous
with its octagonal minarette, double colored rock and Iznik tiles. address: Seyhan Caddesi Taskopru Civari hours: Open daily from sunrise to sunset. admission: free! |
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| Hasan Aga Mosque |
Hasan Aga Mosque address: Seyhan Caddesi Taskopru Civari hours: Open daily from sunrise to sunset. admission: free! |
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| Clock Tower |
The Clock Tower is an old stone building dating from the
18th century. The tower can only be seen from the outside. address: Seyhan Caddesi Taskopru Civari hours: None admission: None |
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Tapkopru (Stone Bridge) |
The Stone Bridge was built as a Roman masterpiece
over the Seyhan River was built by architect Auxentios in the 4th.
century A. D. address: Seyhan Caddesi Taskopru Civari hours: None admission: None |
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Ramazanoglu Bazaar |
Ramazanoglu Bazaar is located in the Ramazanoglu
complex, it has been the center of trade since the 16th century. In
earlier times, there were shops walled on three sides and open on the
fourth; ateliers and khans, and special goods were offered. Now there
are only two covered markets, the portal of Gön Khan and Bazaar
Turkish bath. address: City Center hours: 10am to 7pm. Closed Sundays. admission: free! |
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Karatas - Magarsus Ruins In this ancient harbor-city can be seen remains from the Hellenistic and the Roman periods, including Margasus Castle, Atehama temples and a theatre. Bird paradise on Akyatan Lake is a must-see; here there are also Caretta and Green Turtles. There are many kinds of fish in Tuzla and Karatash. Another ruin in this city is called Malos. address: 49 km from Adana |
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Yumurtalik Ruins - Yumurtalık
An important harbor-city, Aegea was most populated during the 1st century B.C. The city ruins include Ayas Castle, Süleyman Tower and the Marco Polo Portside. address: 49 km from Adana hours: 8:30am to 6:30pm admission: free! |
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Misis built by Ceyhan River,
on the ancient silk road which was one of the important centers of
antiquity. This town became a very important center because of its good
roads and very fertile agricultural fields. Today, you can see the Misis
Bridge aquaducts and the mosaics exhibited in the museum dating from
that time and the same civilization. address: Yakapinar Beldesi, Yumurtalik (26 km between Adana and Ceyhan on the historical silk road.) hours: 8:30am to 6:30pm admission: free! |
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address: Yakapinar Beldesi, Yumurtalik (26 km between Adana and Ceyhan on the historical silk road.) phone: (322) 393 4778 hours: Open daily between 8am - 5pm. Closed Mondays. admission: about $2 USD |
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Yilan Castle was built in
the 11th century by the crusaders of Europe.
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Anavarza Ruins - Kazan/Dilekkaya
The foundation date of this town that became the capital town of the Kingdom of Clicia in 408 A.D. is not known. The town of the Kingdom of Anavarza that was conquered many times by different nations starting from the 8th century A.D., became the capital city of the Armenian Princedom. The Anavarza Castle that was built over the top of a sudden rising slope, right by the antique town of Anavarza is just like a central castle among the sites that still stand. The ancient walls, the arch of victory, the castle, the pillars, the road and the two pools with mosaics covering the bottom attract the attention of the visitors. address: located 72 km from Adana hours: 8:30am to 6:30pm admission: free! |
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Hieropolis - Kastabala (Adana -
Osmaniye 15. km)
It was a great Roman city, established during the 1st century B.C. Among the rocks are streets, places from the 6th century, a theatre, a castle and graves. Kastabala had a great importance in antiguity because of its Temple of Artemis. address: 15 km from Adana in Osmaniye hours: 8:30am to 6:30pm admission: free! |
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The Last Hitite City: Karatepe -
Aslantas (Open-air Museum) This border castle was built by Adana's King Asativatas in the 8th century B.C. It contains a sphinx, reliefs and antigues, and has a great international importance because of its hieroglyphs. address: 130 km from Adana on Adana-Kadirli Highway in Kadirli/Düziçi. hours: 8:30am to 6:30pm admission: free! |
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Shar Ruins or Sar is an ancient city which has Hittite, Roman and Byzantine
remains; its most important antiguity is Also Gate. address: 196 km from Adana in Tufanbeyli hours: 8:30am to 6:30pm admission: free! |
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Kozan Castle was built on an ancient road and had a great strategic importance .It was under the dominion
of the Abbasids in the 9th century, the Seljuks in the 11 th century,
then the Crusaders, and in 1187, it became a part of the Armenian
Princedom in 1187. It was an important center of Christianity because
the celebrations of producing babtismoil were held once in every three
years in the castle, thus the castle`s importance for
Christians. There is also a mosque, Hoshkadem Mosque, built by the
Egyptian Monarchy in 1448, and it is a truly impressive building. It is a typical example of Mamelük
architecture with its two colored portal architecture, made of solid
rock and with one external gallery over its minaret. address: 72 km from Adana hours: 8:30am to 6:30pm admission: free! |
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Karataş
Kumluk, Adana Tel: (322) 237 22 52 Dagilcak Forest This picnic area is 10 km away from Kozan and 90 km from Adana. Yerköprü
Belemedik
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Raşit
Ener Tur. Tesisleri
İskenderun Yolu 5. km / Adana Tel: (322) 321 27 58 |
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Address:
Adana Büyükşehir Belediyesi Konser Salonu Atatürk Bulvarı - Adana Tel: (322) 453 68 74 Fax: (322) 458 25 99 |
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Adana FAQs, Insider Tips and Links |
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This page
was last updated on |
If you have any comments or if you have any full or half day trips you
would like to add, we would be very happy to share them with the
world! |
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