Adana is a major province and city in southern Turkey, set on the fertile Çukurova plain where the Seyhan River flows toward the Mediterranean. As Turkey's fifth-largest city, it pairs ancient Cilician history with a famously fiery food culture, anchored by the six-minaret Sabancı Merkez Camii, the Roman Taşköprü bridge, and the world-renowned spicy Adana kebab. Beyond the city, the province spreads across Roman ruins, Hittite carvings, mountain viaducts, and the reservoir lakes of the Seyhan and Çatalan dams.
Adana's history stretches back more than 8,000 years on the fertile Çukurova plain. The site at Tepebağ höyük shows continuous occupation from the Neolithic; the city passed through Hittite, Assyrian, Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Armenian, Crusader, and Ottoman hands before becoming part of the Turkish Republic in 1921. Its most spectacular surviving monuments are the 2nd-century Roman Taşköprü, the late-Hittite Karatepe-Aslantaş reliefs, the Roman and Armenian city of Anavarza, the Armenian cliff-castle of Yılankale, and the Ottoman Ulu Cami, while the Adana Archaeology Museum houses the celebrated Misis floor mosaics.
Historical timeline
Key moments that shaped Adana.
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1
Earliest Settlement at Tepebağ
The Tepebağ mound above the Seyhan River is settled in the Neolithic, making Adana one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the region
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2
Kizzuwatna and the Hittites
The Çukurova plain forms the kingdom of Kizzuwatna, later absorbed into the Hittite empire that dominates Anatolia in the Bronze Age
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3
Karatepe Fortress Built
King Azatiwada founds the late-Hittite fortress of Azatiwadaya at Karatepe, leaving the bilingual Phoenician and Luwian inscription that later helps decipher Luwian
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4
Roman Cilicia
Pompey reorganises Cilicia as a Roman province; cities such as Mopsuestia (Misis) and Anazarbus (Anavarza) flourish along the Pyramus river
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5
Taşköprü Built over the Seyhan
The Romans raise the great stone bridge across the Seyhan at Adana, a structure that will carry traffic for some eighteen centuries
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6
Byzantine Cilicia
Cilicia passes to the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) empire; Mopsuestia and Anazarbus become important Christian centres adorned with mosaics
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7
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
Armenian princes establish a kingdom across the plain, building castles such as Yılankale and Anavarza and contesting the region with Crusaders and Byzantines
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8
Ramazanoğlu Beylik
The Turkmen Ramazanoğlu dynasty rules Adana and the Çukurova, endowing the city with the Ulu Cami, the Bedesten bazaar and the Ramazanoğlu palace
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9
Ottoman Annexation
Adana is absorbed into the Ottoman Empire after the conquest of the Mamluk lands, governed for a time by the Ramazanoğlu as Ottoman vassals
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10
The Great Clock Tower
Governor Ziya Pasha builds the Büyük Saat, the tallest historic clock tower in Turkey, as Adana grows rich on the 19th-century cotton boom
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11
Atatürk's Visit and the Republic
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk visits Adana in March 1923, months before the Turkish Republic is proclaimed; the mansion where he stayed is now a museum
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12
Sabancı Merkez Camii Completed
The vast Sabancı Central Mosque opens on the Seyhan riverside, becoming one of the largest mosques in Turkey and the city's modern symbol
Historical eras
The chapters of Adana's past.
Historical sites
Places where Adana's past comes alive.
Taşköprü (Roman Stone Bridge)
A Roman stone bridge over the Seyhan River, most likely built in the early 2nd century AD, around 310 metres long and now pedestrianised, ranking among the oldest bridges still in use in the world.
Where: Tepebağ, central Seyhan, Adana
Admission: Free
Ulu Cami (Grand Mosque of Adana)
The masterpiece of the Ramazanoğlu beylik, begun in 1513 and completed in 1541, blending Seljuk, Mamluk and Ottoman architecture and celebrated for its İznik tilework, with an adjoining madrasa and the Ramazanoğlu tomb.
Where: Ulu Cami Mahallesi, central Seyhan, Adana
Admission: Free
Karatepe-Aslantaş Open-Air Museum
An open-air archaeological museum within Karatepe-Aslantaş National Park in Osmaniye province, presenting the Late Hittite fortress of Azatiwadaya in situ with sheltered gate reliefs and the landmark bilingual Karatepe inscription.
Admission: Approx ₺140 (approx $3.00); Müzekart accepted
Anavarza (Anazarbus) Ancient City
The ruins of Anazarbus, a Roman and Byzantine metropolis that later served as a capital of Armenian Cilicia, with one of the world's largest triumphal arches, a colonnaded street, baths, theatre and stadium beneath a ridge-top castle.
Where: Dilekkaya, Kozan district, Adana
Admission: Free (open site)
Yılankale (Snake Castle)
A well-preserved Armenian castle of the late 12th and 13th centuries from the Kingdom of Cilicia, perched on a rocky hill above the Ceyhan River and wrapped in the legend of the snake-woman Şahmaran.
Where: Ceyhan district, Adana
Admission: Free
Museums
Curated collections that tell Adana's story.
Adana Archaeology Museum (Adana Arkeoloji Müzesi)
A major regional archaeology museum in central Seyhan, Adana, displaying artefacts from Neolithic to Byzantine periods recovered from excavations across the Adana, Osmaniye, and Mersin provinces.
Hours: Closed Mon; Apr-Oct 08:30-19:00, Nov-Mar 08:30-17:30
Admission: Approx ₺150 (approx $3.20); Müzekart accepted
Adana Ethnography Museum (Adana Etnografya Müzesi)
A late Ottoman building on Taşköprü street in central Seyhan, Adana, housing textiles, ceramics, weapons, and domestic objects documenting the material culture of the Çukurova region from the Ottoman period through the early 20th century.
Hours: Closed Mon; Tue-Sun 08:30-17:00
Admission: Approx ₺60 (approx $1.30); Müzekart accepted
Atatürk Museum (Atatürk Müzesi Adana)
A preserved late Ottoman residence on Seyhan Caddesi in Tepebağ, Adana, where Mustafa Kemal Atatürk stayed during his visits to Adana in 1923, now a period-interior museum documenting the integration of Cilicia into the Turkish Republic.
Hours: Closed Mon; 08:30-17:00
Admission: Free
Karatepe-Aslantaş Open-Air Museum
An open-air archaeological museum within Karatepe-Aslantaş National Park in Osmaniye province, presenting the Late Hittite fortress of Azatiwadaya in situ with sheltered gate reliefs and the landmark bilingual Karatepe inscription.
Hours: Closed Mon; 08:00-17:00
Admission: Approx ₺140 (approx $3.00); Müzekart accepted
Historical tours
Guided experiences that bring history to life.