Adana

The vicinity of today's Adana was already inhabited in the times of the Hittites, who quickly noticed, that the plain between the Taurus mountain range and the sea with two rivers flowing through it and fertilizing it (dzisiaj Sehyhan Nehri and Ceyhan Nehri) it is an ideal place to settle. But archaeologists have found out, that long before the Hittites, these fertile lands were used by prehistoric people (and more specifically – Neolithic) farmers. In any case, the first concrete social organization emerged with the Hittites, who in the 13th century. p.n.e. they founded the small kingdom of Kizzuwanda here. According to mythology, the name Adana comes from the legendary founder of the city, which was Adanos, syn Career part, ancestors of all gods. Adanos was to found the city approx. 1000 lat p.n.e. and from then on the arrival of the Greeks is more or less dated (they arrived in the eastern Mediterranean as a result of migrations caused by the great wars in the west, m.in. Trojan War). This legend testifies to the consciousness of the Greeks, how early the Cilicia Plain was inhabited by humans. At the beginning of the 7th century. p.n.e. The Assyrians invaded Cilicia, wreaking great havoc, and a century later, the region came under Persian rule. They were only repelled in 333 r. p.n.e. by the army of Alexander the great, after the victorious battle of lssos. After Alexander's death, Cilicia became part of the Seleucid state. One of the rulers of the kingdom of Antiochus IV (1. half. 2nd century. p.n.e.) he renamed Adana Antiochia ad Sarum (Antioch not Sarumem – today the river Seyhan), but the name did not catch on, and it was reverted to Adana. In the following centuries, the city gained even more importance, especially under the rule of the Romans (from 1st century. p.n.e.), thanks to its favorable location on the trade route, which led over the mountain pass in the Taurus Mountains (so-called. The Gates of Cilicia) from east to west. As it was with other cities in this region, after the Romans it was the turn of the Byzantines, then briefly on the Arabs, then back to the Byzantines, then on the Seljuk, Armenians (XII c.) and finally the Egyptian Mamluks (XIV c.). Finally, during Selim I's expedition to Egypt in 1516 r. Adana went to the Ottoman Empire. Adana was also an important center under the Ottomans; the trade route to the Middle East and North Africa still ran through it. After World War I, the city was briefly occupied by the French who wanted to help the Armenians to establish their own state in this region.. Ultimately in 1920 r. Adana was freed from foreign troops and began to thrive within the newly created republic.

Drive, orientation, connections

Adana is an important transportation hub, therefore we will get here both by air, as well as by land (bus and train). Coming from the west by bus, We have a direct connection from all major cities on the Mediterranean coast, the same from the north and south.

The bus station is located approx. 6 km west of the city center. If we can get to him by a shuttle bus, it is likely that a vehicle will be substituted under the so-called. service, which will take us to the city. On the way, you pass the airport. Adana is located on the Seyhan River, and the center is concentrated on its western edge. There are plenty of main streets, but the most important are flax Cad., running from west to east, and the Atatiirk Cad., which to the south of the intersection is already called Cakmak Cad. It comes to 5 January Square (pl. 5 January) with the statue of Ataturk in the center. This is the very center. To the train station located approx, 1,5 km north of the center we reach Ataturk Cad. or Ziyapaja Bulv parallel to it. Both streets are flanked by Ataturk Parks, that is, Ataturk Park, which is a nice patch of green, a popular vacation spot for the people of Adana.

The airport is distant 2 km west of the city center, at Turhan Cemal Beriker Bulv. We'll get there by bus, dolmuszem or free transport, provided by the THY office (if we buy a ticket there), Prof. Dr. Physic Nurse Cad. 22, Seyhan, backgrounds: (322) 45415 45, fax: (322) 454 30 88. We can choose not only connections with Turkish cities (m in. Ankara, Istanbul or Izmir or even Nicosia in the Turkish part of Cyprus), but also with some major European cities.