Adana

Adana is one of Türkiye's leading cities for culture and the arts. The best proof is the Golden Boll (Altın Koza) Film Festival, held almost every year since 1969. Since 1998 the Sabancı International Theatre Festival has also made Adana a centre for Turkish and international theatre. The International Air Games Festival is another event held here.

Adana's known history goes back a very long way. Excavations have uncovered finds from the Palaeolithic, and archaeologists have brought to light Tepebağ Höyük, a mound settled in the Neolithic and thought to be the oldest city in Çukurova.

The first kingdom based in Adana was Kizzuwatna, under the rule of the Hittite Empire, as the Hittite cuneiform tablets from Hattusa clearly show. After the fall of the Hittite Empire many powers ruled Adana in turn, among them the Assyrians, the Persians, Alexander the Great's Macedon and the kingdoms of Cilicia.

Later Adana came under the Roman Empire, when the regional centre was Tarsus, and after Rome it became part of the Byzantine Empire. Taken by the Arabs in the 7th century, it returned to Byzantine rule in 964, and shortly before 1071 it joined the lands of the Seljuks.

During the Crusades, in 1097, Adana passed to Byzantium again. It joined the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia in 1132, returned to Byzantine rule five years later and stayed there until 1170, when it became part of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia once more. In 1359, under a treaty, it passed to the Mamluk Sultanate, which settled Turkish families in Adana. After the Mamluks, Adana became part of the Ottoman Empire.

Adana remained Ottoman until the War of Independence, when it was occupied by the French. Under the Treaty of Ankara of 20 October 1921, France left Adana on 5 January 1922. The Seyhan Dam and hydroelectric plant were built in 1956. In 1998 a magnitude 6.2 earthquake, known as the Ceyhan earthquake, struck Adana and killed 145 people.

As one of Türkiye's major commercial cities, Adana can be reached by air above all, but also by sea and by road. Rail travel has also grown since the Mersin–Adana railway opened in 1886. Within the city there are municipal buses, private buses, minibuses (dolmuş) and taxis, and a metro line has been running since 2010.

One of Türkiye's first industrialised cities, Adana made great strides thanks to the Seyhan and Ceyhan rivers and the facilities built on them, especially after 1950. Its well-developed farming is a direct result of these rivers. Crops grown in Adana include wheat, sunflowers, olives, pomegranates, maize, citrus (oranges, bitter oranges, mandarins and lemons), bananas, kiwis, pulses, sugar cane, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, cabbage, onions, rice, soya, cotton, grapes, peanuts, broad beans, black-eyed beans, beans, cucumbers, almonds, watermelons, melons and loquats. Livestock farming has also developed thanks to the favourable geography.

Football is the sport that most represents Adana. Adana Demirspor and Adanaspor represent the city in men's football, and Adana İdman Yurdu in women's football. Adana Demirspor and Adanaspor play their matches at the 17,000-seat 5 Ocak Stadium. Adana Demirspor and Adanaspor currently compete in Türkiye's 1. Lig, and Adana İdman Yurdu also plays in the 1. Lig. Besides football, many other sports are played in Adana, basketball above all.