Places to Visit in Adana City Center and Adana Travel Guide

Adana is one of the warmest cities in our country in terms of both climate and people. It has trained many artists in our country and contributed to our economy with cotton production. Places to visit in Adana city center, what to eat, what not to return without doing Many information such as Adana will guide your trip. Adana travel guide This article is waiting for you, have a pleasant reading!

Best Time to Go to Adana

One of the top five cities of our country in terms of eating and drinking, Adana is a must go not only to eat but also to visit and see. But when? The best time to go to Adana is spring and winter. These months are ideal for both traveling and eating, and Adana is a city that should definitely be avoided during the summer months.

With the combination of heat and humidity in the summer months, an air wave welcomes you as if you are drying your hair with a blow dryer. My first trip to Adana was for business and it was the hottest days of the summer. I don't even remember how many liters of water I drank or how many clothes I changed in the same day. Luckily I was only gone for one day and came back quickly. After that, I didn't include Adana on my travel list for a long time.

When I went to Adana in autumn after years, Adana It is among the most suitable places for a culture and gourmet trip in Turkey in spring and winter. I realized it was there and went many times afterwards. In addition, when you go during the winter months, you will have the chance to see the beauty of the fruiting orange and citrus trees on the streets.

While determining the date to go to Adana; Orange Blossom Festival in March, Adana Liberation Half Marathon in January or Adana Golden Boll Film Festival in September You can choose one of the periods.

Places to Visit in Adana City Center

I've been to Adana many times, and of course I spent most of my time in the city center, where I see different spots every time I go. For this reason, I wanted to consider the list of places to visit in Adana city center as an article on its own. In the list below, I tried to explain the places to visit in the city center in detail, starting from the Central Park. If I have any shortcomings, if you add them to the comments section, we can ensure that they reach everyone who reads this article.

If you are looking for a list of places to visit outside of Adana city center, including its districts List of Places to Visit in Adana I suggest you take a look at my article, you will find my district by district suggestions.

Central Park 

Merkez Park is the best place to start your Adana trip. It is an area of ​​50 hectares, surrounded by greenery on the banks of the Seyhan River, with beautiful landscaping and walking paths, where the people of Adana breathe. Sabancı Merkez Mosque is at the south end of the park, and Galleria Shopping Center is at the north end. I should have included some food information since Cigerci Mahmut, one of the famous liver sellers in Adana, is in one of the streets across the park. In the park, you will also see different landscaped areas such as the pool with the world sculpture and the Japanese Garden, which you can see in the photo above. The park, which was put into service in 2004, is called Turkey's largest park, but I do not trust these "best". The view of Sabancı Central Mosque from the point where the Japanese Garden is located in the park is very beautiful. The photo below was taken from there.

Sabanci Central Mosque

At the end of Merkez Park, you reach Sabancı Merkez Mosque. The mosque, which was officially opened in 1998, is one of the largest mosques in the Middle East and the Balkans. The mosque, which has a total capacity of 28.000 people in its open and closed areas, has become one of the symbols of Adana today. The general appearance of the mosque is similar to the Blue Mosque, and its plan and interior design is made by analogy to the Süleymaniye Mosque. The mosque, which was started to be built in 1988, was first tried to be completed with donations from the municipality, the Diyanet and the public, but when it could not be completed, it was planned to be the Central Mosque, since the remaining needs were met by the Sabancı Family, it was renamed the Sabancı Merkez Mosque.

Flag Park, Zübeyde Hanım Park, Ulus Park

When you continue south from Sabancı Central Mosque along the banks of the Seyhan River, you will see that the green areas continue. These green spaces Bayrak Park continues under the name of Zübeyde Hanım Park and Ulus Park. There is also an old school building in Zübeyde Hanım Park.

Historical Stone Bridge 

Of course, the first place that comes to mind when it comes to places to visit in Adana Historical Stone Bridge. Bridge built by Hadrianus, one of my favorite Roman Emperors, in 385. One of the oldest bridges in the world still in active use. Although the Stone Bridge was closed to vehicle traffic in 2006 for protection purposes, it is still open to pedestrian traffic. You can still reach Yüreğir district from Seyhan district by climbing over the Seyhan River. It was one of the important bridges connecting Asia and Europe at the time it was built and had 21 arches. The main reason why 21 arches remain today, out of 14 arches, is that as the river recedes, the settlements on the banks of the river expand towards the river bed and meanwhile, the bridge piers remain under the ground.

The epitaph of the bridge is still exhibited in Adana Archeology Museum. If we look at the information written in the inscription, the architect of the bridge, which was built in 385, was an architect named Auxentios. Think about it, your name is mentioned on the inscription on a bridge and 1700-odd years later, a blogger is talking about you, I always get very excited when I think about such things and I want to leave a permanent mark on the world.

Historical Adana Houses – Sıra Mansions

You will see the Historical Adana Houses lined up side by side on the back street of Zübeyde Hanım Park. The five mansions, which were built as adjacent to each other, were also known as Seyhan Mansions since they were located on the banks of the Seyhan River at the time they were built. The mansion, which belongs to the Balkan immigrant Bosnian Salih Efendi, the first of the mansions, serves as a boutique hotel today. The mansion adjacent to it was the house where our world-famous cartoonist Turhan Selçuk and his brother, journalist writer İlhan Selçuk stayed when they lived in Adana, it is planned to be restored and opened as the Turhan and İlhan Selçuk Culture House, it is not open to visitors yet. The mansion at the far end serves as the Cinema Museum today, and we will talk about it separately. Next to the Cinema Museum, Suphi Pasha Mansion (Ramazanoğlu), built in 1882 independently of Sıra Konaklar, is used as the Atatürk House Museum.

Adana Ataturk House Museum

The mansion, which is located as an independent building during the Sıra Konaklar and was built by Suphi Pasha from Ramazanoğulları, has a great importance for Adana as it is the mansion where Atatürk stayed with his wife Latife Hanım during his visit to Adana. The arrival of Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who came to Adana on March 15, 1923, is still celebrated with ceremonies on March 15 every year.

Documents and photographs of our War of Independence and the first years of the republic are exhibited in the Atatürk House Museum. On the ground floor of the two-floor museum, there are study rooms, library, sofa, bedroom, press room and mujahideen room; On the upper floor, there is the Hatay room, the weapon room, the aide-de-camp room and the Kuvay-i Milliye room.

Entrance to the Atatürk House Museum is free.

Cinema Museum

Adana is a city known not only for its food and history, but also for the many actors it has brought to the history of Turkish Cinema. The mansion, which is in the first row of Sıra Konaklar, was restored in 2011 and started to serve as a Cinema Museum. In addition to many famous actors from Yılmaz Güney to Aytaç Arman, from Ali Şen to Şener Şen, our world-famous painter such as Abidin Dino and an author whose books have reached millions, such as Yaşar Kemal, are also from Adana. Let's not forget our singers such as Ferdi Tayfur and Erol Büyükburç.

If we go back to the Cinema Museum; There are different halls in the museum where both Adana's history of cinema and famous artists are told. Let's also mention that there is a separate room for Yılmaz Güney.

The 2022 entrance fee of the Cinema Museum is 2,5 TL.

İlter Uzel Medicine and Dental Museum

When you return to the side streets from Konaklar to the Great Clock, that is, to Old Adana, many buildings under restoration will welcome you. One of the buildings whose restoration has been completed is Çukurova University Faculty of Dentistry Founding Dean Prof. Dr. Equipped with works that İlter Uzel has collected since 1972, İlter Uzel Medicine and Dental Museum.

The museum, which is Turkey's first dentistry museum, serves in a 2-storey and 10-room mansion. One of the things worth seeing in the museum is the copy of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's upper jawbone mold. In addition, the dental chair belonging to a dentist used in the 1840s, tools used by old medicine and dentists, works consisting of medical history books and articles, original and lithographed books of dentistry, engravings and paintings are exhibited in the museum.

Ramazanoğlu Mansion and Madrasa 

As we get closer to the old city center of Adana, we see that the remaining structures from Ramazanoğulları increase. Ramazan Mansion, located just behind the Great Mosque, is one of them. The mansion, which was built by Ramazanoğlu Halil Bey in 1495, consists of two parts as a harem and a greeting. In this mansion, Suleiman the Magnificent and IV. It is known that Murat also stayed.

Ziya Pasha Tomb and Park

Famous writer, poet and statesman Ziya Pasha spent the last two years of his life as the Governor of Adana. Adana valued art and artists not only in the Republican Period, but also before. This must be the reason why they are so protective of Ziya Pasha. Ziya Pasha was buried in Adana after he died of cirrhosis on May 17, 1880. A tomb was built for Ziya Pasha by Abidin Pasha, the new Adana governor appointed in 1881. The tomb is located in the garden between the Ulu Mosque and Ramazanoğlu Mansion, the garden was turned into a park in the 1960s and named Ziya Pasha Park. Ziya Pasha is not only known for his park and tomb in Adana, but also for one of the important streets in the city.

Ulu Mosque and Complex

When you take Ziya Pasha Park behind you, you will see the Great Mosque and Complex in front of you. Ulu Mosque is one of the important works in Adana in terms of its historical background and size. It is understood from the three different inscriptions of the mosque, which has architectural pieces from the Seljuk, Mamluk and Ottoman Periods, that its construction was started in 1513 for the first time and completed in 1541. The mosque, which can be considered the center of the old city, also has an open courtyard for use in hot weather.

Don't forget to drink tea or coffee in the tea garden in front of the mosque while you are there. Enjoy sitting on chairs and watching the action in the city.

Great Clock Tower

The 32-meter-high Big Clock Tower, which shows that you are about to enter the busiest streets of old Adana. The construction of the tower began in 1881 and was completed in 1882. At the time the tower was built, it was the highest clock tower within the borders of the Ottoman Empire.

Historical Bedesten 

Adana Historical Bedesten is located directly opposite the Great Clock Tower. The Bedesten consists of a covered bazaar and an arasta in the Great Mosque Complex. The covered bazaar, which consists of small shops side by side, dates back to the 16th century. Today, since the shops have been renovated, it continues to live as a lively bazaar, although it does not have a historical texture. It would be great if the street where the covered bazaar is located was closed to traffic, I always went on weekends, but I'm sure there is a serious traffic problem during the week.

Kazancilar Bazaar 

If you dive into the side streets after passing the Great Clock Tower, these streets are known as Kazancılar Çarşısı. Since the boiler was actually produced, its name became Kazancılar Çarşısı. Even today, the bazaar, where many craftsmen's shops are located, is very suitable for visiting, buying souvenirs and taking photos.

You can find the restaurant of the Historical Great Clock Liver, Memet Usta, among the streets of the bazaar, by following the smells of liver and smoke. There are not only Memet Usta but also many liver chefs' shops here. I say don't come back from Adana without eating liver at one of them. There is a historical tinsmith shop right across from Cigerci Memet Usta. You can see groups of photos trying to take photos here in clusters.

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If you continue towards the back of Kazancılar Bazaar, you will reach the streets where cezerye producers are located. Historical Yeni Uğur Helvacı is the right address to buy cezerye.

Oil Mosque 

If you go back to the street where the covered bazaar is in front of the Great Clock Tower from Kazancılar Bazaar and continue straight, the road will take you in front of Yag Mosque. The first construction of the mosque is actually a church, the Crusader Church. The church was converted into a mosque by Ramazanoğlu Halil Bey in 1591. It was called the Oil Mosque because the oil market was once built in front of it. The crown gate is a good example of Seljuk architecture.

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As you enter through the garden gate of Yag Mosque, try to look up and you will see the silhouette of an owl. Also, the underground fountain in the garden is very interesting, because it is not known, many people return without seeing it, I say you should definitely see it.

Bebekli Church 

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In the area between Küçük Saat Square and Tepebağ Tumulus, you will find an Italian Catholic Church built in 1880 in the side streets. The original name of the church is St. Paul Church, it is called Bebekli Church because the 2,5-meter Virgin Mary Statue on its roof is likened to a baby. The church is open to visitors.

Tatlıcı Gönül Brothers has a shop just behind the church. When you come to the church, I say don't come back without eating a ring dessert and stone kadayif.

Tepebag District

Tepebağ Neighborhood is one of the old quarters of Adana that has undergone transformation. Around Tepebağ Mound; Tepebağ Secondary School, Gazi Paşa School, Yeşil Mescit, Musabali Mansion (the mansion in the photo), Ramazanoğlu Kadir Bey Mansion are some of the places you can see. A historical plateau to wander the streets and see the old Adana.

With Tepebağ Neighborhood, we have finished the old Adana. The next stops of our trip will be the new parts of the city.

Abidin Dino Art Park 

If you continue straight up from Küçük Saat Square, you will reach Atatürk Street. The first place that will catch your attention on the street will be the Adana Metropolitan Municipality building on the right. As soon as you pass the municipality, you will see Abidin Dino Art Park. Our world-famous painter Abidin Dino is one of many artists that Adana has trained. When Dino lived in Adana, other artist friends such as Yaşar Kemal and Orhan Kemal would meet and have art conversations in the place where this park is located. In addition to the sculptures of these artists, there are benches where you can sit and chat with your friends.

Ataturk Park

After passing the Adibin Dino Park, this time you will see the huge and green Atatürk Park on the left. While a magnificent Atatürk Statue welcomes you at the entrance, you will see ornamental pools, playgrounds for children and walking paths among the trees in the park. I am sure that it is very good for the people of Adana to be among these trees in hot summer days.

Adana Museum

Adana Museum, which was founded in 1924, is one of the ten oldest museums in Turkey. Artifacts found in archaeological excavations in Tarsus Gözlü Tower, Mersin Yumuk Tepe, Misis Ancient City, Karatepe, Soğuksu Tepe and many other mounds and ancient cities and artifacts found in Adana and its surroundings are exhibited in Adana Museum.

Adana Museum 2022 entrance fee is 15 TL.

Adana Ethnography Museum – Kuruköprü Memorial Museum and Traditional Adana House

Adana Ethnography Museum is known as the "old museum". An old church building located around Kuruköprü was organized as a museum in 1924 and served here as the first Adana Museum. When Adana Museum moved to its new building in 1972, this building was transformed into the Ethnography Museum. Many items belonging to the nomads living in Çukurove Villages and the Taurus Mountains are exhibited in the museum.

Adana Ethnography Museum entrance fee is 12 TL, free with Müzekart.

Gazi Pasha, Ziya Pasha and Ataturk Streets 

Adana has three parallel streets and boulevards. These streets are the streets where the heart of the new Adana beats. I mentioned Atatürk Street above, it was the street where the Municipality Building and Atatürk Park are located. The right parallel of Atatürk Street is Gazi Pasha, and the left parallel is Ziya Pasha streets. Cafes, restaurants and shops are spread over these three streets.

Adana Train Station

At the end of Ziya Pasha Boulevard is Adana Train Station, which connects Adana to Anatolia. The train station, which was put into service in 1912, is the starting point of the Adana - Mersin Railway and Adana - Kurtalan Railway. If you ask why there is a train station in the travel guide, the architectural and historical features of this station are interesting;

One of the first railway projects of the Ottoman Empire was the Adana-Mersin railway. This 67-kilometer-long railway line was established by the British in 1886. Its strategic importance is that it connects with the Istanbul-Baghdad railway coming from Konya.

Adana Train station; train station (passenger lounge), social facilities, lodgings and maintenance-repair buildings. its architecture; It is a good example of the First National Architecture Movement that dominated from the beginning of the 20th century until the end of the 1930s and adds beauty to the city.

If you want to get more information about Adana Train Station Arkitera You can browse the page.

Seyhan Dam Lake Shore

If you have enough time to visit Adana, I recommend you to take time to have breakfast, have a bite to eat, and drink tea and coffee by the Seyhan Dam Lake. It is possible to reach the dam lake shore in 15 minutes from the city center.

Bonus 1: Adana Liberation Half Marathon

January 5 is the liberation day of Adana from enemy occupation and is celebrated with many events every year. One of these events is the Adana Kurtuluş Half Marathon. If you like to run and eat, you can combine the two and plan a trip to Adana within the framework of this special day celebrations.

Bonus 2: Adana Orange Blossom Carnival

It is the first carnival of Turkey when orange flowers bloom in April every year. Adana Orange Blossom Carnival It is celebrated with a week of events, fun and lots of orange. Since the people of Adana know how to have fun and entertain well, the carnival is also very enjoyable.

List of Places to Visit in Adana City Center

The list of places to visit in Adana city center, which I have explained in detail above, is summarized below:

Map of Places to Visit in Adana City Center

Places to visit in Adana city center Google Maps You can find it below as marked on the app. By clicking on the image, you can easily access the online version of the map and determine the places you want to go.

What to Eat and Where to Eat in Adana?

Adana is, of course, famous for its kebab. However, when it comes to Adana, do not think that we will only eat Adana Kebab. In addition to Adana Kebap, you should definitely eat liver skewers, rib skewers, stuffed mumbar and sirdan, stuffed meatballs, fellah meatballs, squeezing, Adana pastry, and a thousand and one kinds of salads. Let's move on to desserts; bici bici, cezerye, ring dessert, stone kadaif, katmer… And of course, there are drinks; Banana milk, turnip juice, misis ayran at Kazım Büfe… I swear my mouth is watering, I'll go and look for a plane ticket to Adana.

What to Eat in Adana? In my article, you can find details about Adana dishes and where to eat.

Don't Return Without Making it in Adana

While you're in Adana, don't come back without doing the things listed below!

• Without seeing the Sabancı Mosque
• Without seeing the Historical Stone Bridge
• Without visiting the Atatürk House Museum
• Without visiting the Cinema Museum
• Without seeing the old city center, the Great Mosque, the Great Clock and Kazancılar Bazaar
• Without visiting Tepebağ Neighborhood
• Without eating Adana Kebab
• Without eating Rib Skewers and Liver Skewers
• Without Drinking Banana Milk at Kazım Buffet
• Without eating ring dessert and stone kadayif
• Without eating bagels with turnip juice
• Without a gift cezerye
• Without spending a special period in Adana such as the Orange Blossom Festival, the Golden Boll Film Festival, the Rakı Festival (unfortunately, it is no longer held due to its name) or the Kurtuluş Half Marathon…

You can watch the video of our journey for the Adana Raki Festival in 2014 below.

Adana City Center Photos

I use in this article Adana city center photos are listed below. I would like to state that all photos are copyrighted by me and cannot be used without permission.

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Stay on track!