Adana is Turkey's fourth-largest city, sitting on the Seyhan River in the fertile Çukurova plain near the Mediterranean coast. It is primarily an industrial and agricultural city — cotton is king here — and most travellers pass through rather than stop. But it has more to offer than its reputation suggests.
The Taşköprü stone bridge dates from Roman times and still carries foot traffic across the Seyhan, having been in continuous use since the second century. The Sabancı Central Mosque, completed in 1998, is one of the largest mosques in the Middle East. The older Ulu Camii — a banded black-and-white Mamluk-Ramazanoğlu complex from 1541 — is the city's most important historic monument. The Adana Archaeological Museum holds a strong collection from sites across Cilicia, including Hittite reliefs from Karatepe and Roman mosaics from Misis.
Adana's real claim to fame is its food. Adana Kebab — the spicy ground lamb kebab served on a flat sword-like skewer — originated here and is taken very seriously by locals. The kebab restaurants along Atatürk Bulvarı and around Reşatbey are the places to eat it. Şalgam (a fermented turnip and black carrot juice, sharp and purple) is the local drink, often accompanied by fiery Adana kebab.
The city is hot and humid in summer — not the most comfortable time to visit. Spring and autumn are more pleasant.