A city built around the grill
Adana is one of Türkiye's largest cities and the heart of the Çukurova plain, the country's cotton belt. It is not a picture-postcard destination, but three things justify a stop: a Roman bridge that has been carrying traffic for more than eighteen centuries, one of the largest mosques in Türkiye and the kebab that made the city famous — and nowhere is it eaten quite the way it is here.
And all around it lies Cilicia: a region of ancient cities and Armenian castles between the sea and the Taurus Mountains, crossed in turn by Alexander the Great, St Paul and the Crusaders.
What to see
Taşköprü, the Stone Bridge
Hadrian had it built over the Seyhan River around AD 120, and it carried motor traffic until 2007. Today it is pedestrianised, with fourteen of its original twenty-one arches still visible and tea gardens along the riverbanks. At sunset it fills with local families out for a stroll.
Sabancı Central Mosque
Completed in 1998, with six minarets (the four tallest reach 99 metres) and room for some 28,000 worshippers, it was the largest mosque in Türkiye when it opened. It stands by the river, next to the central park, and can be seen from all over the city.
Adana Archaeological Museum
Now housed in a former textile factory, it brings together finds from across Cilicia: sarcophagi, mosaics from Misis, Hittite statues and a hall devoted to the ancient city of Anavarza. It is one of the great museums of southern Türkiye.
Anavarza and Misis
Anavarza (ancient Anazarbus), 70 km from the city, was the Roman capital of Cilicia and later an Armenian city. Its triumphal arch, stadium and colonnaded street survive, along with a castle on the ridge that looks out over the whole plain. Misis, 25 km away, has a Roman bridge and 4th-century mosaics. Under the official 2027 tariff published at the time of writing (2026), Anavarza is free to enter.
When to go
October to May. Adana's summer is one of the hottest and most humid in Türkiye, with temperatures above 40 °C; winter is mild and rainy, and the orange trees blossom in early spring. Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons for sightseeing.
Getting there
Adana is served by Çukurova International Airport (COV), which opened in 2024 between Adana and Mersin and replaced the old city airport. There are frequent direct flights from Istanbul (about an hour and a half). Adana is the natural gateway for a route through south-eastern Türkiye: Antakya (Hatay) is 2.5–3 hours away by road, Gaziantep about three hours and Mersin about one hour.
What to eat
Adana kebab — meat minced by hand with a knife, mixed with lamb tail fat and red pepper, pressed onto a wide, flat skewer and grilled over charcoal — is ordered by the portion (porsiyon) and comes with şalgam, a tangy fermented drink of purple carrot and turnip, and onions dusted with sumac. Afterwards, in summer, cool down with bici bici (shaved ice with starch pudding and rose water) or karsambaç, made with snow brought down from the Taurus Mountains. In Adana, kebab is a ritual rather than just a meal.
How to fit it in
One full day. Adana is a common gateway into and out of south-eastern Türkiye, and it deserves more than a glimpse from the airport transfer.