Adana

Adana is a major city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, 35 km (22 mi) inland from the north-eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province and has a population of 1.77 million.An agricultural and industrial centre and the country’s fourth largest city, it probably overlies a Hittite settlement that dates from approximately 1400 BCE, and its history has been profoundly influenced by its location at the foot of the Taurus Mountain passes leading to the Syrian plains.

Adana’s prosperity has long come from the fertile valleys behind it and from its position as a bridgehead on the Anatolian-Arabian trade routes. It is a centre of the Turkish cotton industry and manufactures textiles, cement, agricultural machinery, and vegetable oils. Adana lies on the rail line between Istanbul and Baghdad and is connected by a branchline to the Mediterranean port of Mersin, 32 miles (51 km) southwest, through which its products are shipped. Çukurova University was established at Adana in 1973. Adana is the centre of an agricultural region producing cotton, rice, sesame, oats, and citrus fruits.