Our long planned trip to Adana finally began on May 23, a Thursday. We flew on the reliable and cheap Anadolu Jet and were met by Gulsen Kiral and Denizcan Billor. The Billor family (of which Denizcan is the elder son) are our good friends in Auburn and Nedret and Denizcan were visiting their Turkish home city for a family wedding. Gulsen is a statistics professor at Cukurova University in Adana whom we got to know when she spent a semester as a visiting scholar in Auburn. It was hot and humid (weather we had not experienced since last summer) as we made our way to the downtown area and checked into the Hilton hotel.
Next, was a late Adana kebab lunch at a historic open air restaurant in the middle of the old city. This restaurant has been in existence since 1908 and we enjoyed the kebab with its accompaniments of sumac laced onions, ezme (the Turkish salsa), greens and flat bread. Gulsen then took us to see the archeology museum. This place houses an interesting collection but the building is not well designed and the descriptive labels were either non-existent (mostly) or only in Turkish. Never the less we enjoyed the collection of antiquities.
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| Serving kebab to Adana since 1908 |
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| Randy and Denizcan wait for the food |
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| Gulsen and Alice are happy to be together again |
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| Our first Adana kebab in Adana! |
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| The Archeology Museum of Adana - poorly displayed but a wonderful collection |
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| Denizcan in the garden with huge urn |
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| Garden carving detail of ram |
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| Hitite steele in garden |
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| Mosaic detail in garden |
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| Lion in garden |
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| A well preserved eagle |
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| Alice chills with an ancient tombstone |
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| Boar detail |
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| Alice with lion friend |
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| Denizcan is very tall but no match for this Roman statue |
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| This scallop motif is very similar to the one we saw in Kuwait at the Failaka Island Roman ruins |
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| A large and interesting Hittite statue |
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| Alice with mosaic |
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| Carving detail |
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| Harpy |
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| Another lion - Roman |
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| A Hittite lion |
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| Hittite detail |
We then went to the main mosque, the Ulu Camii, a Syrian style one from the 16th century. Nearby is a museum that had been a fortified house of the ruling Ramazanoglu family. The caretaker there was particularly friendly and accommodating. We had tea in the beautiful garden of the medrese near the Ulu Camii. We then headed for the Yag (Oil) Camii, a mosque that began life as a Christian church. This is particularly interesting because the well preserved church serves as one part of the mosque with a newer (still over 500 years old) part was added to it.
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| Entrance to the Grand Mosque of Adana |
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| Randy stands before this Syrian styled wonder |
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| The unusual and attractive minaret |
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| Domes of the mosque complex |
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| The black and white banding typical of the Syrian style |
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| The arches lead to the mosque proper |
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| Tiling detail within |
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| The caretaker shows us the interior |
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| The lighthouse type cap on the minaret |
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| The fanciful roof which John Ash says presupposes Gaudi |
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| The historic home of the powerful Ramazanoglu family |
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| The castle like interior |
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| The drawing room |
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| The caretaker showed us around very graciously |
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| The gang in the living room of the Ramazanoglu fortress home |
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| The nearby medrese |
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| The sundial in the medrese garden |
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| Gulsen and Alice in the garden |
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| This wonderful green space is cool in the middle of the hot, concrete city |
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| Refreshing with sade soda (plain sparkling mineral water) |
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| Headed to the Yag Camii |
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| The church part interior |
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| Carving detail |
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| Reused ancient column |
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| The mosque part of the mosque (originally built as a mosque) |
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| One of a couple of naughty shops we noticed in Adana - the only such purveyors we have seen in Turkey. Not sure what that says about the residents of Adana.... |
This center part of Adana is crowded and not that attractive but it is vibrant and interesting. The main Seyhan River flows directly through the heart of town. Also crowning the heart of town is the new Sabanci Mosque. The Sabanci family originated in Kayseri but came to Adana to make their fortune. They are an extremely rich clan and this huge mosque was built by the then patriarch of the family about 10 years ago. The scale is impressive and the decorations tasteful. It is set along the river in a park and provides a nice focal point of Adana even though it is clear expression of the power of big money.
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| The Hilton seen behind the huge Roman bridge, now only open to pedestrians |
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| The modern Sabanci mosque, only 10 years old |
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| Yes, it is that big! |
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| It dominates the central part of Adana |
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| Denizcan and Gulsen before entering the mosque |
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| The impressive interior |
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| The dome reminiscent of Sinan's |
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| The interior is more than spacious but lacks the character of historic buildings |
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| Another view of the minarets |
The day finished with a huge spread of homemade Adana cuisine at Casa Kiral. We met Gulsen's sweet and pretty teenage daughter Gulin and ate an abundance of salads, kofte, manti and more. Gulsen was leaving the next day for a conference in Bosnia so sadly we could not see her after this evening.
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| Some pretty amazing food and lots of it! |
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| Two beauties - Gulin and Gulsen |
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| Randy digs in at Casa Kiral |
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| Nedret and Alice share a glass or two |
The next day was a marathon of history, cultures, landscapes and food. Our close friend Nedret picked us up with her sister in law, Canan, in the morning. We headed out east from Adana. The first stop was Mopsuestia or Misis, where a mosaic floor from the Roman era is housed. The museum (which is really just a building) was supposed to be open but was not. However, there was a German tour group just leaving and their guide allowed us a few minutes to view this extraordinary work of art.
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| View from our hotel room at the Hilton of the Sabanci Mosque |
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| Looking the other way at the Roman bridge |
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| Sign to this small museum |
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| Carving outside the museum |
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| The Noah's Ark scene |
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| John Ash remembered it differently - John, a rate mistake of yours, it is Noah's Ark |
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| Lion and antelope |
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| More animated animals |
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| Water bird detail |
Next stop was a view of the Yilan Kale, or snake castle. This Armenian stronghold is well situated and large. By the way, you will hear a lot about the Armenians for this day, as this area was the center of an Armenian kingdom and they built many picturesque castles atop hills. We then visited the ruined Roman city of Anazarbus. This is located in a very traditional village and is completely unvisited by tourists. We strolled around some ruins which are located in the local grazing fields. The village part incorporates the lower ruined city. The upper city lies above on a steep and high hill. We did not attempt the climb there and moved on to our lunch stop.
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| Yilan Kale, a well preserved Armenian castle |
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| Nedret takes a photo |
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| Nedret and Alice |
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| The arch in the center of the village of the ruined Roman city of Anazarbus |
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| Beautiful detail of arch carving |
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| This dog had apparently found his cool spot on this hot morning |
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| The ruins are shared with the farm animals |
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| Randy and Alice |
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| Alice at the arch |
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| Nearby is a mountain with Armenian ruins on top. We did not venture up the steep path there |
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| Another view of the arch |
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| Ruins in the grazing land |
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| Part of the aquaduct |
This was in the small city (or big town) of Kadirli. John Ash (you should know him by now) recommended eating there and then visiting the highly unusual religious site of Ala Camii. We did so. Nedret found an amazing and inexpensive kebab restaurant where the owner was from Gaziantep, renowned for the best kebab. It was a pile of kebab, pide, lahmacun, and more! Yum! We then made the short drive to the Ala Camii. This place is truly amazing but is found in no guidebook save for John Ash. It is located in town near a pine forest and started as a pagan temple. Then, it was an early Christian church. Then, it was a later Christian church. Finally, a mosque was built within the walls of the later Christian church! This is so unique as the outer walls of the church are still standing and in good repair (the roof is gone) and the inner mosque is functioning. It was so interesting to see this living history of the religions of the area and is highly recommended if you get to the Adana area.
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| Really delicious food and really good value in Kadirli |
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| Nedret and Canan |
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| Cooking in the wood burning oven - this is how things are done all over this region - real wood and real hot |
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| The mixed Gaziantep kebab |
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| Not in any guidebook but John Ash's, but surely worth a visit |
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| The backside of the church, now a mosque |
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| The outer walls of the older church |
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| The inside of the inner, newer church, now a mosque |
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| Reused antiquity |
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| Detail of the outer church |
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| One wall of the outer church |
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| The inner church/mosque seen from the walls of the outer church |
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| Mosaics outside probably from the pagan temple |
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| Carving in outer church |
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| Perspective shows outer church, inner church/mosque and squat minaret |
Leaving Kadirli, we traveled to Karatepe. This is a well known Hittite site. Despite John Ash's less than glowing recommendation of the place we found it interesting and beautiful. It is situated on a forested hill overlooking a lake. The walk is beautiful and the Hittite reliefs are far better than Hattusas. In fact, they were overwhelming in number and beauty. And, other than two French tourists, no one was there! Well worth the stop.
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| The nicely wooded hilltop leading to Karatepe (Black Hill) |
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| A Hittite lion stands guard |
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| Alice with lake behind from the hilltop |
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| Some of the splendid reliefs at Karatepe |
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| More in the first entry area |
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| Hittite art is primitive but in an energetic and appealing way |
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| Detail of warriors on horseback |
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| Massive statue on twin bulls |
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| Canan and Alice with new friend |
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| An elephant |
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| Monkey type carving |
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| Facing rabbits (?) |
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| Warriors in a boat - the movement in this one is great |
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| Statue with lion body and human head |
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| Sharply preserved after all of these years (some 6000) |
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| Detail of human head on lion's body |
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| A Hittite guy with a very impressive male member |
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| Randy claims to equal his |
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| An expressive lion |
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| Canan with lion friend |
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| Wood carver outside who made a number of exquisite kitchen implements and boxes |
We failed to find the next item on our long list until too late. We ended up in a village where a kilim cooperative is housed. The kilims were nice but overpriced. Eggs and butter, however, were purchased at the village by Nedret's sister in law. We did find the Roman ruins of Hierapolis-Castabala which are overlooked by yet another Armenian castle. We had to view this wonder from the road however as time was running down. Another place to explore on our next trip to Adana.
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| The interesting kilim cooperative in a very remote village. Alas, their prices are quite high |
Backtracking, we ended up at our last quest - the small city of Kozan, or as it was known before, Sis. This was highly recommended by John and other guidebooks. The attraction is the large set of Armenian ruins atop a high hill. We drove up a good road to the park area at the foot of the ruins. We left Randy and Canan drinking tea while Nedret and Alice spent a good hour in the last bit of the afternoon light climbing amongst history. The views were fabulous (though we failed to find the path to the royal apartments where the best views are) and the remains of this headquarters of the Armenian Empire were interesting and atmospheric. We climbed down and returned to Adana.
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| The walls of the Armenian capital fortress in Kozan, formerly Sis |
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| Flag in the gusty wind near the top |
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| Some of the view |
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| Nedret with view of city, plains and distant mountains |
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| Alice and Nedret ambitiously climb to the top |
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| The way begins through a rather creepy gateway |
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| On top, wild flowers abounded |
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| Alice with the view to die for |
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| The top has two peaks - this shows the one with the royal apartments - supposedly the best view is there (on the far side) but we could not see how to reach it |
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| A detail of building still remaining from the castle |
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| Sunset from the top of the Armenian castle at Kozan |
The day was not yet over, as we ate at an amazing restaurant in downtown Adana (joined by Denizcan) called Onur Kebab. This happens to be co-owned by Nedret's cousin, Teoman, and the food is upscale and imaginative Adana kebab. It was all fantastic (though overwhelming in quantity) and we returned to the Hilton full and exhausted.
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| A very excellent restaurant in Adana |
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| Nedret with the owners including cousin, Teoman, at right |
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| Denizcan joined us for dinner |
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| Some of the meze including the most delicious yoghurt, herb and tahini mixture, foreground |
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| Their version of "sushi" - Adana kebab wrapped in a tortilla and doused in yoghurt and oil |
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| The first of two eggplant kebab - this one included cheese and was very rich with grilled meat pieces |
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| The second was yoghurt based and had chunks of Adana kebab |
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| Randy loved this meal including the dessert of kunefe and kaymak, a deadly rich combination |
The next day was Saturday and Nedret was busy with her arrangements for the wedding that evening. Gulsen had arranged that her friends from Cukurova University take us westward to the small city of Tarsus. This gem contains many historic items all within walking distance. These wonderful ladies were Hamide and Hale, the former a physics professor and the latter an administrator. They turned out to be the perfect companions - knowledgeable, friendly, flexible and indefatigable.
The drive to Tarsus was only about 45 minutes and we stopped at the Roman bridge en route. We then went to the waterfalls which is quite well known in Turkey. By U.S. standards this was modest, but it was pretty and cool.
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| The Roman bridge outside of Tarsus, no longer in use |
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| A monument nearby to the Turkish martyrs during the troubled times of the Armenian expulsion |
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| The famous waterfall of Tarsus |
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| Randy and Alice enjoy the coolness on this hot day |
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| Hale and Hamide also enjoyed this spot |
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| Not huge but pleaant |
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| Another self portrait |
We then found a parking place in town and began explorations at the "Saint Paul's Well". This may or may not have been used by Paul (who was born in Tarsus) but it is from that date and is contained within a pretty garden. We went to a mosque nearby and then visited the remains of a Roman road which is impressive in both its condition and size.
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| We thought this was the Eski Camii but it turned out to be just another aged mosque |
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| Olive tree in downtown Tarsus |
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| This venerable mosque had its roof adjusted to allow for the equally venerable fir tree |
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| The Saint Paul's Well |
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| The garden was splendid |
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| The well where we splashed our hands with the water (not brave enough to drink from it) |
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| The official sign |
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| Lacemaker outside and Alice bought a few small items |
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| The Roman Road, uncovered during urban construction in Tarsus |
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| Now a protected area, the road is basalt and in great repair |
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| Detail of the 2000 year old road |
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| Our enthusiastic English speaking guide provided at the Ancient Road site |
The historic house area of Tarsus is compact but very pretty with well restored buildings side by side with crumbling ones. It is an area with a lot of potential.
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| A restored house in the old section of Tarsus |
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| One that was converted to a boutique hotel |
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| A wonderful building waiting for restoration |
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| This bizarre statue tells the story of a man transformed to snakes because of sneaking a peak of the princess in her hamam (Turkish bath) |
A couple of mosques were seen including the Eski Camii (Old Mosque) which was originally an Armenian Church of the 14th century. This is a functioning mosque and remarkably well preserved. Another mosque we saw is the Ulu Camii (Great Mosque - every town of any size has a mosque with this name). This was from the 16th century and of Syrian influence as the one in Adana. We then walked through the small but historic 40 Spoons covered bazaar.
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| We finally located the Eski Camii |
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| View to the dome structure |
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| The former church part of the interior |
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| Hamide and Randy admire the sturdiness of the Armenian construction |
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| Aged wooden door to the mosque |
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| Exterior of the church/mosque |
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| Across the street are the decrepit Roman baths (see below) |
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| An added bonus was the very ancient tomb of Daniel (supposedly) |
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| This site is under restoration and sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims |
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| The Syrian influenced Big Mosque |
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| The clock tower |
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| Entry to the Ulu Camii - note the characteristic black and white alternating stones |
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| Inside this extremely well preserved and currently functioning antiquity |
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| The 40 Spoons Covered Market |
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| So named for the exterior decoration as seen above |
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| Inside is quite small but with some interesting shops. It was full of local tourists |
We went to the Saint Paul Church which is now a museum. This is not old at all by Turkish standards (late 1800's) but is lovely and nicely situated in a garden. We also saw the so called Cleopatra Gate, which is actually the remaining town gate from the old walled city and only dates from the medieval times.
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| The Saint Paul Church, now a museum |
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| The exterior is located in a garden |
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| Part of the exterior looks like a Roman artifact that has been recycled |
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| The orange tree in the garden |
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| With plenty of big oranges |
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| The simple but pleasing interior |
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| The ceiling frescoes, although not that old, are damaged |
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| The altar area |
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| The namesake of the church, Saint Paul, who was born and bred in Tarsus and preached all over Turkey and beyond |
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| The sign to the Cleopatra Gate. Cleopatra did visit Tarsus to meet Anthony but was long dead before this gate was constructed |
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| Another Turkish flag in the wind there |
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| The gate itself |
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| Alice never tires of self portraits at interesting places |
The first American college in Turkey is in Tarsus and still active (unlike the one we saw at Kayseri). This college is thriving and it was interesting to see the campus which is being expanded. Tarsus is known for its hummus and so our guides asked the locals where to eat. We ended up at a neighborhood place that specializes in hummus. Lunch was warm hummus with lots of bread. Delicious! And, healthy!
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| Entry sign to the Tarsus American College (college in Turkey means a private school serving generally from primary school through high school) |
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| The original building of the college which now includes many buildings and beautiful green space |
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| Our nearby lunch spot specializing in the famed Tarsus hummus |
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| Hale and Hamide more than earned their lunch break |
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| Randy and Alice are ready for world's best hummus |
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| Enjoying hummus, both plain and with pastirma (dried beef) |
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| Hummus with pastirma |
We finished Tarsus with a quick photo op of the statue to the special dog of Tarsus which has a split nose, the catalburun. We asked someone from Tarsus (Ozgur Turkmen, see below) but he had never even seen this dog in person. It is very rare and only numbers some 200, historically used for partridge hunting
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| Statue of the unique and apparently quite rare Tarsus catalburun dog with the forked or split nose |
After our excursion, Hale graciously invited us to her house in Adana. This, she shares with her friendly sister and beautiful but large dog, Ates (Fire). We had tea and coffee and enjoyed the peacefullness of this garden within the city of Adana. We reluctantly said goodbye to our new friends and returned to the Hilton to get ready for the wedding celebration.
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| The duplex - Hale lives upstairs while her sister lives downstairs |
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| Relaxing in the spacious garden |
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| Bringing tea and coffee |
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| Randy is always ready for Turkish tea |
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| Randy, ever the dog lover, gets to know Ates, the friendly but huge Rottweiler |
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| What a sweetie! |
This was an upscale affair along the lake. It included dinner, dancing, live band, drinks, ceremony, and more. The groom is Nedret's brother's son and he married a lady originally from Diyarbakir. Everyone was welcoming and joyful, and we reunioned with our friends from Auburn who are now at Ohio State in Columbus, Ozgur and Asuman Turkmen. It was all terrific fun!
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| View of the lake from the reception venue |
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| Flowers of congratulations - these look more like funeral flowers in the U.S. but apparently are commonplace at Turkish weddings |
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| Table centerpiece with candles, crystal and flowers |
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| Where the short civil ceremony was conducted later |
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| The shallow pool with band set up behind |
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| Asuman, Alice, Ozgur and Nedret |
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| Former tennis partners |
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| Randy and Alice have a chance to get dressed up |
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| Denizcan was looking sharp in his pencil tie |
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| Dede Billor, Denizcan and Nedret |
Our flight out on Sunday was in the early afternoon so we had just enough time to meet Mehmet and Raziye Turkmen, parents of student Ilknur at Auburn. They were exceptionally gracious but gave Alice's bad Turkish a workout. We ate kebab (of course!) and heard about their yayla in Nigde which we hope to visit someday. They grow many things there and are devoted to the organic way of life (like the Sakinc's of Ankara). It was a wonderful way to end this visit to Adana.
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| The mall across from the Hilton contains an ice skating rink - a rare treat in this hot city |
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| View of the Sabanci mosque from the lunch restaurant balcony |
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| Very nice mercimek (lentil) soup |
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| The ubiquitous lahmacun |
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| Patlican kebab |
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| The friendly Turkmens, Raziye and Mehmet |
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| Our last meal at Adana took place at a newer branch of our first meal - the legendary Kazancilar Kebab House |
Adana may not be on most tourists' radar of Turkey but it is a friendly city with very interesting and varied historic places all around it. The food, especially if you like grilled meat, is excellent. We were grateful to Nedret and others for making this trip not only possible but amazing!
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| Alice at Ala Camii - a fitting conclusion to this interesting intersection of cultures and histories - Hittite, Roman, Jewish, Christian, Armenian, Syrian, Ottoman and more |
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