Day 222: Adana

Nov 11 - This large flat coastal region of Türkiye is historically known as Cilicia, and was one of the most important places in the ancient world. Adana is thought to have been continuously inhabited for about 8,000 years. It was the crossroads of many ancient empires four thousands of years, and was the main interface between the lands west and the Levant. It officially becoming Turkish with the Turkic takeover of the area from the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia in 1359. There are several large castles in the region that date to the Armenian period. Under the Ottomans, the city grew and flourished as a trading center. All of this screeched to a halt, however, in 1909, when religious and ethnic division turned to violence between the Turks and Armenians. This violence became another phase of the Armenian Genocide, which would continue during WWI. The extermination or expulsion of so many Armenian inhabitants suffocated the city’s economy, and would not recover for many decades.

At breakfast today, the TV is showing President Erdoğan giving a lengthy speech at the Summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTC), held today in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. I have no idea what he is saying, but the camera often pans to Ilham Aliyev, president of Azerbaijan, as though the speech concerns some agreements between the two countries. I mentioned the OTC before (Iran, Day 201).

Do a walking tour of the old part of the city. Unlike the streets where our hotel is, the old district gets quiet quickly, with limited access for cars. Small shopfronts are everywhere, generally grouped by theme.

The Adana Clock Tower (Büyüksaat). It is the tallest clock tower in the country, at 32 meters, and built in 1881-82. The street leading up to it seems to specialize in leather clothing and shoes.

The Grand Mosque of Adana (Ulu Cami), built in 1540. Next to it are a madrasa and mausoleum. Today is Friday so the mosques are busy.

A walnut vendor at the north side of Ulu Cami.

The Stone Bridge of Adana (Taşköprü). This is famous bridge, probably ordered built by Hadrian during his lengthy travels in the regions in 120-35 CE. It was famously known as the link between Anatolia, the Mediterranean, and Persia. It has undergone various repairs since, several before 900 CE. It allowed motorized traffic until 2007, making it one of the oldest bridges in the world to do this. Since 2007 it allows only foot traffic.

As noted above, it is Friday, and the prayer mats are out in force. People bring their own, or use one from piles of them placed outside the mosques. Things get really crowded nearby, as they cover the sidewalks and even have them out in the street.

Talking religion, Türkiye is officially over 99% Muslim (the vast majority of these are Sunni). However, the religious census does not take into account active worshippers vs. people who simply come from historically Muslim families. On Fridays there would appear to be many observant Muslims due to the crowding in the mosques, but at the same time there are many people going about their business normally at prayer times. There is a strong stigma against declaring oneself an atheist or irreligious, so one could expect drastic self-undercounting of people who no longer consider themselves Muslim. Some estimates among younger people (i.e. ‘Gen Z’) suggest 20-30% of them no longer consider themselves Muslim, or anything for that matter.

Türkiye as a fully secular constitution (unlike Iran), with separation of mosque and state since 1928. But since President Erdoğan came to power, he has strengthened the religious groups with political power. At present, there is state funding allocated for mosques and religious events, and all of this goes only to the Sunni sect. It is an obvious and blatant focus on one religious group, in a country that supposedly has no state religion. And, if one believes in the various statistics about how young people in Türkiye feel, it is increasingly tone-deaf for the future. It is similar to the behavior of many Republican politicians in the US, who use increasingly religious rhetoric and push state funding for (Christian) religious groups, though statistics clearly show (Pew Research Center polls, for example) that this does not correlate to the interests of the younger generation nationally.

Head across town to the Adana Museum, which houses the archaeological findings of the region.

A basalt relief from the Late Hittite Period (about 1200-1300 BCE). The museum had a great collection of this Hittite art. It is so old, and in a region so historically complex, that there are few sites left that where undisturbed evidence of their civilization can be found.

A late Roman tombstone.

A marble Roman sarcophagus from the 3rd century CE.

About half of the area of the museum was dedicated to Roman mosaics, mostly from the later Christian period.

A rendering of the Peaceable Kingdom, mentioned in the Book of Isaiah 11:1-9.

In the late afternoon, head to Ataturk Park.

Ablution fountain in the park.

Türkiye III