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Adana in Turkey seen over a wide river: green wooded banks in front, the river curving toward a low bridge, rows of tall apartment buildings along the horizon and big white clouds in the sky

City Asia

Adana

Adana is a city in the south of Türkiye, beside the Seyhan River. Cotton cloth is made there.

Adana is a city in southern Türkiye on the Seyhan River. Store norske leksikon calls it an industrial city and an important center of Türkiye's cotton industry, on the railway from Istanbul. Türkiye's official estimate for the city at the end of 2022 was 1,779,463 people.

Adana, southern Türkiye, on the Seyhan River; an industrial city on the Istanbul railway, with a branch line to the port of Mersin; an important center of the cotton industry and textile production; Çukurova University (1973) (Store norske leksikon). City: 1,779,463 (register-based estimate, 31 December 2022); 1,130,710 (census 2000) (TurkStat, via City Population).

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Photo: Zeynel Cebeci, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Discover Adana

Adana is a city in Türkiye.

It is in the south of the country, beside a river called the Seyhan.

Adana lies in southern Türkiye, on the Seyhan River. Store norske leksikon, Norway's big encyclopedia, says it is both a city and a province of the same name.

Türkiye's official estimate for the city at the end of 2022 was 1,779,463 people, and for the whole province 2,274,106. At the census of 2000, the city had 1,130,710.

Store norske leksikon ('Adana', Sten Lundbo, updated 19 March 2026): a city and a province in southern Türkiye, on the river Seyhan; the province 2,274,705 (2022). City Population ('Turkey: Provinces and Major Cities', TurkStat; city figures from censuses and register-based tabulations): Adana city 777,554 (census 1985), 916,150 (census 1990), 1,130,710 (census 2000), 1,609,790 (estimate 2011), 1,720,240 (estimate 2017), 1,779,463 (estimate 31 December 2022), fifth on its list of major cities; Adana province 2,274,106 (estimate 2022).

Where
southern Türkiye, on the Seyhan River (Store norske leksikon)
People in the city (estimate, end of 2022)
1,779,463
Adana province (estimate, end of 2022)
2,274,106 (City Population)
Adana in Turkey seen over a wide river: green wooded banks in front, the river curving toward a low bridge, rows of tall apartment buildings along the horizon and big white clouds in the sky
Photo: Zeynel Cebeci, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Towers beyond the river

Look at the wide river and the green trees!

Far away, rows of tall buildings stand along the sky.

The photographer Zeynel Cebeci took this view of Adana on 24 May 2009. Green wooded banks line a wide river that curves toward a low bridge. Rows of tall apartment buildings stand along the horizon, under big white clouds.

On Wikidata, the Adana Ethnography Museum is about 0.4 kilometers north-northwest of the city's point, and the Adana Cinema Museum, a museum of film, about 0.5 kilometers east-northeast.

Commons: File:Adana, Turkey.jpg, own work by Zeynel Cebeci (User:Zcebeci; CC BY-SA 4.0), taken 24 May 2009 at 13:39, uploaded 19 December 2014 (1,200 by 717 pixels); description 'A view of Adana'; camera location 37.0359° N, 35.3463° E, about 5.8 km NNE of the city's point. Seen in the 1,200-pixel original: green wooded banks in front, the river curving toward a low bridge, rows of apartment towers along the horizon, power lines at the lower left, big white clouds. Wikidata from the city point (Q38545, first coordinate): Adana Ethnography Museum (Q4680613) 0.40 km NNW; Adana Cinema Museum (Q4680607) 0.46 km ENE.

In the photo
a view of Adana over the Seyhan River, 24 May 2009 (Zeynel Cebeci)
Adana Ethnography Museum
a museum about 0.4 km north-northwest of the city's point (Wikidata)
Adana Cinema Museum
a museum of film about 0.5 km east-northeast of the city's point (Wikidata)
Adana in Turkey seen over a wide river: green wooded banks in front, the river curving toward a low bridge, rows of tall apartment buildings along the horizon and big white clouds in the sky
Photo: Zeynel Cebeci, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A fast-growing city

Adana has grown very fast.

In 2022 there were more than twice as many people as in 1985.

Adana has grown fast. City Population's table, from Türkiye's statistics office, gives 777,554 people at the 1985 census, 1,130,710 at the 2000 census and 1,779,463 at the end of 2022.

On Wikidata, Adana railway station dates from 1912, Çukurova University from 1973 and the Seyhan Dam from 1956.

City Population (TurkStat): Adana 777,554 (census 20 October 1985), 916,150 (21 October 1990), 1,130,710 (22 October 2000), 1,609,790 (estimate 2011), 1,720,240 (estimate 2017), 1,779,463 (estimate 31 December 2022); 2022/1985 = 2.29. Wikidata: Adana railway station (Q3183579) inception 1912; Seyhan Dam (Q1518263) 1956; Çukurova University (Q272951) 1973.

Railway station
Adana railway station, from 1912 (Wikidata)
1985 census
777,554 people in the city (City Population)
2000 census
1,130,710 people in the city (City Population)

Through the years

Railway, airport and river

Trains come to Adana from far away.

A railway line also runs to the port city of Mersin.

Store norske leksikon says Adana lies on the railway from Istanbul to Baghdad, with a branch line to the port city of Mersin.

On Wikidata, Adana railway station is about 2.0 kilometers north-northwest of the city's point, Adana Şakirpaşa Airport about 4.0 kilometers west, and the Seyhan Dam about 5.9 kilometers north.

Store norske leksikon: an industrial city on the railway from Istanbul to Baghdad, with a branch line to the port city of Mersin. Wikidata from the city point: Adana railway station (Q3183579) 1.99 km NNW; Adana Şakirpaşa Airport (Q1430728) 4.03 km W; Seyhan Dam (Q1518263) 5.92 km N.

Railway
on the railway from Istanbul to Baghdad, with a branch line to the port of Mersin (Store norske leksikon)
Adana Şakirpaşa Airport
about 4.0 km west of the city's point (Wikidata)
Seyhan Dam
a dam about 5.9 km north of the city's point (Wikidata)

Very hot, dry summers

Summers in Adana are very hot and dry.

Winters are mild, and the wettest months come then.

The World Meteorological Organization's averages for Adana, for 1929 to 2000, show average highs of 34.6 °C in August and 14.7 °C in January. Even in January the average low is 5.0 °C.

About 651 millimeters of rain fall in a year, mostly from November to March. December is the wettest month, with 120.9 millimeters, and August the driest, with 4.8.

WMO World Weather Information Service, Adana (Turkish State Meteorological Service; period 1929-2000 as given in the data): mean daily maximum 14.7 °C (Jan) to 34.6 °C (Aug); mean daily minimum 5.0 °C (Jan) to 22.9 °C (Aug). Rainfall 110.3, 90.1, 65.6, 52.7, 46.6, 21.6, 6.3, 4.8, 15.2, 43.7, 73.1, 120.9 mm (Jan-Dec); sum 650.9 mm, of which 460.0 mm from November to March; 77.2 rain days.

August, average daily high (WMO, Adana, 1929–2000)
34.6 °C, the warmest month
Wettest and driest months (same table)
December, 120.9 mm; August, 4.8 mm
Rain in a year (twelve months added up)
about 651 mm

Cotton, cloth and universities

Lots of cotton is made into cloth in Adana.

The city has universities, and museums about films and about how people lived.

Store norske leksikon calls Adana an industrial city and an important center of Türkiye's cotton industry, with a large production of textiles. Çukurova University dates from 1973, and a technology university was founded in 2011.

On Wikidata, Çukurova University is about 7.8 kilometers north-northeast of the city's point, and the Seyhan Dam about 5.9 kilometers north.

Store norske leksikon: an industrial city; an important center of the Turkish cotton industry with large textile production; Çukurova University from 1973; a technological university established in 2011. Wikidata from the city point: Çukurova University (Q272951) 7.81 km NNE; Seyhan Dam 5.92 km N.

Industry
an important center of the cotton industry, with large textile production (Store norske leksikon)
Çukurova University
from 1973 (Store norske leksikon); about 7.8 km north-northeast of the city's point (Wikidata)
Technology university
founded in 2011 (Store norske leksikon)
Adana in Turkey seen over a wide river: green wooded banks in front, the river curving toward a low bridge, rows of tall apartment buildings along the horizon and big white clouds in the sky
Photo: Zeynel Cebeci, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Adana on the map

Find Türkiye on the globe. Look in the south of the country. There is Adana!

Adana lies at about 36.99° north and 35.33° east, in the south of Türkiye on the Seyhan River.

On Wikidata, the Ethnography Museum is about 0.4 kilometers from the city's point, the Cinema Museum about 0.5 kilometers, the railway station about 2.0 kilometers, the airport about 4.0 kilometers, the Seyhan Dam about 5.9 kilometers and Çukurova University about 7.8 kilometers.

Adana lies at about 36.99° N, 35.33° E (Wikidata point of Adana, Q38545, first coordinate). Wikidata from the city point: Adana Ethnography Museum 0.40 km NNW; Adana Cinema Museum 0.46 km ENE; Adana railway station 1.99 km NNW; Adana Şakirpaşa Airport 4.03 km W; Seyhan Dam 5.92 km N; Çukurova University 7.81 km NNE.

Latitude
about 36.99° north
Longitude
about 35.33° east
Mersin
a port city linked to Adana by a branch railway (Store norske leksikon)

Amazing facts

  • Adana is a city of cotton!

    Store norske leksikon calls Adana an important center of Türkiye's cotton industry, with a large production of textiles.

    Store norske leksikon: an important center of the Turkish cotton industry with large textile production.

  • In August, almost no rain falls in Adana!

    The WMO averages for 1929 to 2000 give Adana only 4.8 millimeters of rain in August, but 120.9 millimeters in December.

    WMO 1929-2000: August 4.8 mm (0.8 rain days); December 120.9 mm (10.6 rain days).

  • Adana has a museum about films!

    On Wikidata, the Adana Cinema Museum, a museum of film, is about half a kilometer from the city's point.

    Wikidata: Adana Cinema Museum (Q4680607), 0.46 km ENE of the city point.

Words to know

cotton
soft white fibers from the cotton plant, spun into thread and woven into cloth
textile
cloth, or the work of making cloth
branch line
a smaller railway line that leaves the main line to reach another place
dam
a wall built across a river to hold back water
ethnography
the study of how different groups of people live
estimate
a careful official figure worked out from records, not a full count

Discovery challenge

  1. Adana is a city in which country?

    Adana, on the Seyhan River, is in which country?

    Adana, with Çukurova University (1973), is in which country?

    • Türkiye
    • Italy
    • Morocco
    Show the answer

    Türkiye

    Türkiye!

    Türkiye.

    Türkiye.

  2. Which plant gives Adana's factories their fibers?

    Store norske leksikon calls Adana an important center of which industry?

    Of which Turkish industry is Adana an important center, according to Store norske leksikon?

    • Cotton
    • Rubber
    • Coffee
    Show the answer

    Cotton

    Cotton!

    The cotton industry.

    The cotton industry.

  3. Which river runs through Adana?

    Store norske leksikon places Adana on which river?

    On which river does Adana lie, according to Store norske leksikon?

    • The Seyhan
    • The Danube
    • The Volga
    Show the answer

    The Seyhan

    The Seyhan!

    The Seyhan.

    The Seyhan.

  4. Which month brings the most rain to Adana?

    In the WMO averages for 1929 to 2000, which is Adana's wettest month?

    Which month has the highest rainfall in WMO's 1929-2000 table for Adana?

    • December
    • August
    • July
    Show the answer

    December

    December!

    December, with 120.9 millimeters.

    December, 120.9 mm.

Nearby places

Explore next

For parents & teachers

What children will learn

  • Locate Adana on the Seyhan River in southern Türkiye.
  • Read a climate table and compare a very dry summer with a wet winter.
  • Explain how cotton becomes cloth.
  • Tell a census figure from an official estimate.

Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes

Talk about it

  • Why might a cotton industry and cloth making grow up in the same city?
  • How does a railway branch line to a port help a factory city?
  • Why might a city build a dam on its river?

Try at home or in class

  • Cotton look: with a grown-up, pull apart a cotton ball and twist the fibers into a thread.
  • Rain bars: draw a bar for each month of Adana's rain and color the dry summer.
  • Dam test: build a small wall of sand across a stream of water in a tray and watch the water pool.

Key vocabulary: cotton, textile, branch line, dam, ethnography, estimate

Where these facts come from

  1. Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
  2. Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
  3. Adana , Store norske leksikon
  4. Turkey: Provinces and Major Cities , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from the Turkish Statistical Institute
  5. Adana: climatological information , World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service
  6. File:Adana, Turkey.jpg , Wikimedia Commons
  7. Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)

Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 2, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.

Picture credits
  • Photo: Zeynel Cebeci, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source · license