Adana

Adana (Turkish pronunciation: [aˈda.na]; Armenian: Ադանա; Greek: Άδανα) 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 1.8 million. ^[1]

Adana lies in the heart of Cilicia, which was one of the most important regions of the classical world and can be considered as the birthplace of Christianity.^[2][3] Home to six million people, Cilicia is one of the largest population concentrations in the Near East, as well an agriculturally productive area, owing to its large fertile plain of Çukurova. Adding the large population centers surrounding Cilicia, almost 10 million people reside within two hours' drive from the Adana city center.

One of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements of the world^[4] and with a name unchanged for at least four millennia, Adana was a market town at the Cilicia plain and one of the gateways from Europe to the Middle East. The city turned into a powerhouse of Cilicia with the Turkic takeover of the city from the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia in 1359. It remained as the capital of the Ramadanid Emirate until 1608, and then the regional center for the Ottoman Empire, Turkey and shortly for French Cilicia. The city boomed with the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 and emerged as a hub for the international cotton trade. Traditionally a town populated by Armenians and Turks; the influx of Assyrians, Greeks, Circassians, Jews and Alawites during this period made the city one of the most diverse cities of the Empire. Economic, social and cultural growth was halted by the Adana massacre, the Armenian genocide, and the 1921 Cilicia evacuation,^[5] all of which devastated the city in the early 20th century. After the eviction of the Christian community, most of the city's private properties, value-wise, were confiscated in 1923 and were granted to the Muslim Turks who recently had migrated into the city. After a standstill period, the city's economy again boomed in the 1950s with the construction of the Seyhan Dam, and the growth continued until the 1980s.

In the 21st century, Adana is a center for regional trade, healthcare, and public and private services. Agriculture and logistics are significant sectors of the city. The economic decline caused by national policies and de-industrialization since the 1990s is reversing, as the city is gaining momentum with the fairs, festivals and entertainment life. The rivalry between the city's football clubs, Adanaspor and Adana Demirspor, is getting attraction as being a derby that is rooted in socio-economic divisions.

One theory holds that the city name originates from a hypothetical Indo-European term; a danu (English: on the river). Many river names in Europe were derived from the same Proto-Indo-European root: Danube, Don, Dnieper and Donets.^[6] The earliest time Adana was mentioned was around 2000 BC in the Hittite tablets. With a history of at least four millennia, Adana is one of the oldest continuously used place names and had only pronunciation changes under different rules.

In Homer's Iliad, the name of the city is mentioned as Adana. For a short while during the Hellenistic era, the city was known as Ἀντιόχεια τῆς Κιλικίας (English: Antioch in Cilicia) and as Ἀντιόχεια ἡ πρὸς Σάρον (English: Antioch on Sarus). On some cuneiforms, the city name was mentioned as Quwê, and as Coa in some other sources which could be the place Solomon had obtained his horses as per Bible (I Kings 10:28; II Chronicles 1:16).