At the super cute puppy stage. This one lives at the kayak club.
Türkiye is famous for the cats and dogs who live on the streets and “belong” to everyone. The dogs who have been fixed so they can no longer produce, have a tag on an ear. There are bowls of water and food in front of many shops and people generally take care of these animals, including grooming them.
This dog has a tag on the ear.
So if you don’t want to have your own pet, you can just get friendly with the ones on the streets. I am accustomed to the one dog who hangs out by the exit to the mall. And the other two who sleep on the steps. It just seems normal.
Dogs napping on the mall steps.
As for the kittens and puppies, watch out. You might end up adopting them.
Snow capped Taurus mountains in the distance behind the lake, on a rare day with blue sky in January.
And now for the weather. Before I got to Adana, everyone told me it was too hot. They were right. It is too hot and for too long. I was looking back at photos from November and I remember sweating. But then January and February happened. And it rained 15 months worth of rain in 40 days. Like something out of the bible.
So now I will assume that winter in Adana is all about rain, flooding, potholes, and thunderstorms.
There were days in January when the temperature at night got close to freezing. That is cold. I was told that there would be a sweet spot in October November when it was great weather. I think it was hot. So now, I’m told that the next perfect weather time is April May. We will see. Maybe it goes from rainy storms to blistering hot?
This is my first Ramazan (Ramadan) in Adana. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I recalled from Dhaka, that during Ramadan month, those observing Ramadan did not eat or drink during daylight hours. Every evening, the breaking of the fast, iftar, was a celebration. There were celebrations with family and gifts given. It was a festive time.
Ramadan follows the moon so this year is in the winter (February 18 to March 19). This year is the year 1447 in the muslim calendar.
So what is different her in Adana? Adana is a fairly open minded place. When I got to Adana, the locals told me that I should expect to see restaurants open during Ramazan and that people would also be drinking alcohol. This is so. Also, many restaurants closed for the first week of Ramadan but then opened up again.
Mini pide with mozzarella, potato, white cheese, sausage, and kale.
What was great interest to me was the food. Apparently eating “pide” is a Ramadan thing. It’s also an every day thing, but more so at this time. I noticed a different kind of mini pide and I have a feeling that these are only available during Ramadan. Today, March 14, is international pi/pie day (3.14) and pide is a kind of pie so quite appropriate.
Many bakeries are open around the clock so that was something to try out during this time. I discovered some lovely bakeries and almost all gave me samples, tried to serve me tea, and gave me freebies. Very hospitable.
Since you can’t take an Adana kebab as a souvenir, one has to (has to) find a magnet or mug as a souvenir. Recently, I was at the women’s cooperative, Adana Kadın kooperatifleri Birliği, for brunch and it turns out that they also have a shop (one is sitting surrounded by things to buy) so that is my recommendation for where to buy souvenirs.
Adana is famous for its clock tower, orange festival, Roman bridge, and the kebab. This shop, located conveniently in old Adana (just down from the clock tower, on the side of a park, Ziyapaşa Parkı), is a nice reprieve from the heat and bustle. Or cold and wet.
The orange festival is the biggest event of the year in Adana.
Aside from souvenirs like magnets, they also have handmade items and food for sale. And as I mentioned, you can eat there. The staff are very nice. It is hard to not buy a basket or hammer pants (which is the baggy style that many people wear here).
The other place I would recommend for souvenirs is Starbucks. Sounds odd? The Adana mug is adorable.
There are also other places to find souvenirs but one has to search. Or stick to the main touristy street.
