Month: June 2026

The Good Things About Life in Adana

M's Adventures

As I have done for all the places I’ve lived these past 15 years, I write about the pros and cons. This is the good stuff about living in Adana as a foreigner.

It’s a chill place even though the weather is hot in the summer. People are fairly relaxed here about dress code, lifestyle, smoking, drinking, etc. Live and let live. Cover your hair if you want. Wear shorts if you want. Hijabs next to mini skirts.

There are lots of coffee shops open late into the evening so that one can go out without going to a club.

Cups for sale.

There are thousands of restaurants in all price ranges. Every place will serve Turkish breakfast (kahvalti). Just ask.

A local eatery.
A fancier restaurant.

The locals are friendly. Everyone has a phone so they can use a translator app.

There are no tourists. I mentioned that already in another article.

The great things about living in Adana are that it’s a vibrant city full of people going about their lives. Food is fresh and good. People are friendly. Taxis are cheap.

When a Father Becomes a Real Father

M's Adventures

A man is not really a father until he has a daughter. This is what a Turkish man told me. Maybe it was a translation thing. I don’t know. But I thought it was an intriguing thing to say. I do not think that it meant that one should not have sons, but that one should also have a daughter. Sweet thought.

Turkiye is undergoing a downward trending birth rate. Less than the replacement rate. The birth rate has dropped by half from 1960 when it was three children per woman. Now, 1.5 per woman. The Turkish government has tried to encourage their citizens to have more children, but the cost of living is stopping people from having more children. The government called 2025, the “Year of the Family” and started paying money to families who had more children. But still, as one Turk said to me, “Who can afford it?” When I asked about his thoughts on having children.

As for the comment about having a daughter to become a “real father” — others have told me that this is not true. In Turkiye, there is still a preference for boys, so maybe this comment was a personal opinion?

There is a set price for bread.

Yes, the Turks also celebrate Fathers’ Day on the third Sunday in June. The first one was in 1910 in the United States. The Turks started celebrating a few decades ago. The Turks often celebrate Ataturk as they consider him the father of the nation. So maybe “every day is fathers’ day!”

I Am Done

M's Adventures

Recently, I saw on the news that some places are being overrun by tourists. That locals are tired of tourists. I get the feeling. For me, the feeling has been a slow burnout for many years. Even though I realize that tourism is good for the economy (see my article on what to see and do as a tourist in Adana) and that it helps make a person more cultured… I don’t want to do it anymore.

Living in Adana has made me realize that I’m tired of tourism. Adana is the first city in which I’ve lived that is not a capital city or mega tourist destination. I have lived in Rome (35 million tourists visited in 2024 — in a city with over 4 million residents) and Washington, DC (25 million tourists visited in 2025 — the city has 6 million residents in the greater metropolitan area) — both cities with lots of tourists. Of course, it is possible to live out where there are no tourists in both those cities.

That’s another reason that I love Adana. Apparently there are a million tourists per year. But what I see is two million people living their lives. Most of them not working in tourism. I can’t even find an English-speaking tour guide! I’m not sure that they exist.

To answer the question from my previous article about how many of the touristy things I had done in Adana… only a few. Mainly the food related ones. Adana is known for its food tourism… I have been a food tourist. Sigh.

I was surprised to see these sheep grazing on this street in town.

This leads to a much deeper question of “seeing it like the locals” form of tourism. Maybe I’m that type of tourist. A sheep gawker tourist. Sheep are perfectly normal in Adana. But for me, it’s not normal. So maybe I’m a “novelty tourist?” Or a “sheep gawker tourist.”

And, does that still make me a food tourist?

Tourist in Adana

M's Adventures
The large mosque and the 1,700-year-old Roman bridge.

Adana is not a touristy city, but, here are the things one can do as a tourist. But, first things first. It is hot in Adana. From June through October, the temperatures can be above 86F/30C. Not super humid. In July, August, and September the temperatures are above 104F/40C. I recommend late October or April during the Orange Blossom Festival, Adana’s biggest tourist event.

Visit the old town around the clock tower and the old bazaar street.

Walk across the Roman bridge, still usable after 1,700 years.

Get a Turkish bath in a 500 year old bath house. Çarşı Hamami was built in 1529. Yes, you read that right. This bath house is located east of the main tourist street with all the shops. It is near the big clock tower.

A touristy sign in a touristy bit of Adana old town.

Visit the large mosque, Sabancı Central Mosque, the second largest mosque in the country. It is only 30 years old but is built in the style of the Blue Mosque which was built 400 years ago. While visiting the central park, walk along the river and maybe cross the hanging rope bridge.

The big clock tower and the main tourist street.

Buy some Turkish towels. I recommend venturing into the small streets downtown away from the touristy areas if you want better prices. I have seen Turkish towels range in price from $3 to $100.

For souvenirs, I recommend the womens’ cooperative, located near the clock tower.

Visit the Adana Archaeology Museum.

Visit the museum of cinema.

Visit Tarsus, birthplace of St. Paul. It’s about a 45-minute drive from Adana.

Visit and hike at the Varda bridge (film location of one of the scenes from a James Bond movie).

Go to the serpents castle east of the city.


Eat Adana kebab. Make your own food tour. Or follow my suggestions of what to try. Try salgam, sirdan, liver, and simit.

Have I done any of this? Guess. More on this later.