3 Best Sights in The Turquoise Coast, Turkey

Popularly dated from the 7th century, this is called Turkey's oldest mosque. More likely, a church of John the Baptist originally stood here, replacing a temple, and this was converted to a mosque, then back to a church by the crusaders, then destroyed in 1268 by the Mamluk Sultan Baybars, who had the current building constructed. It has since been much restored. A side chamber contains two sarcophagi, labeled as the prophet Jonah and John the Baptist, while downstairs are the tombs of Habib-i Neccar, an otherwise unidentified early Christian martyr mentioned in the Koran, and Sham’un al-Safa (Simon the Loyal), perhaps the Apostle Simon Peter. All presumably survive from the Byzantine church and, with that pedigree, could even be genuine.

On the banks of the Seyhan River sits Adana's most prominent building, the Sabancı Merkez Camii. Very similar in style to the 16th-century Selimiye Mosque of Edirne, it was the largest mosque in Turkey when it was completed in 1998, but it has since been surpassed by the Çamlıca Camii in Istanbul. The large Merkez Parkı (Central Park) spreads north along the river from the mosque, with walking paths, fountains, and gazebos making for a pleasant green respite in the city center.

The pretty, 16th-century Ulu Camii is more Arabic than Turkish in style, and its patterned stonework has been well restored. Behind the mosque is a former madrassa, now a peaceful tea garden, and a small park. Beyond that is Adana's lively market area, where there are also several other old mosques, including the Yağ Camii (Oil Mosque) on Alimunif Caddesi, built in 1501 and incorporating a Byzantine church.