Çukurova

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Çukurova
—  Region  —
Country	Turkey
Area
- Total	38,585.16 km2 (14,897.8 sq mi)
Population (2008)
- Total	5,507,218
- Density	142.73/km2 (369.7/sq mi)
- Urban	4,009,167
- Rural	1,498,051
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
- Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code prefixes	33xxx, 01xxx, 80xxx, 31xxx
Area code(s)	324, 322, 328, 326

Çukurova (formerly Cilicia) is a geographical, economical and cultural region in south-central Turkey covering the provinces of Mersin, Adana, Osmaniye and Hatay. With a population of 5.5 million, it is one of the largest population concentrations in Turkey.

Çukurova starts from Anamur at the west, extending east along Mediterranean, stretching as north as Tufanbeyli, wrapping around Gulf of İskenderun, turning south at Erzin and finally terminating at Yayladağı on the border to Syria. The core area is Çukurova plain (formerly Cilicia Pedia), covering the area, Mersin on the west, Kozan on the north, Osmaniye on the east and Mediterranean Sea on the south. Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area is the business and cultural center of Çukurova.

Most of Çukurova region is large stretch of flat, fertile land which is among the most agriculturally productive areas of the world. Throughout the history, Çukurova was a gateway from Europe to Middle East and, being the shortest access point to Mediterranean from north of Middle East and Central Asia, it is a transportation hub, with its two major seaports and oil terminal.

Contents 1 History 2 Geography 3 Governance 3.1 Divisions 3.1.1 Provinces & Districts 3.1.2 Municipalities 4 Economy 5 Population 5.1 Urban Areas 6 Places of Interest 6.1 Ancient Sites 6.2 Parks and Conservation Areas 7 Education 8 Transportation 9 Çukurova in Popular Culture 10 Image gallery 11 References 12 External links

[edit] History

For the ancient history of Çukurova, see Cilicia.

When Seljuk Turks captured the region, many Turkmens, including Oğuz clans of Yureğir, Afshar and Chepni settled in the northern parts of the region under the direction of Ramazanoğlu. Those who preserved the nomadic lifestyle were named Yörüks. As of the 18th century, the Ottoman Empire pursued a policy aimed at settling these populations in permanent settlements; the process was more or less complete in the 19th century, although it involved many difficulties and much tension and drama.

Between the 1832 Kütahya Agreement leaving the territorial gains acquired by Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt to his administration till the 1841 London Conference convened to settle the question, Çukurova remained under the rule of the Khedive of Egypt. Although the period of Egyptian rule, motivated by Egypt's perennial need, timber for the navy, was relatively short, it left important marks in such areas as the introduction of industrial-scale cotton production and new arrivals into the population tissue of the region. Cottonpickers of Çukurova still start their workday with prayers for the memory of İbrahim Pasha, and the locally influent Menemencioğlu family, with notable descendants till our day, including Turkey's foreign minister during the Second World War, Numan Menemencioğlu, rose to notability by acting as middlemen for the Pasha. Among other families still prominent in our day and that had risen with the cotton boom, Kozanoğlu, Güveloğlu, Kerimoğlu, Karsantıoğlu, Küçükalioğlu families can be cited.

In 1869, Adana Province (Adana Vilayeti) was incorporated after splitting up Aleppo Province.^[1] Borders of Ottoman Province of Adana is similar to today's Çukurova region.

The development of Mersin as a major part also took its start during the same period. As a result, the cities of region became prominent centers of trade, of farming and of industry. Today, Adana is the 5th largest city of Turkey, and a vital center of many agricultural products such as cotton, although its production lost some of its former importance in the city's economy.

[edit] Geography

Çukurova is the largest alluvial plain in Turkey. The plain is formed the rivers Seyhan and Ceyhan. It borders the Taşeli plateau in the west, where there are many natural formations of limestone.

Historically, the region was known as Kissuwadna by the Hittites and it was divided into two parts, Uru Adaniya (flat Cilicia) and western Cilicia (Tarza), which was also known as the mountainous Cilicia. The gates which allow passage from Çukurova into the Central Anatolian Plateau through the Taurus Mountains, the Cilician Gates of antiquity, is called Gülek Pass today. Belen Pass which connects the region to the southeast (to the modern district of Dörtyol in Hatay Province) and Sertavul Pass constitute other important points of passage. The region is included in the Mediterranean region of Turkey, and it borders Central Anatolia (historical Cappadocia) to the north, and Southeastern Anatolia Region to the east.

[edit] Governance

Çukurova region is split into 4 administrative provinces; Mersin, Adana, Osmaniye and Hatay. Each province is governed by Central Government in Ankara through an appointed Provincial Governor. Provinces then divided into districts governed by District Governor who are under Provincial Governor.

Since all 4 provinces are economically and geographically inter-dependent, with the current governing structure, regional planning is limited within provinces and does not cover all Çukurova. This creates conflict on creating regional investment plans especially between Adana and Mersin provinces. Recently co-operation among the cities in Çukurova is improving. Municipalities in Çukurova form a union, Çukurova Municipalities Union, to conduct projects that will benefit the whole region. Community and business organizations also form regional unions. Tourism associations of the cities conduct common promotions to attract tourists to the region.

[edit] Divisions

[edit] Provinces & Districts

Provinces & Districts in Çukurova (from West to East):

• Mersin Province: Anamur, Bozyazı, Aydıncık, Gülnar,Mut, Silifke, Erdemli, Mezitli, Yenişehir, Toroslar, Akdeniz(district), Çamlıyayla, Tarsus
• Adana Province: Seyhan, Çukurova(district), Yüreğir, Sarıçam, Karaisalı, Pozantı,Karataş, Ceyhan, İmamoğlu, Aladağ, Kozan, Feke, Saimbeyli, Tufanbeyli
• Osmaniye Province: Sumbaş, Kadirli, Toprakkale, Düziçi, Osmaniye, Hasanbeyli, Bahçe
• Hatay Province: Erzin, Dörtyol, Hassa, İskenderun, Belen, Kırıkhan, Samandağ, Antakya, Reyhanlı, Kumlu, Yayladağı, Altınözü

[edit] Municipalities

Locally elected municipal governments take care of urban planning and infrastructure. Greater municipality law came in effect in 1989 to bring better management to large urban areas. In Çukurova, cities of Adana and Mersin are governed by Greater municipalities. In the city of Adana, there are 5 district municipalities and in the city of Mersin, there are 4 district municipalities.

A community with a population over 2000 forms a municipality. Communities that have less than 2000 people are governed by Village mukhtar with the support from State Rural Services (Köy Hizmetleri).See List of Municipalities in Çukurova for a list of all municipalities.

[edit] Economy

Çukurova is well known for the vast fertile land and highly productive agriculture. The region is also industrialized; Tarsus, Adana and Ceyhan host numerous plants. Mersin and İskenderun seaports provide transportation of goods manufactured in Central, South and Southeast Anatolia. Ceyhan is becoming an Energy Hub, hosting oil, natural gas terminals as well as refineries.

[edit] Population

Çukurova is heavily populated owing to its abundant resources, climate and plain geography. Population of Çukurova as of 2008 is 5,507,218.^[2]

Province	Urban	Rural	Total
Adana	1,763,351	262,968	2,026,319
Mersin	1,229,431	373,477	1,602,908
Hatay	683,991	729,296	1,413,287
Osmaniye	332,394	132,310	464,704
Total	4,009,167	1,498,051	5,507,218

Hatay is the most rural province of Çukurova. This is due to the mountainous geography of Hatay as well as religiously and ethnically diverse culture. Hatay joined Turkey in 1939, thus did not face the population exchanges of 1920's. The only remaining ethnic Armenian village of Turkey, Vakıflı, is in Hatay. Adana Province is the most urbanized province, most of the population centered in the city of Adana. Mersin Province has a larger rural population than Adana Province, owing to its long and narrow stretch of flat land in between Taurus Mountains and Mediterranean Sea.

[edit] Urban Areas

Settlements are well spread to all parts of Çukurova. Adana and Mersin are the largest cities in Çukurova and together with Tarsus and Ceyhan form Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area, fourth largest metropolitan area in Turkey with a population of around 2.75 million. The metropolitan area is home to half of the residents of Çukurova.

Below is a list of cities in Çukurova with population over 50,000. For Adana and Mersin, city population is the population of urban area not the population of greater municipalities. Thus, Karaisalı is not counted part of Adana Urban Area, however Mezitli is counted part of Mersin Urban Area.

Urban Area	population
Adana[3]	1,517,787
Mersin [4]	807.694
Tarsus	228,471
Osmaniye[5]	189,112
Antakya[6]	188,310
İskenderun	176,374
Ceyhan	102,040
Kadirli	76,976
Kozan	72,727
Kırıkhan	68,212
Dörtyol	67,430
Reyhanlı	60,418
Silifke	50,327

[edit] Places of Interest

[edit] Ancient Sites

Kizkalesi (Maiden Castle), a fort on a small island across Kızkalesi township, was built during the early 12th century by Armenian kings of the Rubeniyan dynasty, to defend the city of Korykos (today Kızkalesi).

The ancient Roman town of Soloi-Pompeiopolis, near the city of Mersin.

Şar (Comona), ancient city located in northernmost Çukurova, some 200 km. north of Adana, near Tufanbeyli. It is a historical center of Hittites. Remaining structures today are, the amphitheatre built during Roman period, ruins of a church from Byzantine and rock works from Hittites.^[7]

The rock-carved Church of St Peter in Antakya, a site of Christian pilgrimage.

[edit] Parks and Conservation Areas

Akyatan Bird Sanctuary is a large conservation area which acts as a stopover for migratory birds voyaging from Africa to Europe. It is located 30 km south of Adana, near Tuzla.

Karatepe-Arslantaş National Park located on the west bank of Ceyhan River in Osmaniye Province. The park include Karatepe Hittite fortress and open air museum.

[edit] Education

See also: Education in Turkey

There are numerous private primary and high schools besides the state schools in the region. Most popular high school in the region is Tarsus American College, founded as a missionary school in 1888 to serve Armenian community and then became a secular school in 1923. In other cities, Anatolian High School and School for Science are the most popular high schools of the city.

Region is home to many universities. Çukurova University, Mersin University, Korkutata University and Mustafakemalpaşa University are the state universities in Çukurova region. Çağ University and Toros University are the not-for-profit tuition based universities of the region.

[edit] Transportation

Çukurova has a well-developed transportation system with two airports, two major seaports, oil terminal, highway and railway on a major route.

Air

Çukurova is served by two airports. Adana Şakirpaşa Airport is an international airport that have flights to European destinations. There are daily domestic flights to İstanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Antalya and Trabzon. Adana Şakirpaşa Airport serves provinces of Mersin, Adana and Osmaniye. Hatay Airport, opened in 2007, is a domestic airport, currently have flights to İstanbul and Ankara and Nicosia, TRNC. Hatay Airport serves mostly to Hatay Province.

Marine

There are two major seaports and an oil terminal in Çukurova. Mersin seaport is the third largest seaport ın Turkey, after İstanbul and İzmir. There are 45 piers in the port. The total area of the port is 785 square kilometres (194,000 acres), and the capacity is 6,000 ships per year. İskenderun seaport is used mostly for transfers to Middle East, also serving to Southeastern Turkey.^[8]

Ceyhan oil terminal is a marine transport terminal for Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline (the "BTC"), Kirkuk-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline and planned Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline. Ceyhan will be also a natural gas terminal for a planned pipeline constructed parallel to the Kirkuk-Ceyhan oil pipeline, and for a planned extension of the Blue Stream Gas Pipeline from Samsun to Ceyhan.

Road

Trans European Motorway crosses Çukurova. Highways of Çukurova extends to Niğde on the north, Erdemli on the west and Şanlıurfa on the east, and İskenderun on the south. State road D-400 connects Çukurova to Antalya on the west. Adana-Kozan, Adana-Karataş, İskenderun-Antakya-Aleppo double roads provide convenient transportation.

Railway

Parallel to the highway network in Çukurova, there is an extensive railway network. Adana-Mersin train runs as a commuter train between Mersin, Tarsus and Adana. There are also regional trains from Adana to Ceyhan, Osmaniye and İskenderun.

[edit] Çukurova in Popular Culture

Culturally, the life and the hardships faced by the ordinary people of Çukurova was brought to screen by many Turkish film directors including Yılmaz Güney, especially in his 1970 masterpiece "Umut" (The hope) and it is impossible to make a reference to Çukurova without mentioning the internationally-acclaimed author who gave the region legendary dimensions, Yaşar Kemal.

[edit] Image gallery

Zeus Temple-Silifke	Kızkalesi(Korykos)	Kanlıdivane	Yemiskumu Beach (Erdemli)
Soloi-Pompeiopolis	South gate of Anazarbus Castle	West gate Anazarbus Castle	Yumurtalık Port
Castabala Amphitheater-Osmaniye	Monastery of St Simeon-Hatay	Baghras in Hatay

[edit] References

Coordinates: 36°52′N 35°29′E / 36.867°N 35.483°E / 36.867; 35.483

[edit] External links

• Tarsus