92 Best Sights in The Turquoise Coast, Turkey

A few dark blue and turquoise tiles still decorate the Yivli Minare (Fluted Minaret), a graceful, 13th-century cylinder erected by the Seljuk sultan Alaaddin Keykubat I; the imam once climbed its narrow steps five times daily to give the call to prayer. The adjoining mosque was converted from a Byzantine church, and the remains (displayed under glass) of an 800-year-old water channel can be seen if you step inside. Within the pretty complex are two türbes (tombs) and an 18th-century tekke (lodge), which once housed a community of whirling dervishes and is now a small free museum devoted to the traditions of their Mevlevi Order. The old medrese (theological school) adjacent to the minaret has been covered under an unattractive bus-station-style roof and is a tourist-oriented shopping center, selling standard Turkish knick-knacks (think cotton clothes, pottery, copper work, carpets, and tiles). At the time of visiting the minaret is fenced off while undergoing some restoration works.

East of Adana, across the Çukurova Plain, there are many ancient remains, including several castles, mostly dating back to Armenian rulers of the 12th to 14th century AD. The easiest to reach, Yılan Kalesi (Castle of the Snake), sits conspicuously beside the old highway, some 50 km (31 miles) east of town. There isn't a lot to see, but the walls are well preserved and the views of the fertile Çukurova Plain from the top are impressive. About 40 km (25 miles) farther east, just before Osmaniye and the turnoff to İskenderun, is a second Armenian castle, Toprakkale. Kozan, 60 km (37 miles) north of Yılan Kalesi, is another fine castle that was an important residence of the Armenian rulers of Cilicia.