On my departure from Adana, I had a small escort, which was a great honor. L to R: Mustafa, Aduan (sp?), me, and Zekeriya. All three of these guys are professors at Cukurova University in Adana.

4 Responses

  1. Hello!

    I have a question for you…

    I’m moving to Adana, Turkey in September for a 10-month teaching assignment at Cukorova University. Here in my home country (USA), I am an avid bicycle commuter and would like to continue this practice while in Adana. However, being a 54-year-old woman with a severe vision impairment in her left eye (due to a 2005 bicycling accident), I need to avoid riding in heavy and/or chaotic automobile traffic. What’s your opinion about the safety of commuting by bicycle in Adana?

    Warm regards,
    Leslie

    1. Hi Leslie: As I remember things, the area around Cukurova is fairly nice, with trees and (relatively) quiet roads. There are also some quieter roads on the outskirts of the city and even some bike/pedestrian paths. Downtown is pretty chaotic, and there is a lot of traffic, but I would think that if you could find the right route from your apartment to the University that you could get out on your bike on a fairly regular basis! Also, there are some beautiful (empty) roads along the coast of Turkey. So, if you find yourself struggling to get out on rides in the city, you should have no trouble taking Saturdays/Sundays etc. to get out to the country for bike rides. I have sent your comment to Zek so that he can hopefully get in touch with you with a bit more detailed info about Cukurova / Adana cycling life. There seems to be a rapidly growing cycling culture in Turkey as well, which is awesome! I hope you have a great trip.
      Stephen

  2. Hi, Stephan.

    Thank you so much for your speedy and informative reply! It sounds like it might be worth my while to ship my bike over after all. (I had been thinking I wouldn’t be able to do enough riding to justify shipping it over; however, I was also feeling really sad about leaving it behind.)

    Thanks also for forwarding my note to Zek. I hope he writes — I’m sure he’s a font of information about living an enjoyable life in Adana! One other question for you: Do you remember whether you saw many (or any!!!) women riding bicycles in Adana? A friend of mine warned me that in the more conservative parts of the Islamic world, women have to avoid doing anything in public that exhibits physicality. She thought that might include southern Turkey. Any opinion on that?

    Peace and blessings,
    Leslie

    1. Hi Leslie,
      Sorry for the delayed reply here. Sorry, I just cannot remember the numbers of women on bikes. This would be a good question for Zekeriya (I think you got his email right?) I hope that you have a great trip and that you are able to get in some good bike rides in Turkey! It is a magical place.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *