Karaisalı is a small city

City

A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

 and a district in Adana Province

Adana Province

Adana Province is a province of Turkey located in south-central Anatolia. With a population of 2,085,225, it is the fifth most populous province in Turkey. The administrative seat of the province is the city of Adana, home to 78% of the residents of the province...

 of Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, administratively a part of the Metropolitan Municipality of Adana

Adana

Adana is a city in southern Turkey and a major agricultural and commercial center. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, 30 kilometres inland from the Mediterranean, in south-central Anatolia...

.

The area contains the reservoirs of Çatalan and Nergizlik. There is a wrestling tournament in the late-April to early-May at Salbaş and a countryside festival in the last week of August at Kızıldağ.

History

In Greek and Roman times there was a city here named Midelle. Following the arrival of the Turks in the area the name was changed to Çeceli and inhabited by the Yüreğir and Menemencioğulları and Ramazanoğulları tribes.

Between 1481 and 1496 the city was controlled by the Mameluks and once these had been defeated by Ottoman

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 sultan Selim I

Selim I

Selim I, Yavuz Sultân Selim Khan, Hâdim-ül Haramain-ish Sharifain , nicknamed Yavuz "the Stern" or "the Steadfast", but often rendered in English as "the Grim" , was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to...

 he passed control to the Ramazanoğulları dynasty. The current name Karaisalı was later given in memory of a Ramazanoğulları lord.

The city was not occupied during the Turkish War of Independence

Turkish War of Independence

The Turkish War of Independence was a war of independence waged by Turkish nationalists against the Allies, after the country was partitioned by the Allies following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I...

 in the early 1920s and became a centre of Turkish resistance for the Çukurova

Çukurova

Çukurova , historically known as Cilicia, is a geographic, economic and cultural region in south-central Turkey, covering the provinces of Mersin, Adana, Osmaniye and Hatay...

area.

Karaisalı today

Long-term mayor of Adana, Aytaç Durak is from Karaisalı and during his term the district was included in the Metropolitan Municipality of Adana.

Places of interest

• The Roman built Milvan Castle in the village of Karakılıç.
• The silk road caravanserai Kesiri Han in the village of Altınova.
• Another Roman castle Keçi Kalesi 40 km north-east of Karaisalı in the village of Etekli. has commanding views from its hill-top position.
• The wooded hillside picnic areas of Yerköprü and Kızıldağ.
• The attractive remote village of Kalayçılar. 7 km from the village of Hacılı on a dirt road.
• The 210m long German built railway viaduct in the village of Hacıkırı (Kıralan).