Seyhan is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

-municipality in the

Adana Province Adana Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality of Turkey located in central Cilicia. The administrative seat of the province is the city of Adana, home to 78.25% of the r ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Its area is 444 km², and its population is 795,012 (2022). It forms the core of the

Adana Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...

urban area. Seyhan is home to 35 percent of the residents of Adana Province and almost half of the residents of the city of Adana. It is the fifth most populous metropolitan district in

. Seyhan is the first settlement area of Adana and currently the administrative, business and cultural center of the city. It includes the historical neighbourhood of

Tepebağ Tepebağ () is a neighbourhood (''mahalle'') in the municipality and district of Seyhan, Adana Province, Turkey. Its population is 903 (2022). It is a historical neighborhood in the old town of Adana. It is situated on a hill overlooking the Seyha ...

, and the landmarks such as Büyüksaat, Ulu Camii, Ramazanoğlu Hall and

Sabancı Merkez Camii Sabancı Merkez Camii () in Adana is the second largest mosque in Turkey. The exterior of the mosque (and its interior decoration) is similar to the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne, though it has six minarets, similar to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue ...

Adana Center for Arts and Culture Adana Center for Arts and Culture is a public facility for cultural events, operating at the historical state building of Adana that served as a school for most of its history. The center is located on the west bank of Seyhan River just south of ...

, Sabancı Cultural Center,

Seyhan Cultural Center Seyhan Cultural Center (), is a complex in Adana that is composed of two theatre halls, a conference hall and three exhibition halls. The center is located next to the Seyhan Municipality Hall, on D400 State Road. On March 1, 2015, the cultural ...

and Metropolitan Theatre are also located in the district. The district gets its name from the river that forms the east border.

Governance

Seyhan district is administered by three levels of government; central government, provincial administration and the municipality. Seyhan Governorship is the district branch of the central government operating under the Adana Governorship. The chief executive of the Seyhan district is the District Governor who is appointed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Seyhan Governorship overseas the functioning of the district directorates of the ministries. Seyhan directorate of the Adana Province Special Administration is the district branch of the provincial administration. Seyhan district is represented with 11 members at the 61-member Adana Provincial Parliament. Seyhan Municipality serves the entire Seyhan district and it is further divided into neighbourhoods, the smallest administrative units of the province.

Seyhan Municipality

Seyhan Municipality was incorporated in 1986 as a lower-tier municipality as Adana Municipality is upgraded to a metropolitan status. The organs of the Seyhan Municipality are the mayor, encümen (the executive committee) and the municipal council. Old City Hall Adana

Mayor

Mayor is the chief executive of the municipality, presides municipal departments and chairs the municipal council. Mayoral candidates are either nominated by National Parties or run independently. The mayor is elected by

first past the post First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...

voting for a 5-year term. Oya Tekin is the mayor of Seyhan since April 2024. Tekin is currently serving his first term, and she is the first woman mayor of Seyhan and the first elected woman mayor in the Adana Province. , - , 1 , CHP , Oya Tekin , align="right", 158,116 , align="right", 41.51 , align="right", -16.33 , - , 2 , AKP , Erdal Hatipoğlu , align="right", 121,782 , align="right", 31.97 , align="right", -6.36 , - , 3 , DEM Party , Mehmet Karakış , align="right", 48,091 , align="right", 12.63 , align="right", , - , 4 , İYİ , Akif Kemal Akay , align="right", 25,434 , align="right", 6.68 , align="right", , -

Municipal Council

Municipal Council is the decision making organ of the Seyhan Municipality. It is responsible for approving by-laws, founding, splitting or amalgamating neighbourhoods, strategic planning, urban development planning and zoning, making investments, budgeting, loaning and controlling the mayor's activities. The chair of the council is the mayor. Mayor is assisted by two vice-chairs and two council secretaries who are elected by the council. The 21 commissions of the council are; environment, legal, urban development, budget planning, education, culture, transportation, tariffs, health care, public relations, youth and sports, consumer protection, auditing, human rights, real estate, social services, EU and foreign affairs, tourism, disabled rights, earthquake and disasters and urban transformation. Each commission has 5 councilor members elected by the council. Municipal Council consists of 45 members. The candidates for the councilor positions are either nominated by National Parties or run independently. The councilors are elected by the

d'Hondt method The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is an apportionment method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in proportional representation among political parties. It belongs to ...

, where the whole municipality is one electoral district and there is 10% threshold for a party to gain seat at the council. As with mayor, councilors are elected for a 5-year term. Left-wing and right-wing parties have a slight balance at the council. Left leaning CHP leads the council with 18 members, conservative AKP and far-right Turkish nationalist MHP have 12 members and left-wing pro-Kurdish BDP has 3 members at the council.

Neighbourhoods

Neighbourhoods (

Mahalle is an Arabic word variously translated as district, quarter, ward, or neighborhood in many parts of the Arab world, the Balkans, Western Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and nearby nations. History Historically, mahallas were autonomous social ins ...

) are administered by the

muhtar Muhtar also spelled "Mihtar" or "Mitar" is a given name and a surname. Notable persons with that name include: Persons with the given name * Muhtar Kent (born 1952), Turkish American businessman * Ahmet Muhtar Merter (died 1959), Turkish freedom ...

and the Neighbourhood Seniors Council consisting of 4 members. Muhtar and the Senior Council are elected for 5 years at the local elections and are not affiliated with political parties. Neighbourhoods are not an incorporation therefore do not hold government status.Koçberber, Seyit (2007) Yeni Belediye Yasası ile Mahalle Yönetimi, Sayıştay Journal 56:103–114 (in Turkish) Muhtar, although being elected by the residents, acts merely as an administrator of the district governor. Muhtar can voice neighbourhood issues to the municipal hall together with the Seniors Council. The 96

neighbourhoods A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

of Seyhan District are:Mahalle
Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 12 July 2023. * Ahmet Remzi Yüreğir * Akkapı * Alidede * Aydınlar * Bahçelievler * Bahçeşehir * Barbaros * Barış * Beşocak * Bey * Büyükçıldırım * Büyükdikili * Camuzcu * Çaputçu * Cemalpaşa * Çınarlı * Dağlıoğlu * Demetevler * Denizli * Dervişler * Dörtağaç * Döşeme * Dumlupınar * Emek * Fatih * Fevzipaşa * Gazipaşa * Gökçeler * Gölbaşı * Gülbahçesi * Gülpınar * Gürselpaşa * Hadırlı * Hanedan * Havuzlubahçe * Hurmalı * Hürriyet * İkibinevler * İsmetpaşa *

İstiklal ''İstiklal'' () is a national Turkish daily newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey. ''İstiklal'' is a local newspaper founded in 1974. The publishing center of the newspaper is located in Zeytinburnu Zeytinburnu (literally, ''Olive Cape'') ...

* Karakuyu * Karasoku * Karayusuflu * Kavaklı * Kayalıbağ * Kayışlı * Kocavezir * Köylüoğlu * Koyuncu * Koza * Küçükçıldırım * Küçükdikili *

Kurtuluş Kurtuluş is a neighbourhood of the Şişli district of Istanbul that was originally called ''Tatavla,'' meaning 'stables' in Greek (). The modern Turkish name means "liberation", "salvation", "independence" or "deliverance". On 13 April 1929, si ...

* Kuruköprü * Kuyumcular * Mekan * Mestanzade * Meydan * Mıdık * Mirzaçelebi * Mithatpaşa * Mürseloğlu * Namıkkemal * Narlıca * Onur * Ova * Pınar *

Reşatbey Reşatbey () is a neighbourhood (''mahalle'') in the municipality and district of Seyhan, Adana Province, Turkey. Its population is 11,751 (2022). The neighbourhood is part of the downtown, situated north of the D400 state road and west of the S ...

* Sakarya *

Şakirpaşa Şakirpaşa () is a neighbourhood (''mahalle'') in the municipality and district of Seyhan, Adana Province, Turkey. Its population is 11,108 (2022). It is 3 km west of the city centre of Adana. The neighborhood is situated south of the State r ...

* Salmanbeyli * Sarıhamzalı * Sarıhuğlar * Sarıyakup * Şehitduran * Serinevler * Söğütlü * Sucuzade * Sümer * Tellidere *

* Türkocağı * Uçak * Ulucami * Yalmanlı * Yenibaraj * Yenibey * Yenidam * Yenimahalle * Yeşilevler * Yeşiloba * Yeşilyurt * Yeşilyuva * Yolgeçen *

Zeytinli Zeytinli is a neighbourhood of the municipality and district of Edremit, Balıkesir Province, Turkey. Its population is 3,431 (2022). Before the 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (''belde Belde (literally "town", also known as ''kasaba'') mean ...

* Ziyapaşa

Neighbourhoods in the urban area

The urban neighbourhoods of Seyhan are spread into 7 distinctive zones. The major separators of these zones are the D400 state road, railway line,

Adana Metro Adana Metro () is a rail rapid transit system extending along a north–south corridor through Adana, with 13 stations. It can transport 21,600 passengers per hour per direction. The total travel time on the metro, end to end, takes 21 minutes, ...

, Şakirpaşa Airport and the little canal. Old Town: Referring to the city of Adana before the foundation of the Republic, this zone is bordered by D400 state road on the road,

Seyhan river The Seyhan River (formerly written ''Seihan'', ''Sihun''; ancient name: , ''Sáros''), alternatively known as ''Sarus'' (or in Turkish as ''Sarus Su''),John Garstang and O.R. Gurney is the longest river of Cilicia and the longest of Turkey t ...

on the west, roughly Debboy and Obalar street at the south and the

Adana Şakirpaşa Airport Adana Airport — commonly known as Adana Şakirpaşa Airport — is a general aviation airport located in Adana. It served as the main commercial airport of Cilicia region from 1937 to 2024.Tepebağ Tepebağ () is a neighbourhood (''mahalle'') in the municipality and district of Seyhan, Adana Province, Turkey. Its population is 903 (2022). It is a historical neighborhood in the old town of Adana. It is situated on a hill overlooking the Seyha ...

, Karasoku, Ulucamii, Türkocağı, Sarıyakup, Alidede, Beşocak, Hurmalı, Kuruköprü, Hanedan, Kocavezir, Sucuzade, Mirzaçelebi,

, Yeşilyuva, Emek, Meydan, Gülpınar and Dumlupınar. Three boulevards: This zone is one of the fine samples of planned neighbourhoods of the Republic Era. It is locally named with the three major boulevards passing within the zone, Ziyapaşa, Atatürk and Gazipaşa. Founded north of the city, it is currently bordered by D-400 state road on the south,

on the west, railway line on the north and

metro Metro may refer to: Geography * Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...

line on the west. The metropolitan hall is located in this zone close to the intersection of Atatürk boulevard and D400 state road. It hosts the major sports venues of Adana:

5 Ocak Stadium The Adana 5 Ocak Fatih Terim Stadium () was a multi-purpose stadium in Adana, Turkey. It was opened in 1938, together with the Menderes Sports Hall and Gençlik Stadium as a sports complex, at the new neighborhood of Reşatbey. The stadium holds ...

, Atatürk Swimming Complex and

Menderes Sports Hall Menderes Sports Hall is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Adana, situated just next to the 5 Ocak Stadium. The arena is opened in 1938 together with the stadium as a sports complex. The sports hall has an audience capacity of 2000. It ho ...

. The most popular parks of the city,

Merkez Park Merkez Park () is a urban park that is located on both banks of the Seyhan River in Adana. The larger portion of the park, , is on the west bank. Merkez Park starts just north of Sabancı Mosque and extends north to Galleria Shopping Mall. On ...

and the Atatürk Park, are also located here. The four neighbourhoods of this zone are;

, Çınarlı, Cemalpaşa and

. The population of this zone is 39,037. North of the railway line: Covering the area north of the railway line, west of the Seyhan river, east of the metro line and south of the

Çukurova Çukurova (), or the Cilician Plain (''Cilicia Pedias'' in antiquity), is a large fertile plain in the Cilicia region of southern Anatolia. The plain covers the easternmost areas of Mersin Province, southern and central Adana Province, western Os ...

district, this zone has seen rapid growth since the 1960s and has planned and unplanned sections. North-west part of this zone is known as the ''Hospitals'' area, home to Numune, Chest Diseases and the Military hospitals. The 6 neighbourhoods of this zone are Ziyapaşa, Sümer, Gazipaşa, Namık Kemal, Yenibaraj and Yeşilyurt. North of the little canal: Mostly an unplanned residential zone, it is bordered by the little irrigation canal on the south, metro line on the east, Çukurova district on the north and roughly Öğretmenler Boulevard on the west. The 10 neighbourhoods of this zone are; Tellidere, Fatih, Pınar, 2000 Evler, Gürselpaşa, Güzelyurt, Kıyıboyu, Mavibulvar, Bahçeşehir and Yeni Mahalle South of the little canal: This zone covers the area, little canal on the north, the metro line on the east, D400 state road on the south and Öğretmenler Boulevard on the west. It is a residential and an industrial zone and home to Adana City Hall, Adana Province Special Administration headquarters and the Adana Police headquarters (under construction). 12 neighbourhoods of the zone are; Mithatpaşa, Döşeme, Denizli, Narlıca, Ahmet Remzi Yüreğir, Sakarya, İsmetpaşa, Yeşilevler, Demetevler, Barış, Fevzipaşa and Aydınlar. East of the Airport: Covering the area west and north of the Şakirpaşa Airport, south of the D400 and west of the Adana Hippodrome, it has unplanned residential areas as well as small-scale industrial sites. 5 neighbourhoods of this zone are;

, Uçak, Onur, Ova and Yeşiloba, South of the Old Town: This zone covers the area south of the old town and Şakirpaşa Airport and west of the Seyhan river. It is largely a low-income residential area of unplanned neighbourhoods filled with shanty homes. It was started being populated during the city's explosive growth in the 1950s and seen further growth during the mass migration of

Kurds Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...

from Southeastern Anatolia Region in the 1990s during the peak of the

Kurdish–Turkish conflict Kurdish nationalism, Kurdish nationalist uprisings have periodically occurred in Turkey, beginning with the Turkish War of Independence and the consequent transition from the Ottoman Empire to the modern Turkish state and continuing to the pre ...

. The unemployment rates are very high in this zone. The 12 neighbourhoods of this zone are; Mestanzade, Hürriyet, Havuzlubahçe, Bahçelievler, Dağlıoğlu, Gülbahçesi, Şehit Duran, Yenibey, Barbaros, Bey, Akkapı, Mıdık.

Neighbourhoods outside the urban area

As the city borders are expanded, the municipalities and the villages in the new limits of the city are annexed to the city. Neighbourhoods of the former municipalities and former villages then became part of the Seyhan district as neighbourhoods. There are total of 30 non-urban neighbourhoods which are located on the west and south end of Seyhan. Karayusuflu: 9 neighbourhoods of this former municipality are; Bahçelievler, Serinevler, Kayışlı, Salmanbeyli, Dervişler, Çaputçu, Köylüoğlu, Dörtağaç, Mürseloğlu Küçükdikili: 5 neighbourhoods of this former municipality are; Çınarlı, Dikili, Kavaklı, Mekan, Söğütlü, Former Villages: 16 neighbourhoods that were formerly villages are; Büyük Çıldırım, Büyük Dikili, Camuzcu, Gökçeler, Gölbaşı, Karakuyu, Koyuncu, Kuyumcular, Küçük Çıldırım, Sarıhamzalı, Sarıhuğlar, Yalmanlı, Yenidam, Yolgeçen, Zeytinli, Hadırlı,

Notable people

* Ümit Can Batman (born 1987), professional footballer

References

{{Authority control Districts of Adana Province Populated places in Adana Province Metropolitan district municipalities in Turkey