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 “The weather was awful when we arrived in Adalia. We settled in a han and after listening to the sound of the heavy rain coming from the roof of the han and from the cobblestones we went to the best coffeehouse of the town. Gigantic black clouds were passing over us. The coffeehouse was full of people creating a colorful scene with their costumes, religions and arms and traditions. We had our coffee and joined in this colorful festivity: Druses, Maronites, Turks, Greeks, we saw them altogether. One merchant was occupied with his own business; two men sitting next to us, one Damascene and other a Syrian, were sipping their coffee together with us and talking about Ibrahim Pasha and smoked from our pipes. The atmosphere gained in beauty with the oriental legends and long stories told. The rain continued to pour heavily and a cold wind was also felt but we thought of neither the rain nor the wind in this beautiful atmosphere…
We have already said that there was a spring under the city gate of Adalia and there was a cup fitted with a chain onto the fountain as was the custom in other oriental lands. When the caravan from Smyrna arrived in Adalia, everybody in the caravan, rich or poor, ran to the fountain to wrench their thirst. This curious run of these thirsty travelers is worth watching. The city is very well fortified: it is surrounded with large ditches, double walls reinforced with square towers placed almost at every 50 steps. In the outskirts houses are far from each other scattered amidst orange and fruit orchards, covering wide areas…
Adalia is a big city with a big population. It is shown as one of the best-administered cities in Anatolia. The city’s settlement area is wide and most of its land is fertile. Furthermore, it also has quite considerable sea trade. Its population is estimated to be around 8000 with two-thirds Muslims and one-third Greeks. Its ancient fortifications visible at first sight, big towers, columns, ruins, elegantly styled minarets and citadel Adalia has an imposing look. When one moves further inside the town one will notice that no other oriental town has such a pleasant look. Gardens have a striking elegance and each one is full of lemons and palms diffusing pleasant aromas and vineyards. The land cultivated by the neighboring Arabians is also very fertile. Streams bursting out of the earth first give life to the fields and then flow through the rocks and run the wheat mill. In the bazaar of the town it is possible to finds linen brought in regularly from Smyrna, hardware as well as textiles from England and Germany. The city of Adalia, the heart of the Teke region which encompasses ancient Pamphylia and Lycia, is run by a pasha…”
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