Adapazarı

Adapazarı
—  District and City  —
Adapazarı Location in Turkey
Coordinates: 40°47′N 30°24′E
Country	Turkey
Province	Sakarya Province
District	Adapazarı District
Government
• Mayor	Suleyman Disli
Elevation	102 ft (31 m)
Population (2010)
• Urban	560.876
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Postal Code	54***
Area code(s)	(+90) 264
Website	Municipality site

Adapazarı (pronounced [adapaˈzaɾɯ]) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of Sakarya Province. The province itself was originally named Adapazarı as well. Adapazarı is a part of the densely populated region of the country, known as the Marmara Region. As of 2010, the city has a population of 560,876 (metropolitan center)

History

History of Adapazarı dates back to 378 BC. Ancient settlers included Phrygians, Bithynians, Cimmerians, Lydians and Persians, but Adapazarı got its identity from the Romans and Byzantine rulers. One of the most important remains of historical significance is the Justinianus Bridge (Turkish: Beş Köprü) built by Byzantine Emperor Justinian in 533 CE. Historically, it was situated on the old military road from Constantinople (now Istanbul) to the east, connected in Late Antiquity by the important Sangarius Bridge and, since the end of the 19th century, by a branch line with the Anatolian railway.

In 1868, the Adapazarı Municipality was officially founded on the town called Der Seadet. A sugar factory and agricultural sugar factory attracted many migrants and accelerated the industrialization of the city. A law passed on 17 June 1954 in the Grand National Assembly saw the city separated from Kocaeli Province and made the center of its own province. The 1999 Marmara Earthquake affected Adapazarı and inflicted losses in lives and damage. In the 2000 official census,the population was recorded as 158 474. By official decree, the province was renamed Sakarya after the Sakarya River which runs through it.

Climate

Adapazarı has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa), with considerable maritime and continental influences. Summers are hot and very humid, and the average maximum temperature is around 29°C in July and August, although temperatures do usually exceed 30°C in June, July, August and even September. Winters are cool and damp, and the lowest average minimum temperature is around 3°C in January. Precipitation is high and fairly evenly distributed the year round, and is heaviest in autumn, winter, spring. Snowfall is quite common between the months of December and March, snowing for a week or two, and it can be heavy once it snows.

Climate data for Adapazarı
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	9.6 (49.3)	10.6 (51.1)	13.6 (56.5)	18.7 (65.7)	23.4 (74.1)	27.6 (81.7)	29.3 (84.7)	29.3 (84.7)	26.1 (79.0)	21.2 (70.2)	16.2 (61.2)	11.5 (52.7)	19.76 (67.56)
Daily mean °C (°F)	6.1 (43.0)	6.4 (43.5)	8.6 (47.5)	12.8 (55.0)	17.3 (63.1)	21.5 (70.7)	23.4 (74.1)	23.2 (73.8)	19.5 (67.1)	15.5 (59.9)	11.3 (52.3)	8.0 (46.4)	14.47 (58.04)
Average low °C (°F)	3.1 (37.6)	3.1 (37.6)	4.7 (40.5)	8.2 (46.8)	12.1 (53.8)	15.9 (60.6)	18.1 (64.6)	18.2 (64.8)	14.5 (58.1)	11.3 (52.3)	7.4 (45.3)	5.0 (41.0)	10.13 (50.24)
Precipitation mm (inches)	94.1 (3.705)	77.0 (3.031)	70.0 (2.756)	61.2 (2.409)	49.5 (1.949)	67.1 (2.642)	53.1 (2.091)	47.6 (1.874)	47.8 (1.882)	89.4 (3.52)	85.8 (3.378)	104.2 (4.102)	846.8 (33.339)
Avg. rainy days	15.5	14.1	13.0	11.6	9.8	8.6	6.3	6.7	7.7	11.9	12.7	15.6	133.5
Mean monthly sunshine hours	71.3	81.2	117.8	150	210.8	249	272.8	260.4	204	139.5	96	71.3	1,924.1
Source: Devlet Meteoroloji İşleri Genel Müdürlüğü

Economy

Adapazarı is the location of a large automobile factory owned by the Toyota Motor Corporation, as well as the Hyundai EURotem train factory. Also one of the biggest Turkish defense industry Tank Pallet 1st Main Maintanence of Turkish Defense has located in Sakarya. Other major industries in the city and its surrounding province include the textile factories for silk and linen products. Agriculture and forestry also form an important part of the city's economy, with the production of tobacco, hazelnuts (fındık variety), walnut-wood, cocoons and vegetables.

Education

Sakarya University was founded as Sakarya Engineering and Architecture School in 1970. It renamed to Sakarya State Engineering and Architecture Academy in 1971. It opened Master of Science and Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) programs in 1980. The programs were executed by İTÜ (İstanbul Technical University) Institute of Pure and Applied Sciences. It was affiliated to İstanbul Technical University in 1982 as Sakarya Engineering Faculty in 1982. Finally It left from İTÜ and became Engineering Faculty of Sakarya University in 1992. Since there is a large student body of the university, the city of Sakarya is influenced by the university.

Sports

Adapazarı is home to Sakaryaspor. Sakaryaspor has won the Turkish Cup once and has played in the Turkcell Super League for 11 seasons. They raised again to the Bank Asya 1.Lig this year, the second level in the Turkish Football pyramid, as they beat Konya Torku Şekerspor, Bugsaşspor and Bandırmaspor consecutively in the play-off games of Spor Toto 2. Lig. Even though Sakaryaspor isn't always a permanent team in the Super League, they have raised many of Turkey's best players, such as Hakan Şükür, Tuncay Şanlı, Oğuz Çetin, Aykut Kocaman and many more.

2007 Supersport World Champion Kenan Sofuoğlu from the Sofuoğlu family, and professional carom billiards player Semih Saygıner are also two important sportsmen from Adapazarı.

People

• Kriton Ilyadis (1916–1980) - Cinematographer
• Sait Faik Abasıyanık - Writer, Poet
• Tuncay Şanlı - Bolton Wanderers and Turkey football player.
• Hakan Şükür - Former football player
• Semih Saygıner - Professional Carom billiards champion.
• Kenan Sofuoğlu - Turkish professional motorcycle racer.

Sister Cities

City	Country	Year
Delft	Netherlands
Shumen	Bulgaria