Now to some this will be a boring gallery, to others most exciting. When travelling to Adana some while ago I took a picture of a castle along the road. Recently a local student (Kerem Kemaneci) contacted me, suggesting I should visit the castle close up, adding there were several other fine destinations nearby. In answer I wrote that, not being able to drive, I rely heavily on public transport. So maybe he could supply me with some time schedules and such? Well, this kind student went a step further. He sent me a complete personalized travel guide for the region, with 11 destinations that seemed worthwhile. I was so balled over that I made an appointment to visit some of these destinations with him, the first being the castle that started it all. According to the Adana brochure it was built in the 11th century – as a crusaders castle - along the road from Antakya that later crosses the Taurus Mountains. It has 8 round towers, and the entrance gate is to the South. The garrison part of the castle, on top of the hill, has a church as well as a cistern. It was first called Govara, but by the time Evliya Çelebi, a famous travel author mentioned it in 1671 its’ name was Şahreman Castle. He suggested snakes with haired necks that were horn-headed lived here. Hence the current name. From the castle, on a clear day that is, one can see several other of the 40 castles the region contains. I visited several of them and will show them later, then link to them. I added only a few captions, in general imagine walking up to the castle from the Adana-Ceyhan road, then climb up to the castle, visit it thoroughly, then return.

Yılan Kale: Toros Dağları’nı aşarak Antakya’dan giden, Antik dönemde olduğu kadar Osmanlı döneminde de önemli olan tariki yolun üzerinde, Orta çağda 11. Yy’da yapılmış Haçlı kalelerindendir. Ovadaki diğer kaleleri de görüş alanının içine kalanin 8 yuvarlak burcu vardır. Güney’de Nazimiye Kapısı vardır. Girişten itibaren taş basamaklı merdivenlerle teraslara çıkılmaktadır. Kilise ve sarnıcı bulunan kalenion garnizonu en üst bölümde yer almıştır. Eski adı Govara olan kaleyi, 1671 yılında buradan geçen Evliya Çelebi Şahmeran Kalesi olarak tanıtmıştır. Ensesi tüylü ve boynuzlu yılanların yaşadığını alaycı bir dille ifade etmiştir. Ünlü Şahmeran hikayesinin kaynağı da işte bu kaledir. Yılankale, 40 civarında kaleye sahip Çukurova’nın, Adana’ya 30 km. mesafedeki önemli bir kalesidir.