Sökün Karting

In Adana, in the Seyhan district, Sökün Karting lays out one thousand two hundred metres of open-air track, enough for a genuine sporting layout beside the Seyhan river. You drive nine-horsepower karts on a fast course that has hosted competition rounds organised with the metropolitan municipality. The length of the circuit leaves real chances to overtake and to build up speed, a far cry from small urban tracks.

Karting stays open to all, with no licence or experience: a briefing, a helmet, and you head off to find your best lap. The track appeals to families as much as to confident drivers out to test themselves against the clock, in a green setting along the river. As the activity takes place outdoors in a city with very hot summers, it is best to favour the end of the day and check opening times by season. People rarely leave after a single run, the urge to do better soon taking over.

Adana is the great metropolis of southern Turkey, at the heart of the fertile Çukurova plain, given over to cotton growing. The city is famous for its spicy cuisine, starting with the well-known Adana kebab, and for its heritage: the Roman bridge of Taşköprü that spans the Seyhan, one of the largest mosques in the country and its lively bazaars. The Seyhan dam and lake offer a breath of air north of the city. Adana is linked by motorway, rail and an airport, which makes it a major crossroads between the Mediterranean and Anatolia.