Yumurtalık (Turkish: [juˈmuɾtaɫɯk]), formerly called Aegeae, Ayas, Lyeys or Laiazzo,[2] is a municipality and district of Adana Province, Turkey.

Yumurtalık has a large free economic zone housing the production units of up to thirty companies presently in operation or in phase of being built.

It was Christianised at an early date, and while no longer retaining a residential bishop, remains a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church under the name of Aegeae.

[12] The Saints Cosmas and Damian are mentioned in Christian hagiography to have been twin brothers, physicians who practiced their profession in Aegeae, accepting no payment for their services, and eventually suffering martyrdom under Diocletian.

The fall of Acre[15] and the silting up of the harbour of Tarsus—together with the advantage of Ayas's good roads eastward—led to the city briefly becoming the principal centre of trade between West and East during the High Middle Ages.

Marco Polo disembarked here to begin his trip to China in 1271, he reportedly described it as a “city good for good trade,” adding that “all spices, silk, gold and wool from inland were carried to this town.”[18] The Battle of Laiazzo in 1294, in which the navy of the Republic of Genoa overcame that of the Republic of Venice, is thought by some to be that in which Marco Polo later became a prisoner of the Genoese.

Christianity came early to Aegeae, to judge by the numerous martyrs recorded in the Acta Sanctorum and the Greek menologia, of whom the most famous are Saints Cosmas and Damian, commemorated in the Roman Martyrology under 26 September.

The basic plan of the fortress may have been laid in late antiquity, but extensive rebuilding belongs to the early period of Ottoman occupation, when it served as a minor port for the fleet of Suleiman the Magnificent.

The sea castle, which is located on an island about 400 meters east of the shore, consists of a tight cluster of five chambers encased in a massive irregular bastion.

Although there are the distinct traces of late antique foundations (e.g., dovetail sockets), the peculiar masonry and construction techniques of the sea castle are those typically used during Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia and may date from the reported re-fortification of the harbour in A.D.

[26] The watchtower, which is located 1.5 kilometers west of the land castle, was built by Suleiman the Magnificent in the mid 16th century with spolia from the nearby late antique city.

In fact the amount of beach-front holiday property is also part of the problem, even though the sand is clean the turtles won't lay eggs in these busy beaches with neon-lit discothèques blasting out all night.

As well as tourism, the fertile agricultural lands that extend behind the coast are also a key factor in local economy and quality tomatoes, watermelons and other fruits and vegetables are extensively produced in Yumurtalık.