TURKEY HATAY - ISKENDERUN (ALEXANDRETTA)

ISKENDERUN (ALEXANDRETTA)

The foundations of this city were laid in 333 BC, after the victory of Alexander the great, King of Madeconians, over the Persian King Darius III at Issos. It is a modern district, spreading out along the narrow shore of a gulf with the same name and resting against the foothills of the Amanos Mountains, which rise like a wall immediately behind it. This tourism centre, cerdant and warm year around.

ARSUZ,  with its inviting sea and sandy beaches, is one of the most popular resort areas in the region and certainly worth a visit. Other historical sites that should not missed are Columned Port( Sutunlu Liman) Port of Frank ( Frank Liman), Chateau Ruins ( Sato Kalintisi) , Salen Castle( Bakbras Kalesi) , at one time an important stronghold vital to the control of the caravan routes to and from Arabia, contains a church inside Among the must see of the area is also the Column of Jonah ( Yunus Sutunu) .According to some belief, the place where the Prophet Jonah was freed from the belly of the big fish was marked by the Jonah Columnn which was also the part of the entrance gate to the ancient city of Cilicia.

SAMADAG was an important seaport originally founded by the Seleucids in 310 BC as Seleucia Pieria, although there is evidence of Epipaleolithic Period settlement at Cevlik. In ancient times, it was the port ( St Paul’s first voyage to Tarsus began here) for Antioch, which was the capital city. The remains of a Doric –order temple can be seen. During the Roman Period, the town was a naval base. The ancient harbor was located at the mouth of the Asi River, which constantly threatened to fill the harbor up with alluvium from the mountains. To prevent this, the Tunnel of Titus (a covered channel measuring 1330 metres long) was built in the 1^st century AD by the Roman Emperor Vespasian. Carved into the limestone cliffs near the tunnel are twelve clock tombs that date back to Roman times , the largest and most famous of which is the Besikli Cave.

THE MONASTERY OF ST SIMON, set on the highest peak of Samadag (lit Mt Saman), is a 5^th century refuge for Stylites who are a kind of anchorites living on pillars. Its founder St. Simon closed himself in a cell outside the city for 3 years after completing his religious studies in a monastery. 

Later, he climbed a mountain near the city and spent long years on top of a natural stone carved pillar. According to popular belief, the pillar grew taller with each sitting and reached a maximum height of 13 metres. As word of Simon’s patience, faith and endurance spread through Christian world, people suffering from illness or physical defect flocked here in the belief that he had the power to cure them. Vakifli Village,located on the slopes of Mountain Musa in Samandag  district of Hatay, is mostly populated by Armenians and maintains good neighbourhood relations in harmony with the villages in its environs . The cultural diversity and colourfulness of this area significantly contribute to the enrichment of the city.

In the village of Hiin dirbey is a gigantic plane tree twenty metres tall that is estimated to be 2 thousand years old. The ruins of ancient city of El-Mina which was once a Greek colonial city in the 2^nd century B.C. and its harbor Erzin lie where the Asi River empties into the sea in Samandag are worth a visit as well as the ruins of Issos ( Issus) ,an ancient include those of a temple, an aqueduct and cisterns and a Genoese fortress and harbor.

If you are travelling along the cost below the Amanos Mountains, we recommend a stop at Payas ( Yakacik a charming seaside town known as Baias in ancient times. In 1516, it became an Ottoman possession after the Battle of Mercidabik. The famous Ottoman architect Sinan built a large complex of structures measuring about 15000 square metres here in 1574 for Grand Vizier Sokullu Mehmet Pasha, after which Payas became an important landing place and way station for travellers.

 Making used of a Crusader fortress and talking advantage of the proximity to the sea, a pier,customs station, dockyard, tower and other buildings were erected here in the 16^th century during the reign of Selim II, making Payas a key border region outpost and stopping place –attributes that it was to retain for many years afterwards.

To the west of Sinan’s buildings Payas Castle where foreign ships take on water. The castle, which is surrounded by a ditch, has 8 towers and 7 bastions.

Another old tower of military importance in Jinn’s Tower ( Cin Kulesi ), located on a prominence between the Sokullu Mehmed Pasha Complex and the seashore. It is thought to have been built by the Crusaders or perhaps the Genose.

Other places of historical interest in the province are Kozkalesi ( Kursat Castle), Gelinler Mountain Settlement and Necropolis, which are located in Altinozi district. The Barleam Monastery located on Mount Cassius ( Keldag) in Yayladagi district has been regarded as sacred since Hittite times and it is really worth visiting just like the Mancinik Castle in Dortyol district. 

Moreover , in Reyhanli, Hatay’s second most important agricultural district, it is impossible to see many ancient mounds composed of the remains of successive settlements which show that  the evidence of habitation dates as far back as 3400 BC : TEL ACANA, TAYINAT, IMNA (YENISEHIR) , CUDEYDE AND CATALHOYUK ( KANULA). The PALACE OF THE GIRLS (Kizlar Sarayi) , also known as the Nun’s Monastery  ( rahibeler Manastiri) , is another historical asset located in central district. This very old and important religious centre contains both a monastery and a church. It would also be quite an experience to visit Turkmen Tombs( Turkmen Mezarlari) found in the district of Hassa. These tombs are locally known as Karapinar Mezarlari and include gravestones dating back to 1271 AD.