İskenderun

İskenderun is a ceety an urban destrict in the province o Hatay on the Mediterranean coast o Turkey. The current mayor is Yusuf Hamit Civelek (CHP).

 Names 
The antique ceety wis namit Alexandretta (in Auncient Greek Ἀλεξανδρέττα) at its foondin in honour o Alexander the Great which it retained durin the Roman period. This later mutatit tae al-ʼIskandarūn (Arabic الإسكندرون) wi the Islamic period an then tae İskenderun in Turkis.

 Geography 
İskenderun is locatit on the Mediterranean coast on Gulf o İskenderun at the fuit o the Nur Muntains (Amanos Mountains).

İskenderun is a busy commercial centre, the lairgest ceety in the Hatay Province, surpassin the Hatay provincial seat o Antakya. The ceety is ane o Turkey's lairgest ports on the Mediterranean an an important industrial centre hame tae the İsdemir steelwirks, ane o Turkey's lairgest. İskenderun haes an active, modren life wi guid hotels, restaurants an cafes alang the palm-lined sea front, an thare is a variety o accommodation for visitors. İskenderun is an aw an important naval trainin base.

 Climate 
The climate on this stretch o the Mediterranean is het an humid in simmer, when fowk escape tae the kintraside or tae the beach. At certaint times o the year the toun is swept bi the strang wind cried 'Yarıkkaya'. The kintraside conteens lairge auries o fruit groves, important producers o oranges, tangerines an leemons, an even tropical fruits sic as mangoes. Winters are mild an wet.

 Cuisine 
Destinctive İskenderun dishes include Künefe, a het dessert wi cheese. The main dishes include the Turkis staples sic as döner an ither kebabs servit in the flat dürüm breid, lahmacun, an an aw Antakya influenced cuisine includin kibbeh, an sour pomegranate syrup uised as a salad dressin. İskenderun in pairticular affers guid quality fish an prawns.

 History 
 Antiquity 
İskenderun preserves the name, but probably no the exact steid, o Alexandria ad Issum (İskender bein the Arabic renderin o Alexander). The dounset wis foondit bi Alexander the Great in 333 BC tae supersede Myriandrus as the key tae the Sirie Gates, aboot 23 mile sooth o the scene o his victory at the Battle o Issus. The importance o the place iver syne haes derived frae its relation tae this pass, the easiest approach tae the open grund o Hatay Province an o Northren Sirie, an the Romans continued tae fecht wi Persie for control o this aurie during thair era o dominance.

Alexander campit at the heich-lands o İskenderun, aroond Esentepe, an then ordered the ceety tae be established an namit "Alexandria". İskenderun is ane o mony ceeties foondit bi Alexander's orders, includin Alexandria.

 Ottoman Era 
The aurie wis still a scene o fechtin unner the Ottomans, as it wis here in 1606 that the airmy o general Kuyucu Murat Pasha suppressed the rural uprisin o Celali Canbulatoğlu.  The Ottomans continued tae fortifee the ceety an the remains o early 17t century Ottoman castle waws can still be seen, (whaur the Güzün stream crosses the Varyant road). The ceety wis well describit in 1675 bi the Inglis naval chaplain Henry Teonge in his diary. The next airmy tae cross the Pass o Belen an attack Anatolie throu here wur the Egyptians o Muhammad Ali in 1832.

Housomeivver in the later Ottoman period the ceety grew an grew as the main ootlet for the owerland tred frae Baghdad an Indie, which haed great importance until the establishment o the Egyptian owerland route. Iskenderun served as a base first o Genoese an Venetian merchants, then Wast an North European merchants. The Breetish Levant Company maintained an agency an factory here for 200 years, till 1825, in spite o appallin mortality amang its employees. Durin the 19t century the port grew, the railwey wis biggit in 1912, an the road tae Aleppo wis impruivit.

At the ootset o Warld War I when Breetain wis contemplatin the dismemberment o the Ottoman Empire, Laird Kitchener considered the conquest o Alexandretta tae be essential in providin Breetain wi a port an railheid frae which tae access Iraq. He proposed a new railwey frae Alexandretta which wad greatly reduce the time for reachin Indie frae the UK. The de Bunsen Committee (8 Aprile - 30 Juin 1915), a Breetish inter-depairtmental group which wis set up tae discuss the issue in greater detail, preferred Haifa for this purpose.

 Republic o Hatay 

Follaein the collapse o the Ottoman Empire at the end o the First Warld War maist o Hatay includin İskenderun wis occupeed bi French troops an in 1921 wis established as the autonomous Sanjak o Alexandretta athin French-controlled Sirie. This led tae the foondation o the Republic o Hatay. In 1939, the Republic o Hatay jynt wi the Republic o Turkey, efter a referendum. See Hatay Province for a detailed history o this era.

 Main sichts 
 Yakacik (Payas) - conteens a splendid ensaumple o Ottoman airchitectur datin back tae the 16t century; the Sokollu Mehmet Pasha Complex comprisin a mosque, bath (hamam), bazaar, caravanserai, an madrasa. 
 Arsuz (Uluçınar), holiday toun on the coast tae the sooth o İskenderun, wi bonnie sandy beaches, a vera warm sea, an places o historical interest. The coast is lined wi holiday hames an thare is accommodation in hotels or guest hooses.
 The Cathedral o the Annunciation is the seat o the Roman Catholic Apostolic Vicariate o Anatolie.
 Soğukoluk, muntain resort on the wey tae Antakya a quiet retreat frae the heat o the coast in simmer months.
 Bakras - The castle wis biggit in antiquity an hintle restored syne, a watchtouer on the muntain road, 27 km (17 mi) frae İskenderun on the road tae Antakya.

 Media 
Iskenderun is served bi the Güney Gazetesi newspaper

 Cultural references 
 In the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Jones claims the Holy Grail is in the "canyon o the crescent muin" ootside o Alexandretta. Indiana explains that Alexandretta wis completely demolished bi the end o the first crusades an that the ceety is nou kent as Iskenderun, even tho that name is simply Alexandretta in Arabic.
 The progressive metal group Andromeda released the sang "İskenderun" on thair album Chimera.

 See an aw 
Çukurova
Hatay Province
Names o Asie ceeties in different leids
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

 References 

 İskenderun Guide 

 Freemit airtins 
 İskenderun 
 İskenderun picturs 
 İskenderun News 
 Information on İskenderun  
 Catholic Kirk o İskenderun 

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Category:Çukurova
Category:Auncient Greek steids in Turkey
Category:Mediterranean port ceeties an touns in Turkey
Category:History o Sirie
Category:Populatit coastal places in Turkey
Category:Populatit places in Hatay Province
Category:Fishin communities in Turkey
Category:Jewish communities in Turkey