Antakya
Humans have occupied the area of Antioch since the Calcolithic era (6th millennium BC), as revealed by archaeological excavations of the mound of Tell-Açana, among others. The King of Macedon Alexander the Great, after defeating the Persians in the Battle of Issus in 333 BC, followed the Orontes south into Syria and occupied the area. The city of Antioch was founded in 300 BC, after the death of Alexander, by the Hellenistic Seleucid King Seleucus I Nicator. It played an important role as one of the largest cities in the Hellenistic Seleucid Kingdom, in the Roman Empire, and in the Byzantine Empire. The city swapped hands between the Byzantines and the Persian Sassanids in the 3rd century and was the battleground for the siege of Antioch where Shapur I defeated the Roman army, and a later Battle of Antioch (613) where the Persians were successful at capturing the city for the last time. It was a key city during the early history of Christianity, in particular that of the Syriac Orthodox Church and the Antiochian Orthodox Church, as well as during the rise of Islam and the Crusades. In 637, during the reign of the Byzantine emperor Heraclius, Antioch was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate during the Battle of the Iron Bridge. The city became known in Arabic as (). Since the Umayyad dynasty was unable to penetrate the Anatolian plateau, Antioch found itself on the frontline of the conflicts between two hostile empires during the next 350 years, so that the city went into a precipitous decline. In 969, the city was reconquered for the Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas by Michael Bourtzes and the "stratopedarches" Peter. It soon became the seat of a "dux", who commanded the forces of the local themes and was the most important officer on the Empire's eastern border, held by such men as Nikephoros Ouranos. In 1078, Philaretos Brachamios, an Armenian rebel, seized power. He held the city until the Seljuk Turks captured it from him in 1084. The Sultanate of Rum held it only fourteen years before the Crusaders arrived. The Crusaders' Siege of Antioch between October 1097 and June 1098 during the First Crusade resulted in its fall. The Crusaders caused significant damage, including a massacre of its population, both Christian and Muslim. Following the defeat of Seljuk forces arriving with the aim to break the siege only four days after its capture by the crusaders, Bohemond I became its overlord. It remained the capital of the Latin Principality of Antioch for nearly two centuries. In 1268 it fell to the Egyptian Mamluk Sultan Baibars after another siege. Baibars proceeded to massacre the Christian population. In addition to suffering the ravages of war, the city lost its commercial importance because trade routes to East Asia moved north following the 13th-century Mongol conquests. Antioch never recovered as a major city, with much of its former role falling to the port city of Alexandretta ("İskenderun"). An account of both cities as they were in 1675 appears in the diary of the English naval chaplain Henry Teonge. The city was initially the centre of the Sanjak of Antakya, part of the Damascus Eyalet. It was laterly centre of Sanjak of Antakya in Aleppo Eyalet. It was finally kaza centre in Sanjak of Aleppo, part of Aleppo Vilayet. In 1822 (and again in 1872), Antakya was hit by an earthquake and damaged. When Ottoman general Ibrahim Pasha established his headquarters in the city in 1835, it had only some 5,000 inhabitants. Supporters hoped the city might develop thanks to the Euphrates Valley Railway, which was supposed to link it to the port of Sueida (now Samandağı), but this plan never came to fruition. This scheme is the subject of Letitia Elizabeth Landon's poem (1836) in which she reflects of the superiority of trade and commerce over war and conflict. The city suffered repeated outbreaks of cholera due to inadequate infrastructure for sanitation. Later the city developed and rapidly resumed much of its old importance when a railway was built along the lower Orontes Valley. Antioch was part of the Sanjak of Alexandretta during the Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon, until it was made the Hatay State in 1938, after Turkish pressure. An Arab nationalist newspaper in the city, run by Zaki al-Arsuzi, was shut down by the Turks. The annexation of the Hatay State by Turkey in 1939, creating the Hatay Province, caused an exodus of Christians and Alawites from Antioch east to the French Mandate. In 1935, Turkish and Arab Muslims made more than 80% of population. A British traveller at Antakya in year 1798 said "the language here is generally Turkish" (while, by contrast the prevalent language at Aleppo at the time was Arabic). Mount Habib-i Neccar (Habib An-Najar in "Sura al-Yassin" 36:13) and the city walls which climb the hillsides symbolise Antakya, making the city a formidable fortress built on a series of hills running north-east to south-west. Antakya was originally centred on the east bank of the river. Since the 19th century, the city has expanded with new neighbourhoods built on the plains across the river to the south-west, and four bridges connect the old and new cities. Many of the buildings of the last two decades are styled as concrete blocks, and Antakya has lost much of its classic beauty. The narrow streets of the old city can become clogged with traffic. Although the port city Iskenderun has become the largest city in Hatay, Antakya is a provincial capital still of considerable importance as the centre of a large district. The draining of Lake Amik and development of land have caused the region's economy to grow in wealth and productivity. The town is a lively shopping and business centre with many restaurants, cinemas and other amenities. This district is centred on a large park opposite the governor's building and the central avenue "Kurtuluş Caddesı". The tea gardens, cafes and restaurants in the neighbourhood of "Harbiye" are popular destinations, particularly for the variety of "meze" in the restaurants. The Orontes River can be malodorous when water is low in summer. Rather than formal nightlife, in the summer heat, people will stay outside until late at the night to walk with their families and friends, and munch on snacks. Its location near the Syrian border makes Antakya more cosmopolitan than many cities in Turkey. It did not attract the mass immigration of people from eastern Anatolia in the 1980s and 1990s that radically swelled the populations of Mediterranean cities such as Adana and Mersin. Both Turkish and Arabic are still widely spoken in Antakya, although written Arabic is rarely used. A mixed community of faiths and denominations co-exist peacefully here. Although almost all the inhabitants are Muslim, a substantial proportion adhere to the Alevi and the Arab Alawi traditions, in 'Harbiye' there is a place to honour the saint Hızır. Numerous tombs of saints, of both Sunni and Alawite, are located throughout the city. Several small Christian communities are active in the city, with the largest church being St. Peter and St. Paul on Hurriyet Caddesi. With its long history of spiritual and religious movements, Antakya is a place of pilgrimage for Christians. The Jewish community of Antakya had shrunk to 14 members in 2014. It has a reputation in Turkey as a place for spells, fortune telling, miracles and spirits. Local crafts include a soap scented with the oil of bay tree. Antakya is located on the banks of the Orontes River (), approximately inland from the Mediterranean coast. The city is in a valley surrounded by mountains, the Nur Mountains (ancient Amanos) to the north and Mount Keldağ (Jebel Akra) to the south, with the 440 m high Mount Habib-i Neccar (the ancient Mount Silpius) forming its eastern limits. The mountains are a source of a green marble. Antakya is at the northern edge of the Dead Sea Rift and vulnerable to earthquakes. The plain of Amik to the north-east of the city is fertile soil watered by the Orontes, the Karasu and the Afrin rivers; the lake in the plain was drained in 1980 by a French company. At the same time channels were built to widen the Orontes and let it pass neatly through the city centre. The Orontes is joined in Antakya by the Hacı Kürüş stream to the north-east of the city near the church of St Peter, and the Hamşen which runs down from Habib-i Neccar to the south-west, under Memekli Bridge near the army barracks. Flora includes the bay trees and myrtle. The city experiences a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification "Csa") with hot and dry summers, and mild and wet winters; however due to its higher altitude, Antakya has slightly cooler temperatures than the coast. Mustafa Kemal University, abbreviated as MKU, has several faculties including Engineering and Medicine, while having a campus called Tayfur Sökmen located in Serinyol district , north of Antakya (centrum). Established in 1992, currently more than 32,000 students enrolled at the university. Besides the campus in Serinyol, MKU has its faculties spread out in all main districts of the province including Altınözü, Antakya, Belen, Dörtyol, Erzin, Hassa, İskenderun, Kırıkhan, Reyhanlı, Samandağ and Yayladağı. The long and varied history has created many architectural sites of interest. There is much for visitors to see in Antakya, although many buildings have been lost in the rapid growth and redevelopment of the city in recent decades. With its rich architectural heritage , Antakya is a member of the Norwich-based European Association of Historic Towns and Regions external_link_1. The Roman bridge (thought to date from the era of Diocletian) was destroyed in 1972 during the widening and channelling of the Orontes. The city is served from Hatay Airport. Antakya has one male professional football club, Hatayspor, who play in the Süper Lig. There is also a female professional team called Hatay Büyükşehir Belediyesi. Hatay Büyükşehir Belediyespor, a woman's basketball team, is also present, and plays in the Turkish Women's Basketball League. The cuisine of Antakya is renowned. Its cuisine is considered Levantine rather than Turkish. The cuisine offers plenty of meals, where beef and lamb are mainly used. Popular dishes include the typical Turkish "kebab", served with spices and onions in flat unleavened bread, with yoghurt as "ali nazik" kebab, oruk, kaytaz böreği and katıklı ekmek . Hot, spicy food is a feature of this part of Turkey, along with Turkish coffee and local specialties. Here are some savoury foods:





"Meze"

with pepper and tomato. It is usually served with pomegranate syrup. Sweets/desserts Antakya is twinned with:
History ; Antiquity
Antioch later became one of the Roman Empire's largest cities, and was made the capital of the provinces of Syria and Coele-Syria. The city gained much ecclesiastical importance in the Byzantine Empire.