Antakya

Antakya
Metropolitan municipality
Clockwise from top: View overlooking Antakya, St. Paul Church, Habib-i Neccar Mosque, Church of Saint Peter, Antakya Ulu Mosque
Flag Emblem of Antakya Metropolitan Municipality
Map showing Antakya District in Hatay Province
Antakya
Coordinates: 36°12′09″N 36°09′38″E / 36.20250°N 36.16056°E / 36.20250; 36.16056
Government
Area
• Total	703 km2 (271 sq mi)
Elevation	67 m (220 ft)
Population  (2022)[1]
• Total	399,045
Area code	0326
Website	www.antakya.bel.tr

Antakya (Turkish pronunciation:

On 6 February 2023, the city was heavily damaged by two powerful earthquakes with their epicentre in Kahramanmaraş. Some of the historical sites, including the Church of St Paul, have been destroyed.^[10] The earthquakes destroyed several neighbourhoods in the city and left thousands homeless. The death toll in Hatay Province, which includes Antakya, was estimated at over 20,000.^[11]

History

Antiquity

Humans have occupied the area of Antioch since the

In 637, during the reign of the Byzantine emperor

In 969, the city was reconquered for the

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.^[14] 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.^[14] It remained the capital of the Latin Principality of Antioch for nearly two centuries.

In 1268 it fell to the

.

Ottoman city

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2015)

The city was initially the centre of the

In 1822 (and

Samandağı), but this plan never came to fruition. This scheme is the subject of Letitia Elizabeth Landon's poem Antioch. (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.^[13]

The district Antakya was created in 2013 from part of the former central district of Hatay.[17]^[18]

Demographics

Language

A British traveller visiting Antakya in 1798 reported that generally, Turkish was spoken, while, by contrast, the prevalent language in Aleppo at the time was Arabic.^[19] Most Alawites and Armenians spoke Turkish as a second language.^[20]

Religion

In 1935,

Antakya was home to one of the most ancient Jewish communities for over 2,200 years.^[22]

Recent history

Mount Habib-i Neccar (Habib An-Najar in

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

It has a reputation in Turkey as a place for spells, fortune telling, miracles and spirits.^[citation needed]

Local crafts include a soap scented with the oil of

2023 earthquakes

On 6 February 2023, Antakya suffered heavy damage as a result of a

In the aftermath, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised to an immediate reconstruction of the affected areas. During a visit to the city in September 2023, The New York Times reported that heavily buildings were still being demolished and no large-scale reconstruction works were observed. Many damaged buildings remained standing but abandoned while survivors continue to live in tents. Hatay's mayor, Lutfu Savas, said only half of the estimated 38,000 buildings registered to be dismantled had been fulfilled. In Gülderen, there were ongoing works to build 2,300 apartment units in 122 blocks.[28]

Geography

Antakya is located on the banks of the

The plain of

Composition

There are 95

Climate

Antakya's climate is classified as

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.

• mosaics
  in the world.
• The rock-carved
  Church of St Peter
  , with its network of refuges and tunnels carved out of the rock, a site of Christian pilgrimage. There are also tombs cut into the rock face at various places along the Orontes valley.
• Old market district: It offers plenty of traditional shops, where you can explore what you have not seen before. It is exactly in the city centre, you are in when you see the sign Uzun Çarşı Caddesi.
• The seedy Gündüz cinema in the city centre was once used as parliament building of the
  Republic of Hatay
  .
• The waterfalls at the
  Harbiye
  / Daphne promenade.
• The
  Habib'i Neccar Mosque, the oldest mosque in Antakya and one of the oldest in Anatolia
  .
• The labyrinth of narrow streets and old Antakya houses. This district is the oldtown in fact.
• Vespasianus Titus Tunnel-Samandagı. It is approximately 35 km. far from the centre.
• Beşikli Cave and Graves (the antique city of Seleukeia Pierria)
• St. Simon Monastery
• Bagras (Bakras) Castle, which was built in antiquity and restored many times in later centuries (particularly during the Crusades, when it was a stronghold of the Knights Templar), served as a watchtower on the 27 km (17 mi) mountain road from İskenderun (Alexandretta) to Antakya (Antioch).
• The panoramic view of the city from the heights of Mount Habib-i Neccar
• St. Paul Orthodox Church

With its rich architectural heritage, Antakya is a member of the Norwich-based European Association of Historic Towns and Regions.^[37] The Roman bridge (thought to date from the era of Diocletian) was destroyed in 1972 during the widening and channelling of the Orontes.^{[citation needed]}

A panoramic view of Antakya from the Church of Saint Peter

Transport

The city is served from Hatay Airport.

Sports

Antakya has one male professional

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:

• İçli köfte and other
  oruk varieties: varieties of the Arabic kibbeh, deep-fried balls of bulgur
  wheat stuffed with minced meat; or baked in ovens in cylinder-cone shape. Saç oruğu is made of the same ingredients, however in circular shape.
• Kaytaz böreği: It is patty that is made of wheat, beef, tomato and onion.
• Katıklı ekmek: Ingredients in Katıklı Ekmek usually consist of wheat, traditional pepper (paste), spices such as sesame and theme, çökelek or cheese. It looks like an ancestor of pizza. Not a lot of restaurants serve it, however it can be found in old-market that is located in the centre and Harbiye.
• Pomegranate syrup, used as a salad dressing, called debes ramman, a traditional Levantine Arabic dressing.
• Semirsek, a thin bread with hot pepper, minced meat or spinach filling
• Spicy chicken, a specialty of Harbiye
• Za'atar (Zahter) a traditional Levantine Arabic paste of spiced thyme, oregano, and sesame seeds, mixed with olive oil, spread on flat (called pide or in English pita) bread.
• Fresh
  chick peas
  , munched as a snack.
• Hirise, boiled and pounded wheat meal.
• Aşur, meat mixed with crushed wheat, chickpea, cumin, onion, pepper and walnut

Meze

• Hummus - the chick-pea dip
• pureed
  fava beans
• Patlıcan salatası
  : Patlıcan salatası or babaganoush, made of baked and sliced aubergines that mixed with pepper and tomato. It is usually served with pomegranate syrup.
• Taratur
  : Known also as Tarator, made of walnuts, 'tahin', yoghurt and garlic.
• Süzme yoğurt: A type of yoghurt that its water content is removed with traditional methods.
• Ezme biber: It is made of pepper and walnuts.
• curds
  served in spicy olive oil
• Çökelek - the spicy sun-dried cheese
• Eels from the Orontes, spiced and fried in olive oil

Sweets/desserts

• Künefe - a hot cheese, kadaif-based sweet. Antakya is Turkey's künefe capital; the pastry shops in the centre compete to claim being kings Turkish: kral of the pastry.^{[citation needed}
  ]
• Müşebbek - rings of deep fried pastry.
• Peynirli irmik helvası - Peynirli İrmik Helvası is a dessert that is made of semolina, sugar and traditional cheese that is the same as used in künefe. It is served warm, especially in restaurants in the region Harbiye, rather than künefe shops that are located in the centre.

Antakya is

• Aalen, Germany (since 1995).

Notable people

• Alexandros (1st century BC) Greek sculptor
• George of Antioch
• Ignatius of Antioch, Patriarch of Antioch
• John Chrysostom (349–407) Patriarch of Constantinople
• Gospel of St. Luke and Acts of the Apostles
• Seljukid
  governor of the city up to its capture by the Crusaders
• Righteous among the nations
• Republic of Hatay
  during its existence between the years 1938 and 1939.

• Glanville Downey (1963). Ancient Antioch. Princeton University Press.
• Rockwell, William Walker (1911). "Antioch" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 130–132.

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Antakya.

• Pictures of Antakya
• Pictures of Antakya Museum