Antakya (Turkish pronunciation:[ɑnˈtɑkjɑ]; Local Turkish: Anteke[2]), modern form of Antioch (Ancient Greek: Ἀντιόχεια, romanized: Antiókheia; Armenian: Անտիոք, romanized: Andiok; Latin: Antiochia), is a municipality and the capital district of Hatay Province, Turkey.[3] Its area is 703 km2,[4] and its population is 399,045 (2022).[1] It is the capital of Hatay Province, the southernmost province of Turkey. The city is located in a well-watered and fertile valley on the Orontes River, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the Levantine Sea.
Today's city stands partly on the site of the ancient Antiochia (Ancient Greek: Ἀντιόχεια, Antiókheia, also known as "Antioch on the Orontes"), which was founded in the fourth century BC by the Seleucid Empire. Antioch later became one of the Roman Empire's largest cities, and was made the capital of the provinces of Syria and Coele-Syria. It was also an influential early center of Christianity;[5] the New Testament asserts that the name "Christian" first emerged in Antioch.[6] The city gained much ecclesiastical importance in the Byzantine Empire. Captured by Umar ibn al-Khattab in the seventh century, the medieval Antakiyah (Arabic: أنطاكية, ʾAnṭākiya) was conquered or re-conquered several times: by the Byzantines in 969, the Seljuks in 1084,[7] the Crusaders in 1098,[8] the Mamluks in 1268,[9] and eventually the Ottomans in 1517,[8] who would integrate it to the Aleppo Eyalet then to the Aleppo Vilayet. The city joined the Hatay State under the French Mandate before joining the Turkish Republic.
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]
From "The Acts of the Apostles", Chapter 11 Verse 26
“And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.”
Rashidun period
Recapture of Antioch in 969
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 أنطاكية (ʾAnṭākiya). Since the Umayyad Caliphate 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. After the demise of Umayyad rule, Antioch became part of the Abbasid empire (except for a brief rule of the Tulunids[12]), Ikhshidids and Hamdanids.
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 EgyptianMamluk Sultan Baybars after another siege. Baibars proceeded to massacre the Christian population.[15] 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.
Ottoman city
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Densely built Antakya in 1912: the traditional Muslim city shows no trace of its Hellenistic planning. To the east, orchards (green) fill the plain.
In 1822 (and again in 1872), Antakya was hit by an earthquake and damaged. When Egyptian 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 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] Later the city developed and rapidly resumed much of its old importance when a railway was built along the lower Orontes Valley.
The district Antakya was created in 2013 from part of the former central district of Hatay.[18][19]
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.[20] Most Alawites and Armenians spoke Turkish as a second language.[21]
Religion
In 1935, Turkish and Arab Muslims made more than 80% of the population.
Antakya was home to one of the most ancient Jewish communities for over 2,200 years.[23]
Recent history
The marketplace in central Antakya
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.[citation needed] The narrow streets of the old city can become clogged with traffic.
Antakya is a provincial capital 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.
Courtyard of the Church of Apostles Peter and Paul in Antakya
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. While almost all the inhabitants are Muslim, a substantial proportion adhere to the Alevi and Alawite 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 Hürriyet Avenue.[24] 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.[25][26] In 2023, the last Jew in the city announced that he was leaving the city after a devastating earthquake.[27]
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 bay tree.
The Museum Hotel Antakya opened in 2020. A 9,000 square-foot Roman mosaic is displayed inside the hotel
Satellite image of Antakya before and after the earthquake
On 6 February 2023, Antakya suffered heavy damage as a result of a major earthquake.[28] Many parts of the city were totally destroyed.[29] As of 7 February, the BBC reported that at least 1,200 buildings in the city center and the districts of Kırıkhan and İskenderun were razed. Officials said "almost all" houses in the Cebrail District had collapsed.[30] Many historical sites, including churches and mosques, were destroyed,[31]St. Paul's Church being one of them.[32] The historic Antakya Synagogue and Hatay State Assembly Building were also destroyed.[33][34]
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.[29]
Geography
Antakya is located on the banks of the Orontes River (Turkish: Asi Nehri), approximately 22 km (14 mi) inland from the Mediterranean coast. The city is in a valley surrounded by mountains, the Nur Mountains (ancient Amanos) to the northwest 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.
Antakya's climate is classified as hot-summer Mediterranean (Köppen: Csa) or dry-summer humid subtropical (Trewartha: Cf or wet Cs). The city experiences hot, dry summers, and mild, wet winters; though its higher altitude allows for lower temperatures than the coast.
Highest recorded temperature:45.2 °C (113.4 °F) on 13 August 2023 Lowest recorded temperature:−11.8 °C (10.8 °F) on 14 January 1950
Climate data for Antakya (1991–2020, extremes 1940–2023)
Mustafa Kemal University, abbreviated as MKU, has several faculties including Engineering and Medicine, while having a campus called Tayfur Sökmen located in Serinyol district 15 km (9.3 mi), north of Antakya (centrum). Established in 1992, currently more than 32,000 students enrolled at the university.[38]
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.
Main sights
St. Paul Orthodox Church.Museum Hotel Antakya.
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.
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.
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.[39] 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
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.
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.
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.
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.
^Nakib, Bülent (2004). Antakya ağzı: dilbilgisi ve sözlük (in Turkish). Hatay Folklor Araştırmaları Derneği. p. 43. Anteke : Antakya adının Antakya ağzında söyleniş biçimi
^Büyükşehir İlçe Belediyesi, Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
^"The mixture of Roman, Greek, and Jewish elements admirably adapted Antioch for the great part it played in the early history of Christianity. The city was the cradle of the church." — "Antioch," Encyclopaedia Biblica, Vol. I, p. 186 (p. 125 of 612 in online .pdf file. Warning: Takes several minutes to download).
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