Samandağ ( ar, السويدية, ''as-Sūwaydīyah''), formerly known as Süveydiye, is a town and district in Hatay Province of southern

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, at the mouth of the Asi River on the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

coast, near Turkey's border with Syria, from the city of

Antakya Antakya (), historically known as Antioch ( el, Ἀντιόχεια; hy, Անտիոք, Andiok), 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 Rive ...

Etymology

Samandağ was formerly known as ''Süveydiye'', ''Yukarı Alevışık'' and ''Levşiye''. It was officially named Samandağ (Seman Dağ, Turkish for Jabal Sem'an: St. Symeon Mountain) in 1948. In Armenian, it was known as ''Svetia'' (). Samandag1

History

Samandağ lies near the site of the ancient Seleucia Pieria, founded in 300 BC by

Seleucus Nicator Seleucus I Nicator (; ; grc-gre, Σέλευκος Νικάτωρ , ) was a Macedonian Greek general who was an officer and successor ( ''diadochus'') of Alexander the Great. Seleucus was the founder of the eponymous Seleucid Empire. In the po ...

, a general of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

, in the

Seleucid The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...

era that followed Alexander's demise. Seleucia Pieria quickly became a major Mediterranean port of the

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

eras, the port of

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

. However, it was subject to silting and an earthquake in 526 finally completed its demise as a port. During the 6th century, Saint

Simeon Stylites the Younger Saint Simeon Stylites the Younger, also known as Simeon of the Admirable Mountain ( el, Συμεὼν ὁ νεώτερος ὁ στυλίτης, Arabic: مار سمعان العمودي الأصغر ''mār semʻān l-ʻamūdī l-asghar'') (521 ...

lived on Saman Dağı, a nearby mountain that is also known in Christian sources as the "Wondrous Mountain" or the "Admirable Mountain." Samandağ, then called St Symeon, became the port of Antioch, and played an important role in the capture of the city by the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

in 1098, to be known as Soudin. The whole area was known as Svediye, where six villages of Armenians were located (Bityas, Kabousiye, Haji Habibly, Kheder Beg, Yoghoun Olouk and Vakif) until 1939, the so called "Referrendum", when all the Armenian villagers (over 6000) emigrated to Anjar, Lebanon. Only a small part of Vakif remained and are still in the village, now called Vakifly.

Geography

Samandağ itself is a small town of 35,000 people, close to the city of

. The local economy depends on fishing and agriculture, especially citrus fruits, and Samandağ has the air of a country market town, with young men buzzing through the streets on mopeds. Around the midtown of Çevlik (derived from Seleucia), there is a long sandy coastline popular with daytrippers from

, although the sea can be stormy. This is an important nesting area of the endangered sea turtle ''

Caretta caretta The loggerhead sea turtle (''Caretta caretta'') is a species of oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around in carapace length when fully ...

''.

Population

The vast majority of the population is composed of

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

speakers who adhere to the Alawism and/or Nusayrism. There are also Sunni

Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

and

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

. There are

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

and Antiochian Greek Orthodox Christian communities in the district, with around 2,000 people. The village of Vakıflı is Turkey's only remaining rural

community.

Local politics

Politically Samandağ is traditionally left-leaning. In the 2009 local elections,

Freedom and Solidarity Party The Left Party ( tr, Sol Parti, often written as SOL Parti), is a secular, socialist political party in Turkey. The Party was founded after Freedom and Solidarity Party ( tr, Özgürlük ve Dayanışma Partisi - ÖDP) decided to change its name ...

(ÖDP) candidate Mithat Nehir was elected mayor of the ''

ilçe The 81 provinces of Turkey are divided into 973 districts (''ilçeler''; sing. ''ilçe''). In the early Turkish Republic and in the Ottoman Empire, the corresponding unit was the ''kaza''. Most provinces bear the same name as their respectiv ...

'' with 34.20% of the votes (the CHP candidate got 31.77%, the AKP one 14.07%) he was then the sole victorious ÖDP candidate in the entire republic. In September 2013, he joined the CHP under which banner he successfully contested the next 2014 local elections.
Kılıçdaroğlu Mithat Nehir'e rozeti taktı
, ''

Akşam ''Akşam'' (''Evening'') is a Turkish newspaper founded in 1918, owned by Zeki Yeşildağ's Türk Medya Grup (T Medya Yatırım San. ve Tic. AŞ.) since 2013. In 2013 it had a circulation of around 100,000. History ''Akşams founders in 1918 incl ...

'', 22 September 2013 In the local elections in March 2019 Refik Eryılmaz was elected Mayor for the Republican People's Party (CHP). The current District Governor is Murat Kütük.

Places of interest

File:Samandag4.JPG, Inside view of the Vespasian Tunnel File:Vespasian-Titus-Tunnel.jpg, Exit of the Vespasian Tunnel File:Monastery of St Simeon Stylites the Younger 3.jpg, Monastery of St Simeon Stylites the Younger * The tunnel of

Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death. Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...

, in the village of ''Kapısuyu '', built as a water channel in the 2nd century. * The tomb of the Muslim saint Hızır. * Vakıflı, the only remaining

village in Turkey. * Monastery of

References

External links

All About of Samandag

Governorship of Samandag

photo album of Samandağ

* Seleucia Pieria {{DEFAULTSORT:Samandag Populated places in Hatay Province Populated coastal places in Turkey Districts of Hatay Province Mountains associated with Byzantine monasticism