Samandağ, formerly known as Süveydiye (), is a municipality and

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Hatay Province Hatay Province (, ) is the southernmost province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey. Its area is , and its population is 1,686,043 (2022). It is situated mostly outside Anatolia, along the eastern coast of the Levantine Sea. The province ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Its area is 384 km², and its population is 123,447 (2022). It lies 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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

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

Antakya Antakya (), Turkish form of Antioch, is a municipality and the capital Districts of Turkey, district of Hatay Province, Turkey. Its area is . Prior to the devastating 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, 2023 earthquakes, its population was recorded ...

. In February 2023, the town was heavily damaged by powerful earthquakes.

Etymology

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

History

Samandağ lies near the site of the ancient

Seleucia Pieria Seleucia in Pieria (Greek Σελεύκεια ἐν Πιερίᾳ), also known in English as Seleucia by the Sea, and later named Suedia, was a Hellenistic town, the seaport of Antioch ad Orontes ( Syria Prima), the Seleucid capital, modern Anta ...

, founded in 300 BC after the

Persian Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the larg ...

was ousted from the region by Seleucus Nicator, a general of

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

, in the Seleucid 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 Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

and Roman eras, the port of

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

. 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 Simeon Stylites the Younger, also known as Simeon of the Admirable Mountain (, Arabic: مار سمعان العمودي الأصغر ''mār semʻān l-ʻamūdī l-asghar''; 521 – 596/597), is a saint in the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox ...

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. The area was conquered by the

Rashidun Caliphate The Rashidun Caliphate () is a title given for the reigns of first caliphs (lit. "successors") — Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali collectively — believed to Political aspects of Islam, represent the perfect Islam and governance who led the ...

in 637 after the Battle of the Iron Bridge and later it came under the control of the

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

and

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

dynasties. It was then reconquered by the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

s under

Nikephoros II Phokas Nikephoros II Phokas (; – 11 December 969), Latinized Nicephorus II Phocas, was Byzantine emperor from 963 to 969. His career, not uniformly successful in matters of statecraft or of war, nonetheless greatly contributed to the resurgence of t ...

but later conquered by the

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turks, Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate society, Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persi ...

under general Afşin Bey after the

Battle of Manzikert The Battle of Manzikert or Malazgirt was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Empire on 26 August 1071 near Manzikert, Iberia (theme), Iberia (modern Malazgirt in Muş Province, Turkey). The decisive defeat of the Byzantine army ...

which resulted in a disastrous defeat for the

s. It played an important role in the capture of the city by the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

in 1098, to be known as Soudin. The area was known as Svediye, where six villages of

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

were located (Bityas, Kabousiye, Haji Habibly, Kheder Beg, Yoghoun Olouk and Vakif). After the French government agreed to give Hatay Province to Turkey in 1939, all Armenian villagers (with the exception of some from Vakif) emigrated to

Anjar, Lebanon Anjar (meaning "unresolved or running river"); / ALA-LC: ''‘Anjar''; also known as '' Hawsh Mousa'' ( / ''Ḥawsh Mūsá''), is a town of Lebanon, near the Syrian border, located in the Bekaa Valley. The population is 2,400, consisting almos ...

. Vakıflı, the village's modern name, is the only remaining Armenian village in Turkey.

Geography

Samandağ itself is a small town, about from 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''.

Climate

Samandağ has a

hot-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Csa''). Summers are hot and dry, with high humidity and very warm nights. Winters are mild and rainy.

Composition

There are 42

neighbourhoods A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

in Samandağ District: * Ataköy * Atatürk * Avcılar * Batıayaz * Büyükoba * Çamlıyayla * Çanakoluk * Cemalgürsel * Ceylandere * Çiğdede * Çöğürlü * Çubuklu * Cumhuriyet * Değirmenbaşı * Deniz * Eriklikuyu * Fidanlı * Gözene * Hıdırbey * Huzurlu * Kapısuyu * Karaçay * Koyunoğlu * Kurtderesi * Kuşalanı * Mağaracık * Meydan * Mızraklı * Seldiren * Şükrü Kanatlı * Sutaşı * Tekebaşı * Tomruksuyu * Uzunbağ * Vakıflı * Yaylıca * Yeni * Yeniköy * Yeşilada * Yeşilköy * Yeşilyazı * Yoğunoluk

Population

The vast majority of the population is composed of

Levantine Arabic Levantine Arabic, also called Shami (Endonym and exonym, autonym: or ), is an Varieties of Arabic, Arabic variety spoken in the Levant, namely in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel and southern Turkey (historically only in Adana Prov ...

speakers who adhere to the

Alawism Alawism (), also known as Nusayrism (), is an offshoot of early Shia Islam with influences from ancient Iranian, Christian, and Gnostic traditions. Its adherents, called the Alawites, are estimated to number around 4 million and are primarily conc ...

. There are also

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

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

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 around the ...

community with 103 inhabitants (2022).

Local politics

Politically Samandağ is traditionally left-leaning. In the 2009 local elections, Freedom and Solidarity Party (ÖDP) candidate Mithat Nehir was elected mayor of the ''

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

'' 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'', 22 September 2013 In the local elections in March 2019 Refik Eryılmaz was elected Mayor for the

Republican People's Party The Republican People's Party (RPP; , CHP ) is a Kemalism, Kemalist and Social democracy, social democratic political party in Turkey. It is the oldest List of political parties in Turkey, political party in Turkey, founded by Mustafa Kemal ...

(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 Vespasianus Titus Tunnel, in the village of ''Kapısuyu '', built as a water channel in the 2nd century. * The Shrine of Khidr. * Vakıflı, the only remaining

village in Turkey. * Monastery of

References

External links

All About of Samandag

Governorship of Samandag

photo album of Samandağ

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samandag Populated places in Hatay Province Populated coastal places in Turkey Mountains associated with Byzantine monasticism Districts of Hatay Province Metropolitan district municipalities in Turkey