Alexandrette
| İskenderun | |
|---|---|
| City | |
Promenade of İskenderun
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 İskenderun
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| Coordinates: 36°34′54″N 36°09′54″E / 36.5817°N 36.1650°ECoordinates: 36°34′54″N 36°09′54″E / 36.5817°N 36.1650°E | |
| Country | Turkey |
| Region | Mediterranean |
| Province | Hatay |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Seyfi Dingil (AKP) |
| Area | |
| • District | 636.75 km2 (245.85 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 4 m (13 ft) |
| Population (2012) | |
| • Urban | 184,833 |
| • District | 318,780 |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
| Postal code | 31 |
| Area code(s) | (0)326 |
| Licence plate | 31 |
| Website | www |
İskenderun (Arabic: الإسكندرون, Greek: Αλεξανδρέττα "Little Alexandria"), historically known as Alexandretta and Scanderoon, is a city and the largest district in Hatay Province on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey.
The city was founded as Alexandria (Αλεξάνδρεια) and named for Alexander the Great.
Starting in the Middle Ages, Western pilgrims used the diminutive Romance form Alexandretta.
After the Muslim conquest of Syria, it was named al-ʼIskandarūn (Arabic الإسكندرون), the Arabic rendering of the original "Alexandrou"; this name was further turkified into Ottoman Turkish as İskenderūn (إسكندرون), which in turn was preserved in its current modern Turkish form as İskenderun.
İskenderun is located on the eastern Mediterranean coast on the Gulf of İskenderun, at the foot of the Nur Mountains (Amanos Mountains).
İskenderun is a busy commercial centre and is one of the largest cities in Hatay Province, similar in size to the provincial seat of Antakya. The city is one of Turkey's largest ports on the Mediterranean and an important industrial centre home to the İsdemir steelworks, one of Turkey's largest. İskenderun has an active, modern life with good hotels, restaurants and cafes along the palm-lined sea front. There is a variety of accommodation for visitors. İskenderun is also an important naval training base.
The climate on this stretch of the Mediterranean is (Köppen: Csa) hot and humid in summer. Winters are mild and wet. At certain times of the year the town is swept by a strong wind called 'Yarıkkaya'. The countryside contains large areas of fruit groves. It is an important producers of oranges, tangerines and lemons, and even tropical fruits such as mangoes.
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Wikipedia