Samandağ
| Samandağ | ||||
|
||||
| Basic data | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Province (il) : | Hatay | |||
| Coordinates : | 36 ° 5 ' N , 35 ° 59' E | |||
| Height : | 72 m | |||
| Residents : | 118,373 (2014) | |||
| Telephone code : | (+90) 326 | |||
| Postal code : | 31800 | |||
| License plate : | 31 | |||
| Structure and administration (status: 2014) | ||||
| Mayor : | Refik Eryılmaz ( CHP ) | |||
| Website: | ||||
| Samandağ district | ||||
| Residents : | 118,373 (2014) | |||
| Surface: | 446 km² | |||
| Population density : | 265 inhabitants per km² | |||
| Kaymakam : | Tahsin Kurtbeyoğlu | |||
| Website (Kaymakam): | ||||
Samandağ is a district town in the Turkish province of Hatay and is located about 25 km southwest of Antakya , near the border with Syria . At the same time, Samandağ is the capital of the district of the same name . The city had 118,373 inhabitants in 2014, the majority of whom are Alawite Arabs. Since a regional reform in 2014, the district is identical in terms of area and population to the district town.
The ancient name of Samandağ was Seleukia Pieria , the port of Antioch on the Orontes . The crusaders called the city St. Simeon. Other names were Jabal Sam'an, Alevışık and Suwaidiyyah. Samandağ was given its current name in 1948. The Turkish name is the translation of the Arabic name Jabal Sam'an , German mountain of Simeon , after the pillar saint Symeon Stylites the Younger , whose monastery is nearby. The last Armenian village in Turkey, Vakıflı, is located in the Samandağ district .
Attractions
The monastery of Symeon Stylites the Younger is located on a hill about six kilometers east of the city . In the village of Çevlik there is the Titus Vespasianus tunnel , a water channel over a kilometer long, ancient city remains, a necropolis from Roman times and remains of sculptures.
The loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) can be seen here in August . In the village of Hıdırbey is the allegedly 3,000 year old Moses tree: it has a diameter of up to 7.5 m, a circumference of 20 m and a height of 17 m. According to legend, when Moses met the prophet Hızır, he stuck his stick into the earth, which immediately started to shoot.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Turkish Institute for Statistics ( Memento from December 13, 2015 on WebCite ), accessed December 13, 2015
