Samandağ السويدية / as-Sūwaydīyah (Levantine Arabic) | |
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 Map showing Samandağ District in Hatay Province | |
  Samandağ Location in Turkey | |
| Coordinates:36°05′06″N35°58′50″E / 36.08500°N 35.98056°E /36.08500; 35.98056 | |
| Country | Turkey |
| Province | Hatay |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Emrah Karaçay (TİP) |
Area | 384 km2 (148 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 72 m (236 ft) |
| Population (2022)[1] | 165,494 |
| • Density | 431/km2 (1,120/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (TRT) |
| Postal code | 31800 |
| Area code | 0326 |
| Website | www |
Samandağ, formerly known asSüveydiye (Arabic:السويدية,romanized: al-Sūwaydiyya), is a resort town and municipality anddistrict ofHatay Province,Turkey.[2] Its area is 384 km2,[3] and its population is 123,447 (2022).[1] It lies at the mouth of theAsi River on theMediterranean coast, nearTurkey's border with Syria, 25 km (16 mi) from the city ofAntakya. In February 2023, the town was heavily damaged bypowerful earthquakes.
Samandağ was formerly known as Suweydiye - Arabic for “the black one", in reference to the localroe deer.[4] The Armenian name of the town "Svetia" (Սվեդիա) was derived from the Arabic one.
It was also nicknamedYukarı Alevışık (Turkish: "Hill of the Alevis/Alawites) andLevşiye (likely the corrupted Arabic form of the ancient name of Seleucia).[5]
It was forcibly renamed Samandağ (Seman-Dağ, Turkish for the Arabic Jabal Sem'an:St. Simeon Mountain[6]) in 1948, part of a systematic campaign to erase local Arab and Armenian heritage through Turkification.
Samandağ lies near the site of the ancientSeleucia Pieria, founded in 300 BC after thePersian Empire was ousted from the region bySeleucus Nicator, a general ofAlexander the Great, in theSeleucid era that followed Alexander's demise. Seleucia Pieria quickly became a major Mediterranean port of theHellenistic andRoman eras, the port ofAntioch. However, it was subject to silting and an earthquake in 526 finally completed its demise as a port.
During the 6th century, SaintSimeon Stylites the Younger lived on Saman Dağı, a nearby mountain that is also known in Christian sources as the "Wondrous Mountain" or the "Admirable Mountain."[7]
Samandağ, then calledSt Symeon,[8] became the port of Antioch. The area was conquered by theRashidun Caliphate in 637 after theBattle of the Iron Bridge and later it came under the control of theUmayyad andAbbasidArab dynasties. It was then reconquered by theByzantines underNikephoros II Phokas but later conquered by theSeljuk Turks under generalAfşin Bey after theBattle of Manzikert which resulted in a disastrous defeat for theByzantines. It played an important role in the capture of the city by theCrusaders in 1098, to be known asSoudin. The area was known as Svediye.
There were originally sixArmenian villages; Bityas, Kabousiye, Haji Habibly, Kheder Beg, Yoghoun Olouk and Vakif. After the French government agreed to cede Hatay Province to Turkey in 1939, all Armenian villagers (with the exception of some fromVakif) emigrated toAnjar, Lebanon. Vakıflı, the village's modern name, is the only remainingArmenian village in Turkey, with 103 inhabitants (2022).[9][10]
Samandağ itself is a small town, about 22 km (14 mi) from the city ofAntakya. 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 fromAntakya, although the sea can be stormy. This is an important nesting area of theendangered sea turtleCaretta caretta.
Samandağ has ahot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen:Csa).[11] Summers are hot and dry, with high humidity and very warm nights. Winters are mild and rainy.
| Climate data for Samandağ (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 13.9 (57.0) | 15.8 (60.4) | 19.0 (66.2) | 22.1 (71.8) | 25.3 (77.5) | 27.9 (82.2) | 30.1 (86.2) | 31.0 (87.8) | 30.1 (86.2) | 27.5 (81.5) | 21.0 (69.8) | 15.3 (59.5) | 23.3 (73.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 10.1 (50.2) | 11.5 (52.7) | 14.8 (58.6) | 17.9 (64.2) | 21.5 (70.7) | 24.9 (76.8) | 27.5 (81.5) | 28.4 (83.1) | 26.7 (80.1) | 22.7 (72.9) | 16.3 (61.3) | 11.5 (52.7) | 19.5 (67.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 7.0 (44.6) | 7.8 (46.0) | 10.7 (51.3) | 14.0 (57.2) | 17.9 (64.2) | 22.3 (72.1) | 25.5 (77.9) | 26.5 (79.7) | 23.7 (74.7) | 18.4 (65.1) | 12.4 (54.3) | 8.5 (47.3) | 16.3 (61.3) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 141.06 (5.55) | 124.18 (4.89) | 95.86 (3.77) | 61.76 (2.43) | 49.4 (1.94) | 23.0 (0.91) | 6.85 (0.27) | 9.37 (0.37) | 65.26 (2.57) | 80.05 (3.15) | 99.13 (3.90) | 166.31 (6.55) | 922.23 (36.31) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 10.8 | 9.8 | 8.6 | 6.0 | 4.0 | 2.3 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 4.2 | 5.4 | 5.7 | 10.0 | 70.0 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 70.5 | 68.8 | 69.9 | 72.7 | 75.4 | 77.8 | 78.9 | 77.7 | 72.4 | 65.8 | 62.1 | 69.5 | 71.8 |
| Source:NOAA[12] | |||||||||||||
There are 42neighbourhoods in Samandağ District:[13]
Politically Samandağ is traditionally left-leaning. In the2009 local elections,Freedom and Solidarity Party (ÖDP) candidate Mithat Nehir was elected mayor of theilçe with 34.20% of the votes (theCHP candidate got 31.77%, theAKP one 14.07%) he was then the sole victorious ÖDP candidate in the entire republic.[14] In September 2013, he joined theCHP under which banner he successfully contested the next2014 local elections.[15] In the local elections in March 2019 Refik Eryılmaz was elected Mayor for theRepublican People's Party (CHP).[16] The currentDistrict Governor is Murat Kütük.[17]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding missing information.(December 2017) |
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Vakifli.
Samandağ inHatay Province ofTurkey | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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