İskenderun

Understand

thumb|The gate of the French-built Central Bank building Many cities founded by Alexander the Great (Büyük İskender in Turkish) were named for him. Only a few still carry his name, İskenderun included: other examples are Alexandria in Egypt, Kandahar in Afghanistan, and Iskandariya in Iraq. This one was originally Alexandria ad Issum, "Alexandria by Issos"; Issos is the nearby site where the Macedonian had a decisive victory over Darius III of Persia in 333 BCE. The name later morphed to Alexandretta, "Little Alexandria", to distinguish from its greater Egyptian sibling.

As with the rest of Hatay, İskenderun was under French rule for about two decades following the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire after World War I.

İskenderun has a population of about 250,000 people as of the early 2020s and is a major centre of heavy industry — the petrochemical plants and steelworks on the approach from the north look unpromising. However, its centre is nevertheless enjoyable with a lovely palm-lined esplanade, and you won't regret driving into it.

Get around

There are no dolmuşes in Iskenderun, and though there may be city buses, their routes are not easy to figure out with no Turkish language skills. The town centre is walkable; however to get from the centre to the bus station, you're best off taking a taxi, which should cost about 10-15 TL.

Parking a car along the waterfront (Atatürk Blv) costs 9 TL an hour (Oct 2022).

See

The waterfront is a pleasant area with much subtropical foilage. There is a big globe surrounded by flags of Turkic countries past and present, and a park with a number of interesting structures. Near the eastern end, there is an Atatürk monument commemorating the joining of Hatay (for a couple of decades ruled by France) to Turkey.

Inland are numerous traditional buildings with a more Mediterranean style.

Do

thumb|300px|The waterfront Take a walk in Iskenderun coast, which offers great views.

Buy

is a shopping mall on the coast with cafes and food chains.

Eat

Künefe — one of the most famous regional desserts; best enjoyed hot when the cheese within is melted. No doubt delicious. Döner — a type of kebab, made of seasoned meat stacked in the shape of an inverted cone and cooked slowly on a vertical rotisserie. It's then thinly sliced and wrapped in a flat bread. In parts of Europe, it is known as an after-party food.

Drink

You can find cafes with sea views on the waterfront.

Go next

Antakya south is the provincial capital and is a city of great history and cuisine. Northwards, the highways fork west to Adana, for the rest of Mediterranean Turkey or Cappadocia inland, and east to Osmaniye, for Southeastern Anatolia.