Samandağ


Samandağ, formerly known as Süveydiye, is a town and district in Hatay Province of southern Turkey, at the mouth of the Asi River on the Mediterranean coast, near Turkey's border with Syria, from the city of Antakya.

Etymology

Samandağ was formerly known as Süveydiye, Yukarı Alevışık and Levşiye was officially named Samandağ in 1948.

History

Samandağ lies near the site of the ancient Seleucia Pieria, founded in 300 BC by Seleucus Nicator, a general of Alexander the Great, in the Seleucid era that followed Alexander's demise. Seleucia Pieria quickly became a major Mediterranean port of the Hellenistic and Roman eras, the port of Antioch. But it was subject to silting and an earthquake in 526 finally completed its demise as a port. Samandağ, then called St Symeon, became the port of Antioch, and played an important role in the capture of the city by the Crusaders in 1098.
The whole area was known as Svediye, where six villages of Armenians were located until 1939, the so called "Referrendum", when all the Armenian villagers emigrated to Anjar, Lebanon. Only a small part of Vakif remained and are still in the village, now called Vakifly.

Geography

Samandağ itself is a small town of 35,000 people, close to the city of Antakya. 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, there is a long sandy coastline popular with daytrippers from Antakya, although the sea can be stormy. This is an important nesting area of the endangered sea turtle Caretta caretta.

Population

The vast majority of the population is composed of Arabic speakers who adhere to the Alawite sect of Shia Islam. There are also Sunni Arabs and Turkmens. There are Armenian and Antiochian Greek Christian communities in the district, with around 2,000 people. The village of Vakıflı is Turkey's only remaining rural Armenian community.

Local politics

Politically Samandağ is traditionally left-leaning. In the 2009 local elections, Freedom and Solidarity Party candidate Mithat Nehir was elected mayor of the ilçe with 34.20% of the votes 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. In the local elections in March 2019 Refik Eryılmaz was elected Mayor for the Republican People's Party. The current District Governor is Murat Kütük.

Places of interest