View source for Hatay Province

{{Short description|Province of Turkey}}
{{Distinguish|text=[[Hà Tây province]] in Vietnam}}
{{Redirect|Hatay}}
{{For|the political entity that existed from 1938 to 1939|Hatay State}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}}
{{Infobox Turkey place
| type                 = metro province
| name                 = 
| other_name           = Hatay ili
| image_skyline        = Habib'i Neccar Mosque.jpg
| image_caption        = [[Habib-i Nejjar Mosque]], [[Antakya]]
| image_logo           = Hatay City Logo.png
| image_map            = Hatay in Turkey.svg
| map_caption          = Location of the province within Turkey
| coordinates          = 
| seat                 = [[Antakya]]
| leader_name1         = Mustafa Masatlı
| leader_party         = [[AK Party]]
| leader_name          = Mehmet Öntürk
| area_total_km2       = 5524
| elevation_m          = 
| population_footnotes = <ref name=tuik/>
| population_total     = 1686043
| population_as_of     = 2022
| website              = {{URL|http://www.hatay.bel.tr/}}<br>{{URL|http://www.hatay.gov.tr/}}
| area_code            = 0326
}}
'''Hatay Province''' ({{langx|tr|Hatay ili}}, {{IPA|tr|ˈhataj|pron}}) is the southernmost [[Provinces of Turkey|province]] and [[Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey|metropolitan municipality]] of [[Turkey]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Karagiannis|first=Emmanuel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MeWOAQAAQBAJ&pg=PP76|title=Energy and Security in the Caucasus|date=2013-10-18|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-54742-5|location=|pages=76|language=en|quote=In the southernmost corner of Turkey, near Ceyhan, lies the province of Hatay, a pocket of land bounded to the west by the Mediterranean and to the south and east by Syria.}}</ref> Its area is {{convert|5,524|sqkm|abbr=on}},<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.harita.gov.tr/uploads/files-folder/il_ilce_alanlari.xlsx|title=İl ve İlçe Yüz ölçümleri|publisher=General Directorate of Mapping|access-date=19 September 2023}}</ref> and its population is 1,686,043 (2022).<ref name=tuik>{{Cite web |title=Address-based population registration system (ADNKS) results dated 31st December, 2022, Favorite Reports|url=https://biruni.tuik.gov.tr/medas/?kn=95&locale=en |access-date=19 September 2023|publisher=[[TÜİK]]|language=en|format=XLS}}</ref> It is situated mostly outside [[Anatolia]], along the eastern coast of the [[Levantine Sea]]. The province borders [[Syria]] to its south and east, the Turkish province of [[Adana Province|Adana]] to the northwest, [[Osmaniye Province|Osmaniye]] to the north, and [[Gaziantep Province|Gaziantep]] to the northeast. It is partially situated on the [[Çukurova|Cilician Plain]], a large fertile [[plain]] along the [[Cilicia]] region. Its administrative capital is [[Antakya]] (ancient [[Antioch]]), making it one of the three Turkish provinces not named after its administrative capital or any settlement.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bağırsakçı |first1=Semir |title=Antakya'nın Adı "Hatay" mıdır? |url=https://www.iskenderungazetesi.com/antakyanin-adi-hatay-midir/ |website=İskenderun Gazetesi |date=22 January 2013 |access-date=4 November 2022}}</ref> The second-largest city is [[İskenderun]] (formerly Alexandretta). Sovereignty over most of the province was [[Hatay dispute|disputed]] with neighbouring Syria, which claimed that the province had a demographic [[Arabs in Turkey|Arab]] majority, and has [[Hatay State|separated from its territory]] in violation of the terms of the [[French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon|French Mandate for Syria]] that was established on the heels of [[World War I]]; however, the issue has remained largely dormant since the thawing of [[Syrian-Turkish relations]] in the 2000s.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42788179 |title=How historical Afrin became a prize worth a war |last=Darke|first=Diana|date=24 January 2018|website=www.bbc.com |publisher=BBC |access-date=30 November 2020 }}</ref>

== History ==

=== Antiquity ===
{{unreferenced section|date=March 2020}}
[[File:ChurchSaintPeterAntakya.jpg|thumb|[[Church of Saint Peter]] in Hatay Province.]]
Settled since the early Bronze Age, Hatay was once part of the [[Akkadian Empire]], then of the [[Amorite]] Kingdom of [[Yamhad]]. Later, it became part of the Kingdom of [[Mitanni]], then the area was ruled by a succession of [[Hittites]] and [[Neo-Hittite]] peoples that later gave the modern province of Hatay its name.

The Neo-Hittite kingdom of [[Palistin]] was also located here.

The area came under the control of [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]] (except for a brief occupation by [[Urartu]]), and later the [[Neo-Babylonian Empire|Neo-Babylonians]] and the [[Persians]].

The region was the centre of the Hellenistic [[Seleucid Empire]], home to the four Greek cities of the [[Syrian tetrapolis]] (Antioch, [[Seleucia Pieria]], [[Apamea (Syria)|Apamea]], and [[Laodicea in Syria|Laodicea]]). From 64 BC onwards the city of Antioch became an important regional centre of the [[Roman Empire]].

Among the famous archaeological sites in the province are [[Alalakh]], [[Tell Tayinat]], [[Tell Judaidah]], and [[Antioch]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Hittite Monuments - Tell Tayinat |url=https://www.hittitemonuments.com/telltainat/?utm_source |access-date=2025-08-15 |website=www.hittitemonuments.com}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Wiener |first=Noah |date=2012-07-31 |title=Colossal Neo-Hittite Statue Discovered at Tell Tayinat |url=https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/news/colossal-neo-hittite-statue-discovered-at-tell-tayinat/ |access-date=2025-08-15 |website=Biblical Archaeology Society |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2" />

=== Medieval era ===
{{unreferenced section|date=March 2020}}
The area was conquered by the [[Rashidun Caliphate]] in 638 and later it came under the control of the [[Umayyad]] and [[Abbasid]] [[Arab]] dynasties. [[Tulunids]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/antakya | title=Antakya }}</ref> briefly ruled it before Abbasid one was restored. From the 10th century onwards, the region was controlled by the [[Aleppo]]-based [[Hamdanids]] after a brief rule of [[Ikhshidids]].  In 969 the city of [[Antioch]] was recaptured by the [[Byzantine Empire]]. It was conquered by [[Philaretos Brachamios]], a Byzantine general in 1078. He founded a principality from Antioch to [[Şanlıurfa|Edessa]]. It was captured by [[Suleiman ibn Qutulmish|Suleiman I]], who was Sultan of Rum (ruler of Anatolian Seljuks), in 1084. It passed to [[Tutush I]], Sultan of Aleppo (ruler of Syria Seljuks), in 1086. Seljuk rule lasted 14 years until Hatay's capture by the Crusaders in 1098, when parts of it became the centre of the [[Principality of Antioch]]. At the same time, much of Hatay was part of the [[Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia]], who subsequently allied with the [[Mongols]] and took control of the Principality of Antioch in 1254. Hatay was captured from the Mongol-Armenian alliance by the [[Mameluks]] in 1268, who subsequently lost it to [[Timur (Tamerlane)]] at the start of the 15th century.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-04-11 |title=Alalakh |url=https://turkisharchaeonews.net/site/alalakh |access-date=2025-08-15 |website=Turkish Archaeological News |language=en}}</ref>

=== Sanjak of Alexandretta ===
{{Main|Sanjak of Alexandretta}}

By the time it was taken from the Mameluks by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] Sultan [[Selim I]] in 1516, Antakya was a medium-sized town on {{Convert|2|km2|sqmi}} of land between the [[Orontes River]] and Mount Habib Neccar. Under the Ottomans the area was known as the sanjak (or governorate) of Alexandretta. [[Gertrude Bell]] in her book ''Syria: The Desert & the Sown'' published in 1907 wrote extensively about her travels across Syria including Antioch & Alexandretta and she noted the heavy mix between Turks and Arabs in the region at that time.

[[File:The Historical Atlas, 1911 – Distribution of Races in the Balkan Peninsula and Asia Minor.jpg|thumb|Ethnic groups in the Balkans and Asia Minor, early 20th Century, ''Historical Atlas'', 1911]]

Many say that Alexandretta was traditionally part of Syria. Maps as far back as 1764 confirm this.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=http://historic-cities.huji.ac.il/turkey/iskenderun/maps/roux_1764_pl_115.html|title=Map of Iskenderun, Joseph Roux, 1764|work=huji.ac.il|access-date=14 January 2017}}</ref> During the First World War, most of Syria was occupied by the British but under the [[Armistice of Mudros]], Hatay remained  part of the Ottoman Empire. Nevertheless, after the armistice it was occupied by the British, an arrangement which was not accepted by the Ottomans. Later, the province was handed over to France along with the rest of Syria.

After World War I and the [[Turkish War of Independence]], the [[Ottoman Empire]] was disbanded and the modern Republic of [[Turkey]] was created. Alexandretta was not part of the new republic. It was placed under the [[French mandate of Syria]] after the Allies and Turkey signed the [[Treaty of Sèvres]], which was neither ratified by the [[General Assembly of the Ottoman Empire|Ottoman parliament]] nor by the [[Turkish National Movement]] in Ankara.<ref name="hale">William M. Hale [https://books.google.com/books?id=_xLgtpBsovwC&dq Turkish Foreign Policy, 1774–2000] p.45 Routledge, 2000 {{ISBN|0714650714}}, 9780714650715</ref> The subsequent [[Treaty of Lausanne]] also put Alexandretta within Syria. The document detailing the boundary between Turkey and Syria around 1920 and subsequent years is presented in a report by the Official Geographer of The Bureau of Intelligence and Research of the US Department of State.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/collection/LimitsinSeas/IBS163.pdf |title=Syria – Turkey Boundary |access-date=2008-01-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227020342/http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/collection/LimitsinSeas/IBS163.pdf |archive-date=2008-02-27 }}</ref> A French-Turkish treaty of 20 October 1921 rendered the Sanjak of Alexandretta autonomous, and it remained so from 1921 to 1923. Out of 220,000 inhabitants in 1921, 87,000 were Turks.<ref>{{cite book|last=Khater|first=Akram Fouad|title=Sources in the History of the Modern Middle East|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ZwEAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA177|year=2010|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-1-11178-485-0|page=177|quote=(In 1921 there were only 87,000 Turks amid a population of 220,000 that was primarily Arab)}}</ref> Along with Turks the population of the Sanjak included: [[Arabs in Turkey|Arab]]s of various religious denominations ([[Sunni]] Muslims, [[Alawites]], [[Antiochian Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox]], [[Melkite Greek Catholic Church|Greek Catholics]], [[Syriac Maronite Church|Maronites]]); [[Jew]]s; [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]]; [[Kurd]]s; and [[Armenians]]. In 1923 Hatay was attached to the [[State of Aleppo]], and in 1925 it was directly attached to the [[French mandate of Syria]], still with special administrative status.

[[File:turkey Peace treaty.gif|thumb|Turkish borders according to the Treaty of Lausanne, 1923]]

Despite this, a Turkish community remained in Alexandretta, and [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Mustafa Kemal]] said that Hatay had been a Turkish homeland for 4,000 years. This was due to the contested nationalist [[pseudoscientific]] [[Sun Language Theory]] prevalent in the 1930s in Turkey, which presumed that some ancient peoples of Anatolia and the Middle East, such as the Sumerians and Hittites, hence the name Hatay, were related to the Turks. Whereas, the Turks first appeared in Anatolia during the 11th century, when the [[Seljuk Turks]] occupied the eastern province of the [[Abbasid Empire]] and captured Baghdad.<ref>{{Harvnb|Duiker|Spielvogel|2012|loc=192}}.</ref> Resident Arabs organised under the banner of Arabism, and in 1930, [[Zaki al-Arsuzi]], a teacher and lawyer from Arsuz on the coast of Alexandretta published a newspaper called 'Arabism' in Antioch that was shut down by Turkish and French authorities.

The 1936 elections returned two MPs favouring the independence of Syria from France, and this prompted communal riots as well as passionate articles in the Turkish and Syrian press. This then became the subject of a complaint to the [[League of Nations]] by the Turkish government concerning alleged mistreatment of the Turkish populations. Atatürk demanded that Hatay become part of Turkey claiming that the majority of its inhabitants were Turks. However, the French High Commission estimated that the population of 220,000 inhabitants was made up of 46% Arabs (28% Alawites, 10% Sunni, 8% Christians), 39% [[Turkish people|Turks]], 11% [[Armenians]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Kieser|first=Hans-Lukas|title=Turkey Beyond Nationalism: Towards Post-Nationalist Identities|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VKVSHjjUT2UC&q=Sanjak+Alexandretta+arab+alawites+%25&pg=PA61|year=2006|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-1-84511-141-0|page=61|quote=According to official French statistics of 1936 the total population (219,080) was made up as follows: Turks 38% Alawite Arabs 28% Sunni Arabs 10 Christians Arabs 8%}}</ref> while the remaining 4% was made up of [[Circassians]], [[Jews]], and [[Kurds]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Brandell|first=Inga|title=State Frontiers: Borders and Boundaries in the Middle East|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8GBxQvqTZEAC&q=According+to+Estimates+provided+by+the+French+High+Commission+in+1936,+out+of+a+population+of+220,000&pg=PA144|access-date=30 July 2013|year=2006|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-1-84511-076-5|page=144|quote=According to estimates provided by the French High Commission in 1936, out of a population of 220,000 39 per cent were Turks, 28 per cent Alawites, 11 per cent Armenians, 10 per cent Sunni Arabs, 8 per cent other Christians, while Circassians, Jews and Kurds made up the remaining 4 per cent.}}</ref> The sanjak was given autonomy in November 1937 in an arrangement brokered by the League. Under its new statute, the sanjak became "distinct but not separated" from the [[French mandate of Syria]] on the diplomatic level, linked to both France and Turkey for defence matters.

===Hatay State===
{{main|Hatay State}}

Hatay State ({{langx|tr|Hatay Devleti}}, {{langx|fr|État du Hatay}}, {{langx|ar|دولة حطاي}} {{Transliteration|ar|din|Dawlat Ḥaṭāy}}), also known informally as the Republic of Hatay, was a transitional political entity that existed from 7 September 1938, to 29 June 1939, in the territory of the Sanjak of Alexandretta of the French Mandate of Syria. 

In early March 1939 French authorities were willing to return Hatay Province (then within the French Mandate of Syria) back to Turkey for a quid pro-quo.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/DocumentsOnGermanForeignPolicy-SeriesD-VolumeVi-March-august/page/n99/mode/2up |title=Documents on German Foreign Policy - Series D - Volume VI - March-August 1939.pdf |language=English}}</ref> The quid pro-quo was a willingness to sign a mutual pact (between Turkey and France) against potential European aggression (either Italian aggression or German aggression). The goal of the French was to ensue Turkey did not go into the German-Italian sphere of influence. 

The state was transformed de jure into the Hatay Province of Turkey on 7 July 1939, de facto joining the country on 23 July 1939.

===Hatay Province of Turkey===
On 29 June 1939, following a [[referendum]], Hatay became a Turkish province. This referendum has been labelled both "phoney" and "rigged", and is seen as a way for the French to cede the area to Turkey, in the hope that they would turn on Hitler.<ref name=JackKalpakian>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EmlX4Y7PMjgC&q=Identity,+conflict+and+cooperation+in+international+river+systems|title=Identity, Conflict and Cooperation in International River Systems|author=Jack Kalpakian|edition=Hardcover|publisher=Ashgate Publishing|year=2004|isbn=0-7546-3338-1|page=130}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Robert Fisk: US power games in the Middle East|author=Robert Fisk|newspaper=The Independent|date=19 March 2007|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-us-power-games-in-the-middle-east-440856.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101110082309/http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-us-power-games-in-the-middle-east-440856.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 November 2010|access-date=15 December 2010}}</ref> For the referendum, Turkey moved tens of thousands of Turks into Alexandretta so they could vote.<ref name=RobertFisk>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SJHtAAAAMAAJ&q=%22The+Turks+trucked+tens+of+thousands+of+people+into+the+sanjak+for+the+referendum,+and+naturally+the+%22people%22+voted+to+be+part+of+Turkey.%22|title=The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East|author=Robert Fisk|edition=Paperback|publisher=Vintage|year=2007|isbn=978-1-4000-7517-1|page=335}}</ref> These Turks were born in Hatay but now they were living in other regions of Turkey. In two government communiqués which were issued in 1937 and 1938, the Turkish government asked all local government authorities to make lists of all of their employees who were originally from Hatay. Those employees whose names were listed were then sent to Hatay so they could register as citizens and vote.<ref>Çağatay, Soner. ''Islam, secularism, and nationalism in modern Turkey: who is a Turk?'' Volume 4 of Routledge studies in Middle Eastern history. p. 119-120. Taylor & Francis, 2006. {{ISBN|0-415-38458-3}}, {{ISBN|978-0-415-38458-2}}</ref>

Syrian President [[Hashim al-Atassi]] resigned in protest at continued French intervention in Syrian affairs, maintaining that the French were obliged to refuse the annexation under the [[Franco-Syrian Treaty of Independence (1936)|Franco-Syrian Treaty of Independence of 1936]].

The [[Hassa, Turkey|Hassa]] district of Gaziantep, [[Dörtyol]] district ([[Erzin, Turkey|Erzin]] was nahiya of it) of Adana were then incorporated into Hatay. As a result of the annexation, a number of demographic changes occurred in Hatay. During the six months following the annexation, inhabitants over the age of 18 were given the right to choose between staying and becoming Turkish citizens, or emigrating to the French Mandate of Syria or Greater Lebanon and acquiring French citizenship. If they chose to emigrate, they were given 18 months to bring in their movable assets and establish themselves in their new states. Almost half of the Sunni Arabs left. Many Armenians also left and 1,068 Armenian families were relocated from the six Armenian villages of [[Musa Dagh]] to the [[Beqaa Valley]] which is located in [[Lebanon]]. Many of these Armenians had fled for their lives and settled in the French Mandate of Syria because they were survivors of the [[Armenian genocide|genocide]] which had previously been committed by the Ottoman Empire. The total number of people who left for Syria was estimated to be 50,000 including 22,000 [[Armenians]], 10,000 [[Alawites]], 10,000 [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] [[Arabs]] and 5,000 [[Arab Christians]].<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=PqEcBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA92|title= Beyond Syria's Borders: A History of Territorial Disputes in the Middle East|author= Emma Jorum|publisher= [[I.B. Tauris]]|year= 2014|pages= 92, 93|isbn= 9781780767420}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=ARMENIA AND KARABAGH|url=http://www.historyoftruth.com/ebook/kitab20110130094307919.pdf|work=[[Minority Rights Group]]|date=1991|access-date=8 December 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130903134742/http://www.historyoftruth.com/ebook/kitab20110130094307919.pdf|archive-date=3 September 2013}}</ref>

===Turkish–Syrian dispute===
<!--linked from [[Template:Syria topics]]-->
{{main|Hatay dispute}}

For much of its premodern history, [[Iskenderun|Alexandretta]], with its capital city [[Antioch]], was considered as part of [[Bilad al-Sham]], the area known today as [[Syria (region)|Syria]].  In [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] times, Hatay was part of the [[Vilayet of Aleppo]] in [[Ottoman Syria]]. In 1920 the [[sanjak]] (province) of Alexandretta was awarded to Syria by the [[League of Nations]] in the guise of a [[France|French]] mandate. In 1936 Alexandretta became the subject of a complaint to the League of Nations by [[Turkey]], which claimed that the privileges of the Turkish plurality in the sanjak were being infringed. (In 1921, there were 87,000 Turks amid a population of 220,000.) Unlike other regions historically belonging to Syrian provinces (such as [[Aintab]], [[Kilis]] and [[Urfa]]), Alexandretta was confirmed as Syrian territory in the [[Treaty of Lausanne]] agreed upon by [[Kemal Atatürk]] but was granted a special autonomous status because it contained a Turkish plurality. 
However, culminating a series of border disputes with France-mandated Syria, Atatürk obtained in 1937 an agreement with France recognising Alexandretta as an independent state, and in 1939 this state, called the [[Republic of Hatay]], was annexed to [[Turkey]] as the 63rd Turkish province following a controversial referendum. Syria bitterly disputed both the separation of Alexandretta and its subsequent annexation to Turkey.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Khater |first1=Akram Fouad |title=Sources in the History of the Modern Middle East |date=8 January 2010 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=9781111784850 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ZwEAAAAQBAJ}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=September 2022}}

Syria maintains that the separation of Alexandretta violated France's mandatory responsibility to maintain the unity of Syrian lands (article 4 of the mandate charter). It also disputes the results of the referendum held in the province because, according to a League of Nations commission that registered voters in Alexandretta in 1938, Turkish voters in the province represented no more than 46% of the population.<ref>Arnold Twinby, 1938 ''Survey of International Affairs'' p. 484</ref> Syria continues to consider Hatay part of its territory as of the 2010s, and shows it as such on its maps.<ref name="map1"/><ref name="map2"/> At the same time, Turkey and Syria have [[Syria–Turkey relations|strengthened their ties]] and opened the border between the two countries.

[[File:ProtestsAnnexationAlexanderetta.jpg|thumb|Protests in Damascus in 1939 by women demonstrators against the secession of the Sanjak of Alexandretta, and its subsequent joining into Turkey as the Hatay Province. One of the signs reads: "Our blood is sacrificed for the Syrian Arab Sanjak."]]

Syrians hold the view that this land was illegally ceded to Turkey by France, the mandatory occupying power of Syria in the late 1930s. Syria still considers it an integral part of its own territory. Syrians call this land ''Liwa' aliskenderun'' ({{langx|ar|لواء الاسكندرون}}) rather than the Turkish name of Hatay. Official Syrian maps still show Hatay as part of Syria.<ref name="map1">[http://www.parliament.gov.sy/ar/syria.php parliament.gov.sy – معلومات عن الجمهورية العربية السورية] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070602042619/http://www.parliament.gov.sy/ar/syria.php |date=2007-06-02 }}</ref><ref name="map2">[https://www.jstor.org/pss/2193522 "The Alexandretta Dispute"], ''American Journal of International Law''</ref>

Under the leadership of Syrian President [[Bashar al-Assad]] from 2000 onwards, there was a lessening of tensions over the Hatay issue. Indeed, in early 2005, when visits from Turkish President [[Ahmet Necdet Sezer]] and Turkish Prime Minister [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] opened a way to discussions between two states. These discussions resulted with the Syrian government agreeing to end its demand that the province should be returned under Syrian sovereignty as a condition to end hostilities; however, there was no official announcement by the Syrians relinquishing their rights of sovereignty.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/Withdrawing-from-the-Golan-talks |title=Withdrawing from the Golan talks |last=Navon |first=Emmauel |date=20 December 2018|website=www.jpost.com |publisher=Jerusalem Post |access-date=8 August 2018 }}</ref>

Following changes to Turkish land registry legislation in 2003, a large number of properties in Hatay were purchased by Syrian nationals, mostly people who had been residents of Hatay since the 1930s but had retained their Syrian citizenship and were buying the properties that they already occupied. By 2006, the amount of land owned by Syrian nationals in Hatay exceeded the legal limit for foreign ownership of 0.5%, and [[Foreign purchases of real estate in Turkey|sale of lands to foreigners]] was prohibited.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/4558885.asp?m=1&gid=69|title=Hatay'da yabancılara gayrimenkul satışı durduruldu|work=hurriyet.com.tr|date=10 June 2006 |access-date=14 January 2017}}</ref>

There has been a policy of cross border cooperation, on the social and economic level, between Turkey and Syria starting in the 2000s. This allowed families divided by the border to freely visit each other during the festive periods of [[Christmas]] and [[Eid ul-Fitr|Eid]]. In December 2007, up to 27,000 people crossed the border to visit their brethren on the other side.<ref>[http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=208044]{{cite web |title=World Bulletin &#91; Eid-al-Adha greetings at Turkey-Syria border &#93; |url=http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=15361 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090111063028/http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=15361 |archive-date=2009-01-11 |access-date=2008-01-08}}</ref> In the wake of an agreement in the autumn of 2009 to lift visa requirements, nationals of both countries can travel freely.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sana.sy/eng/21/2009/11/22/257425.htm |title=Interior Minister Inspects Bab al-Hawa Border Centre, Emphasizes Ministry's Keenness on Providing Facilities :: Syrian Arab news agency – SANA – Syria : Syria news :: |access-date=2009-11-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004163535/http://www.sana.sy/eng/21/2009/11/22/257425.htm |archive-date=2011-10-04 }}</ref> However, out of 50 agreements signed between Turkey and Syria in December 2009, the Hatay dispute stalled a water agreement over the [[Tigris River|Tigris]] and [[Euphrates River]]s. Turkey asked Syria to publicly recognise Hatay as a Turkish territory before signing on to the agreement.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120912164846/http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-196473-102-pm-vows-to-build-model-partnership-with-syria.html PM vows to build model partnership with Syria Today's Zaman 23 December 2010]</ref>

Apart from maps showing Hatay as Syrian territory, the Syrian policy has been to avoid discussing Hatay and giving evasive answers when asked to specify Syrian future goals and ambitions with regard to the area. This has included a complete media silence on the issue.<ref>Lundgren Jörum, Emma: "The Importance of the Unimportant" in Hinnebusch, Raymond & Tür, Özlem: Turkey-Syria Relations: Between Enmity and Amity (Farnham: Ashgate), p 114-122.</ref> In February 2011, the dispute over Hatay was almost solved. The border separating Syria from Hatay was going to be blurred by a shared Friendship Dam on the Orontes river and as part of this project the two states had agreed on the national jurisdiction on each side of the border. Only weeks before the outbreak of the Syrian uprising and later war, groundbreaking ceremonies were held in Hatay and Idlib. As a result of the Syrian war and the extremely tense Turkish-Syrian relations it brought, construction was halted. As part of the ongoing war, the question of the sovereignty of Hatay has resurfaced in Syria and the Syrian media silence has been broken. Syrian media began broadcasting documentaries on the history of the area, the Turkish annexation and [[Turkification]] policies. Syrian newspapers have also reported on demonstrations in Hatay and on organizations and parties in Syria demanding an "end to the Turkish occupation".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://carnegieendowment.org/syriaincrisis/?fa=54340|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328135734/http://carnegieendowment.org/syriaincrisis/?fa=54340|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 March 2014|title=Syria's "Lost Province": The Hatay Question Returns|work=[[Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]]|access-date=14 January 2017}}</ref> However, although the Syrian government has repeatedly criticized the Turkish policies towards Syria and the armed rebel groups operating on Syrian territory, it has not officially brought up the question of Hatay.<ref>Lundgren Jörum, Emma: Beyond Syria's Borders: A history of territorial disputes in the Middle East (London & New York: I.B. Tauris), p 108</ref>

=== 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes ===
[[File:Aerial View of the Hatay Province in Turkey (52698585301).jpg|250px|thumb|right|Earthquake damage in Hatay]]
Hatay Province was heavily damaged by the [[2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=February 2023 |title=Hatay province, Turkey from PHOTOS: Rescues continue after massive earthquake strikes Turkey and Syria |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/photos/massive-earthquake-strikes-turkey-syria-96920754/image-hatay-province-turkey-97082312 |access-date=2023-03-26 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref> The province registered 23,065 earthquake-related fatalities and 30,762 injuries.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Türki̇ye – Earthquake Response 2023: Hatay Humanitarian Snapshot (2nd May, 2023)|url=https://reliefweb.int/report/turkiye/turkiye-earthquake-response-2023-hatay-humanitarian-snapshot-2-may-2023|publisher=[[ReliefWeb]]|date=7 May 2023|access-date=8 May 2023}}</ref><ref name="HatayMar5">{{cite news |title=Lütfü Savaş: Hatay'da 21,910 kaybımız var|trans-title=Lütfü Savaş: We have 21,910 casualties in Hatay|url=https://www.egedesonsoz.com/haber/Lutfu-Savas-Hatay-da-21,910-kaybimiz-var/1134494|access-date=5 March 2023 |agency=Ege'de Sonsöz|date=23 February 2023 |language=tr}}</ref> More than 13,500 buildings collapsed, 67,346 were heavily damaged and 8,162 had to be demolished.<ref name="Hatay8Apr">{{cite news |title=Hatay earthquake report released: 89,025 buildings lost |url=https://www.gerceknews.com/turkey-syria-earthquake/hatay-earthquake-report-released-89025-buildings-lost-219542h |access-date=23 April 2023 |agency=Gercek News |date=8 April 2023 |archive-date=23 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423110912/https://www.gerceknews.com/turkey-syria-earthquake/hatay-earthquake-report-released-89025-buildings-lost-219542h |url-status=dead }}</ref> The most affected areas were [[Antakya]], [[Kırıkhan]] and [[İskenderun]].<ref name="Hatay872">{{cite news |title=Hatay'da son durum: '2 bine yakın yıkılmış bina var, kayıplarımız çok fazla' |trans-title=The latest situation in Hatay: 'There are nearly 2,000 destroyed buildings, our losses are too high' |url=https://www.bbc.com/turkce/articles/ce4yl2gw8dqo |access-date=7 February 2023 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=6 February 2023 |language=tr |archive-date=7 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207011738/https://www.bbc.com/turkce/articles/ce4yl2gw8dqo |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Geography==
{{More citations needed section|date=October 2023}}
[[File:Baghras2.jpg|thumb|right|Castle ruins at [[Bagras|Bağras]] in Hatay]]

Hatay is traversed by the north-easterly line of equal latitude and longitude. 46% of the land is mountain, 33% plain and 20% plateau and hillside. The most prominent feature is the north-south leading [[Nur Mountains]] and the highest peak is Mığırtepe (2,240m), other peaks include Ziyaret dağı and Keldağ (Jebel Akra or Casius) at 1,739 m. The folds of land that make up the landscape of the province were formed as the land masses of [[Arabian-Nubian Shield]] and [[Anatolia]] have pushed into each other, meeting here in Hatay, a classic example of the [[Horst (geology)|Horst]]–[[graben]] formation. The [[Orontes River]] rises in the [[Bekaa Valley]] in Lebanon and runs through [[Syria]] and Hatay, where it receives the [[Karasu (Hatay)|Karasu]] and the [[Afrin River]].  It flows into the Mediterranean at its delta in [[Samandağ]]. There was a [[Lake Amik|lake]] in the plain of the [[Amik Valley]], but it was drained in the 1970s and today Amik is the largest of the plains{{clarify |"the largest of the plains" of what, Hatay Prov. or more? |date= December 2024}} and an important agricultural center. The climate is typical of the Mediterranean, with warm wet winters and hot, dry summers. The mountain areas inland are drier than the coast. There are some mineral deposits, [[İskenderun]] is home to Turkey's largest iron and steel plant, and the district of [[Yayladağı]] produces a colourful marble called ''Rose of Hatay''.

===Climate===
{{Annotated image
|image=Koppen-Geiger_Map_TUR_present_with_provinces.svg
|image-width=3000  <!-- choose any width, as you like it. It doesn't matter the factual width of the image-->
|image-left=-1190   <!-- crop the left part. Be aware of the "-" minus symbol  -->
|image-top=-920    <!-- crop the upper part. Be aware of the "-" minus symbol  -->
|width=200
|height=200       <!-- crop the below part. That will be the height of the image in the article -->
|float=right
|annotations=<!-- empty or not, this parameter must be included -->
|caption=[[Köppen climate classification]] map of Hatay Province and surrounding regions of Turkey:<ref>"Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution". Nature Scientific Data. [[Digital object identifier|DOI]]:[https://www.nature.com/articles/sdata2018214 10.1038/sdata.2018.214].</ref>
{{legend-col
|thumb size=wide
|{{legend|#FFFF00|[[hot-summer Mediterranean climate|Csa]]}}
|{{legend|#C6C700|[[warm-summer Mediterranean climate|Csb]]}}
|{{legend|#FF00FE|[[humid continental climate|Dsa]]}}
|{{legend|#C600C7|[[humid continental climate|Dsb]]}}
}}
}}
Hatay has a [[Mediterranean climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]]: ''Csa'') or a dry-summer [[humid subtropical climate]] ([[Trewartha climate classification|Trewartha]]: 'wet' ''Cs'' or ''Cf'') which has hot, long and dry summers and mild, rainy winters.

{{Weather box 
|metric first = Yes 
|single line = Yes 
|location= Hatay (1991–2020, extremes 1940–2020)
| Jan record high C = 20.5
| Feb record high C = 26.6
| Mar record high C = 30.5
| Apr record high C = 37.5
| May record high C = 42.5
| Jun record high C = 43.2
| Jul record high C = 44.6
| Aug record high C = 43.9
| Sep record high C = 43.5
| Oct record high C = 39.2
| Nov record high C = 32.5
| Dec record high C = 25.1
| year record high C = 44.6
| Jan high C = 12.5
| Feb high C = 14.9
| Mar high C = 19.0
| Apr high C = 23.0
| May high C = 27.0
| Jun high C = 29.7
| Jul high C = 31.6
| Aug high C = 32.5
| Sep high C = 31.4
| Oct high C = 28.2
| Nov high C = 20.3
| Dec high C = 13.9
| year high C = 23.7
| Jan mean C = 8.2
| Feb mean C = 9.9
| Mar mean C = 13.6
| Apr mean C = 17.4
| May mean C = 21.6
| Jun mean C = 25.1
| Jul mean C = 27.6
| Aug mean C = 28.3
| Sep mean C = 26.1
| Oct mean C = 21.5
| Nov mean C = 14.3
| Dec mean C = 9.5
| year mean C = 18.6
| Jan low C = 5.0
| Feb low C = 5.9
| Mar low C = 9.1
| Apr low C = 12.6
| May low C = 16.9
| Jun low C = 21.3
| Jul low C = 24.4
| Aug low C = 25.2
| Sep low C = 21.7
| Oct low C = 16.2
| Nov low C = 9.8
| Dec low C = 6.2
| year low C = 14.5
| Jan record low C = -11.8
| Feb record low C = -6.8
| Mar record low C = -4.2
| Apr record low C = 1.5
| May record low C = 7.7
| Jun record low C = 11.6
| Jul record low C = 15.9
| Aug record low C = 15.4
| Sep record low C = 7.9
| Oct record low C = 2.3
| Nov record low C = -3.0
| Dec record low C = -6.6
| year record low C = -11.8
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation mm = 179.5
| Feb precipitation mm = 162.0
| Mar precipitation mm = 145.1
| Apr precipitation mm = 108.4
| May precipitation mm = 89.8
| Jun precipitation mm = 20.3
| Jul precipitation mm = 8.1
| Aug precipitation mm = 5.4
| Sep precipitation mm = 61.7
| Oct precipitation mm = 56.0
| Nov precipitation mm = 99.2
| Dec precipitation mm = 188.7
| year precipitation mm = 1124.2
| Jan precipitation days = 13.57
| Feb precipitation days = 12.07
| Mar precipitation days = 11.20
| Apr precipitation days = 9.73
| May precipitation days = 5.67
| Jun precipitation days = 1.83
| Jul precipitation days = 0.80
| Aug precipitation days = 0.80
| Sep precipitation days = 4.33
| Oct precipitation days = 7.70
| Nov precipitation days = 8.03
| Dec precipitation days = 11.40
| year precipitation days = 87.1
| Jan sun = 105.4
| Feb sun = 130.0
| Mar sun = 186.0
| Apr sun = 219.0
| May sun = 282.1
| Jun sun = 327.0
| Jul sun = 341.0
| Aug sun = 319.3
| Sep sun = 273.0
| Oct sun = 217.0
| Nov sun = 156.0
| Dec sun = 102.3
| year sun = 
| Jand sun = 3.4
| Febd sun = 4.6
| Mard sun = 6.0
| Aprd sun = 7.3
| Mayd sun = 9.1
| Jund sun = 10.9
| Juld sun = 11.0
| Augd sun = 10.3
| Sepd sun = 9.1
| Octd sun = 7.0
| Novd sun = 5.2
| Decd sun = 3.3
| yeard sun = 7.3
| source 1 = [[Turkish State Meteorological Service]]<ref>
{{cite web
| url = https://www.mgm.gov.tr/veridegerlendirme/il-ve-ilceler-istatistik.aspx?k=H&m=HATAY
| title = Resmi İstatistikler: İllerimize Ait Mevism Normalleri (1991–2020)
| publisher = Turkish State Meteorological Service
| language = tr
| access-date = 28 June 2021}}</ref>
|date= March 2011
}}

==Districts==
[[File:Hatay location districts.png|thumb|Districts of the Hatay Province]]

Hatay province is divided into 15 [[Districts of Turkey|districts]],<ref>[https://www.e-icisleri.gov.tr/Anasayfa/MulkiIdariBolumleri.aspx Büyükşehir İlçe Belediyesi] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130331190018/https://www.e-icisleri.gov.tr/Anasayfa/MulkiIdariBolumleri.aspx |date=2013-03-31 }}, Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 19 September 2023.</ref> listed below with their populations officially estimated as at 31 December 2022:<ref name=tuik/>

{{div col|colwidth=15em}}
* [[Altınözü]] (60,344)
* [[Antakya]] (399,045)
* [[Arsuz]] (101,233)
* [[Belen, Hatay|Belen]] (34,449)
* [[Defne]] (165,494)
* [[Dörtyol]] (128,941)
* [[Erzin, Turkey|Erzin]] (41,558)
* [[Hassa, Hatay|Hassa]] (56,675)
* [[İskenderun]] (251,682)
* [[Kırıkhan]] (121,028)
* [[Kumlu]] (13,333)
* [[Payas]] (43,919)
* [[Reyhanlı]] (108,092)
* [[Samandağ]] (123,447)
* [[Yayladağı]] (36,803)
{{div col end}}

==Demographics==
[[File:Hatay - ethnolinguistic map.svg|thumb|upright=1.59|right|Late 20th – early 21st century language distribution. <br/> • Turkish {{color box|Red}} <br/> • Arabic speakers {{color box|Green}} are shown by religious affiliation: Alawite (circle), Christian (triangle),  Sunni (square), Bedouin Sunni (rectangle), Jewish (rhombus).<ref>{{cite book|last=Werner|first=Arnold|chapter=The Arabic dialects in the Turkish province of Hatay and the Aramaic dialects in the Syrian mountains of Qalamun: Two minority languages compared|editor-last=Owens|editor-first=Jonathan|title=Arabic as a minority language|year=2000|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=9783110805451|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ih6b9iupT6oC&q=The+Arabic+dialects+in+the+Turkish+province+of+Hatay+and+the+Aramaic+dialects+in+the+Syrian+mountains+of+Qalamun%3A+two+minority+languages+compared&pg=PA347|page=368}}</ref>{{cref2|a}}]]

The majority of the population adheres to either [[Sunni Islam]] or [[Alawites|Alawism]], but other minorities are also present, including [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Syriac Orthodox]], [[Syriac Catholic Church|Syriac Catholic]], [[Syriac Maronite Church|Maronite]], [[Antiochian Greek Christians|Antiochian Greek]] and [[Armenians|Armenian]] communities. The village of [[Vakıflı, Samandağ|Vakıflı]] in the district of [[Samandağ]] is Turkey's last remaining rural Armenian community.<ref name="hurriyet050731">{{cite news|first=Ersin|last=Kalkan|url=http://hurarsiv.hurriyet.com.tr/goster/haber.aspx?id=338656|work=[[Hürriyet]]|title=Türkiye'nin tek Ermeni köyü Vakıflı|date=2005-07-31|access-date=2007-02-22|language=tr|archive-date=2016-01-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115153507/http://hurarsiv.hurriyet.com.tr/goster/haber.aspx?id=338656|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="lonelyplanet">{{cite book |last=Campbell |first=Verity |title= Turkey |year=2007 |publisher=[[Lonely Planet]] |isbn=978-1-74104-556-7 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=jstw7Sxkp4gC&q=Vakifli&pg=PA438}}</ref> Arabs form the majority in three districts out of the twelve: [[Samandağ]] (''Suwaidiyyah'') (Alawi), [[Altınözü]] (''Qusair'') and [[Reyhanlı]] (''Rihaniyyah'') ([[Sunni]]). Unlike most Mediterranean provinces, Hatay has not experienced mass migration from other parts of Turkey in recent decades and has therefore preserved much of its traditional culture; for example, [[Arabic]] is still widely spoken in the province.<ref>[http://www.radikal.com.tr/haber.php?haberno=159475&tarih=23/07/2005 Radikal-çevrimiçi / Türkiye / Samandağ'da 'Alluş'la dans<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930221002/http://www.radikal.com.tr/haber.php?haberno=159475&tarih=23%2F07%2F2005 |date=2007-09-30 }}</ref> To celebrate this cultural mix, in 2005 "Hatay Meeting of Civilisations" congress was organised by [[Aydın Bozkurt]] of [[Mustafa Kemal University]] and his "Hatay Association for the Protection of Universal Values".<ref>[http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=24386 Spiritual leaders speak up in Hatay for global peace – Turkish Daily News 27 Sep 2005<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927203245/http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=24386 |date=2007-09-27 }}</ref>

During the [[Syrian Civil War]], the province has experienced an influx of refugees. According to official figures, as of 21 April 2016, 408,000 [[Syrian refugees]] lived in the province.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mültecilerin Şartları Kötü, Hatay'da Herkes Tedirgin|url=http://bianet.org/bianet/siyaset/174229-multecilerin-sartlari-kotu-hatay-da-herkes-tedirgin|publisher=Bianet|access-date=13 May 2016|language=tr}}</ref>

===Language===
As of 2016, 85% of Arabic-heritage-speaking people in relevant parts of Hatay, specifically those who hear and may use the language on a daily basis, believed its use was decreasing; the rest disagree. The Arabic-speaking [[Antiochian Greek Christians|Antiochian Greek Christian]] minority has the right to teach Arabic under the [[Treaty of Lausanne]]; however, they tend to refrain from doing so to avoid sectarian tensions as the treaty does not apply to the Muslim majority.<ref name="culturalsurvival.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.culturalsurvival.org/ourpublications/csq/article/for-reasons-out-our-hands-a-community-identifies-causes-language-shift|title=For reasons out of our hands: A Community identifies the causes of language shift – Cultural Survival|work=culturalsurvival.org|date=2 April 2010 |access-date=14 January 2017}}</ref>

===Population===
{{Historical populations
|align=left
|footnote=Source:Turkstat<ref>[https://biruni.tuik.gov.tr/nufusmenuapp/menu.zul Genel Nüfus Sayımları]</ref><ref>[https://kutuphane.tuik.gov.tr/yordambt/yordam.php Turkstat]</ref><ref name="Turkstat">{{cite web| url=https://data.tuik.gov.tr/Bulten/Index?p=Adrese-Dayali-Nufus-Kayit-Sistemi-Sonuclari-2020-37210 |title=The Results of Address Based Population Registration System, 2020 |publisher=Turkish Statistical Institute |access-date=7 December 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028044112/https://data.tuik.gov.tr/Bulten/Index?p=Adrese-Dayali-Nufus-Kayit-Sistemi-Sonuclari-2020-37210 |archive-date=2021-10-28}}</ref>
|1940|246,138
|1950|296,799
|1960|441,209
|1970|591,064
|1980|856,271
|1990|1,109,754	
|2000|1,253,726
|2010|1,480,571
|2020|1,659,320
|2021|1,670,712
|2022|1,686,043
|percentages=pagr
}}
{{clear}}

==Education==
{{unreferenced section|date=March 2020}}
[[Mustafa Kemal University]] is one of Turkey's newer tertiary institutions, founded in [[İskenderun]] and [[Antakya]] in 1992.

[[İskenderun Technical University]] (ISTE), founded in 2015, is a technical university located in [[İskenderun]].

==Transport==
The province is served by [[Hatay Airport]], as well as inter-city buses.

==Culture==

===Cuisine===
{{unreferenced section|date=March 2020}}

Hatay is warm enough to grow tropical crops such as [[sweet potato]] and [[sugar cane]], and these are used in the local cuisine, along with other local specialities including a type of cucumber/squash called [[:TR:Acur|kıtte]]. Well-known dishes of Hatay are its local variety of a widespread syrup-rich shredded pastry, [[Kadaif#Kun.C4.81fah.2FK.C3.BCnefe|künefe]] (kanafeh), squash cooked in onions and tomato paste (sıhılmahsi), aubergine and tahini paste ([[Baba ghanoush]]), chickpea and tahini paste [[hummus]] and dishes such as [[kebab]] found throughout Turkey. Particular spice mixes and herb mixes are popular. Pastes include:
*walnut and spice paste, [[muhammara]]
*[[thyme]] and [[parsley]] paste, [[Za'atar]]

Animal products include spicy [[köfte]]: oruk ([[Kibbeh|i̇çli köfte]]); and a spicy sun-dried cheese, [[surke]].

[[Pomegranate]] syrup (nar ekşisi) is Hatay's hallmark salad dressing.

===Landmarks===
* World's second-largest collection of [[Roman Empire|Roman]] [[mosaics]] in the [[Hatay Archaeology Museum]] at Antakya.
* [[Habib'i Neccar Mosque|Habib-i Najjar Mosque]], built on a former [[Paganism|Pagan]] temple, where two [[awliya|saints]] are buried and visited by Muslims.
* Rock-carved [[Church of St Peter]] in Antakya, a site of Christian pilgrimage.
* Gündüz cinema, once parliament building of the [[Republic of Hatay]].
* Titus Tunnel of [[Vespasian]], in [[Samandağı]], built as a water channel in the 2nd century.
* Castles: [[Koz Castle]], [[Baghras|Bakras Castle]], [[Payas Castle]], [[Mancınık Castle (Hatay)|Mancınık Castle]], [[Cin Castle]], [[Darbısak Castle]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Kaleler|url=http://www.hataykulturturizm.gov.tr/TR,60891/kaleler.html|publisher=Hatay Directorate of Culture and Tourism|access-date=13 May 2016|language=tr}}</ref>

===Films===
* Hatay is featured in the movie ''[[Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade]]'', where it was portrayed as the final resting place of the [[Holy Grail]] in the fictitious "Canyon of the Crescent Moon" outside of Alexandretta. In the movie, set in 1938, the [[Nazism|Nazis]] offer the [[Sultan]] of [[Hatay State|Hatay]] (a [[monarchy]] which the province never had in real life) precious valuables to compensate for removing the Grail from his borders. He ignores the valuables, but accepts their [[Rolls-Royce Phantom II]].
* The Turkish film ''[[Propaganda (1999 film)|Propaganda]]'' (1999) by [[Sinan Çetin]], portrays the difficult materialisation of the Turkish-Syrian border in 1948, cutting through villages and families. 
* The 2001 film ''Şelale'' by local director [[Semir Aslanyürek]] was filmed in Hatay.

== Notable people ==
* [[Tayfur Sökmen]] — President of the Hatay State
* [[Cemil Meriç]] — writer, translator
* [[Barış Atay]] — actor, politician 
* [[Can Atalay]] — lawyer, activist,  politician
* [[Volkan Demirel]] — football coach, pundit, former international goalkeeper 
* [[Jehan Barbur]] — singer, songwriter
* [[Selami Şahin]] — musician, singer, songwriter
* [[Karsu]] — singer
* [[Kalben]] — musician
* [[Sadullah Ergin]] — politician
* [[Eren Fansa]] — footballer

==See also==
{{Portal|Turkey}}
* [[Baku–Supsa Pipeline]]
* [[Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline]]
* [[Çukurova]]
* [[List of populated places in Hatay Province]]

== Notes==
{{Cnote2 Begin|liststyle=upper-alpha}}
{{Cnote2|a|Map does not show all existing Hatay settlements and their linguistic composition. Arnold Werner states that his research only covered half of the Arabic speaking villages (some 50 out of a 100). Arabic and Turkish speaking villages shown on map are only those covered by Werner's research and map. The map excludes the northern more Turkish-speaking parts of the province.
}}
{{Cnote2 End}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |last1=Duiker |first1=William J. |last2=Spielvogel |first2=Jackson J. |year=2012 |title=World History |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-1111831653}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Khadduri |first=M. |date=July 1945 |title=The Alexandretta Dispute |journal=[[The American Journal of International Law]] |volume=39 |issue=3 |pages=406–425 |doi=10.2307/2193522 |jstor=2193522|s2cid=155617277 }}
* {{Cite journal |last=Picard |first=Elizabeth |date=January 1982<!-- 1982-01 --> |title=Retour au Sandjak |language=French |journal=Maghreb-Machrek |volume=99 |location=Paris |issue=99 |pages=47–64 |doi=10.3917/machr1.099.0047|doi-access=free }}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.hataygazetesi.com Hatay News]
* [http://antakyam.net/ pictures Photo Gallery] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723014341/http://www.antakyam.net/ |date=2011-07-23 }}
* [http://www.hatay.gov.tr/ the provincial governor's website]
* [http://www.pbase.com/dosseman/Antakya Pictures] of [[Antakya]]
* [http://www.pbase.com/dosseman/antakya_museum Pictures of Antakya Museum]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070929143303/http://www.hatayportal.org/galeri/ Pictures of Hatay]
* [http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/tr-hatay.html Flag and info of the Republic of Hatay]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051103035518/http://www.turkeyforecast.com/weather/hatay/ Hatay Weather Forecast Information]
* [http://www.asyaradyo.com Hatay Radio Stations]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180115180417/http://www.antakya.tv/ Tourist Information and pictures about Hatay/Antakya with Webcams and weather information]
* [http://www.hatayradyosu.com Hatay Radio Station]

;Turkish
* [http://www.hataygazetesi.com/ The local newspaper]
* [http://www.mku.edu.tr/ Mustafa Kemal University]
* [http://www.asyagazetesi.com/ The local newspaper]

{{Districts of Turkey|provname=Hatay|image=Hatay|sortkey=Hatay}}
{{Provinces of Turkey}}
{{Territorial disputes in Western Asia}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|36|25|49|N|36|10|27|E|region:TR-31_type:adm1st|display=title}}

[[Category:Hatay Province| ]]
[[Category:Disputed territories in Asia]]
[[Category:Eastern Mediterranean]]
[[Category:Historical geography of Syria]]
[[Category:Levant]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1939]]
[[Category:Syria–Turkey relations]]
[[Category:Territorial disputes of Syria]]
[[Category:Territorial disputes of Turkey]]
[[Category:Provinces of Turkey]]