Iskenderun
İskenderun, historically known as Alexandretta and Scanderoon, is a city in Hatay Province on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey.
The city of Iskenderun, which is often called Iskenderon in Russian, stretching along the coast of the bay of the same name, was founded under the name Alexandria ad Issum by Alexander the Great himself in commemoration of his victory over the Persians in the battle of Issus. Under the Romans, the city became the most important port of the region, and under the Ottomans, it became the main port of the nearby Halab (modern Aleppo, Syria), from which trade routes spread throughout Persia and the Arabian Peninsula. In the 19th century, the city was renamed Alexandretta, and after joining Turkey, it received its modern name (in fact, the same Alexandria, only in Turkish transcription).
Now Iskenderun is a powerful industrial, military and commercial center of the country, little known to foreigners.
Although the city has preserved few historical monuments, it is worth seeing the numerous European-style mansions right behind the old port, the tiny Armenian church of Surp-Karasun (1872), the Greek churches of St. Nicholas (1876) and St. George, as well as the Catholic Cathedral of St. Mary (XIX century) behind the city tourist office.