Gulf of Alexandretta

The gulf is named for the nearby Turkish city of İskenderun, the classical Alexandretta. It was also formerly known as the Sea or {{nowrap|Gulf of Issus}} ({{langx|la|Mare Issicum}} or {{lang|la|Issicus Sinus}}){{GEOnet3|-754985|Gulf of Alexandretta}} ({{langx|grc|Ἰσσικὸς κόλπος}}).[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0099.tlg001.perseus-grc1:14.6.1 Strabo, Geography, 14.6.1][https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0099.tlg001.perseus-grc1:16.1.1 Strabo, Geography, 16.1.1] Herodotus and Stephanus of Byzantium[https://topostext.org/work/241#M463.5 Stephanus of Byzantium, Ethnica, §M463.5] also records it as the {{nowrap|Marandynian Bay}} ({{langx|grc|Μυριανδικὸς κόλπος}}), after the nearby town of Myriandus.{{harvp|Rennell|1830|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=wKsBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA321 321–2] }}.

In the 9th-12th centuries the gulf was known as the Armenian Gulf{{cite journal|url=https://arar.sci.am/dlibra/publication/287967|title=The Tercentennial Glory Of The Armenian Kingdom Of Cilicia And The Self-Defensive Battles Of The Zeytountsis|journal=Fundamental Armenology|year=2020|last=Svazlian|first=Verjine}} or the Armenian Bay ({{langx|hy|Հայկական ծոց}}).{{cite journal|url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=648636|title=Armenian Migration from War-torn Syria to Europe: From Diaspora to Diaspora or Homeland?|journal=Eurolimes|year=2018|last=Yepremyan|first=Tigran|issue=23+24 |pages=191–205 }}

The Gulf of Alexandretta forms the easternmost bay or inlet of the Mediterranean Sea. It lies beside the southern coast of Turkey, near its border with Syria. In antiquity, the adjacent Nur Mountains were usually thought to separate the regions of Cilicia and Syria, although Herodotus at one point places the division further south at Ras al-Bassit (the classical Posidium).

There is a lot of heavy industry around Iskenderun Bay, including five cement factories, ten steel factories, and three coal-fired power stations: İsken Sugözü, Atlas and Emba Hunutlu. The mountains around the bay trap air pollution,{{Cite report|last=Myllyvirta|first=Lauri|title=Air Quality and Health Impacts of the Proposed EMBA Hunutlu Coal Power Project|url=https://energyandcleanair.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/EMBA-Hunutlu-Coal-Power-Project.pdf|year=2020}} but because smokestack details are sent to the government unpublished, it is difficult to apportion responsibility for deaths and illnesses caused by air pollution in the area.Stauffer & Gümüşel (2016), pages 4-6 The water too is polluted by land-based, shipping and fish farming activities.{{Cite journal|last1=Yilmaz|first1=Hilal KARGIN|last2=Sönmez|first2=Hatice|date=2018-05-11|title=Environmental problems and precautions of Iskenderun Gulf in Eastern Mediterranean region|url=http://www.actabiologicaturcica.com/index.php/abt/article/view/246|journal=Acta Biologica Turcica|language=en|volume=31|issue=3|pages=69–81|issn=2458-7893}}

• Çukurova, the modern equivalent to Cilicia
• List of gulfs

{{Reflist}}

• {{citation |last=Rennell |first=James |title=The Geographical System of Herodotus Examined and Explained... |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wKsBAAAAYAAJ |volume=I |location=London |publisher=C.J.G. & F. Rivington |date=1830 |edition= 2nd}}.
• {{cite report

| author1 = Anne Stauffer

| author2 = Deniz Gümüşel

| editor = Genon K. Jensen

| year = 2016

| title = Coal power generation and health in Iskenderun Bay, Turkey

| url = https://www.env-health.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/heal_toolkit_iskenderun_bay.pdf

| publisher = Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL)

}}

{{Gulfs of Turkey}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Coord|36|45|N|36|00|E|display=title|region:TR_type:waterbody_source:GNS_scale:1000000}}

Category:Landforms of Hatay Province

Category:Landforms of Adana Province

Alexandretta

Alexandretta

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