Hatay
Founded as Antioch ~300 BC where 'Christians' were first named. February 2023 earthquake destroyed 80% of buildings; 210,000 still in container cities by 2024. 2,500 years of earthquake destruction and rebuilding continues.
Hatay exists because geography creates crossroads—and crossroads attract conquerors and earthquakes alike. The province capital Antakya was built as Antioch around 300 BC by Seleucus I Nicator, becoming one of the ancient world's greatest cities. In the New Testament, Jesus's followers were first called 'Christians' here. The apostles Peter and Paul met in Antioch. For two millennia, the city represented religious diversity where East met West.
The region's political identity proved as contested as its spiritual significance. Crusaders established the Principality of Antioch, which lasted until 13th-century Mongol arrival. Mamluk rule followed, then Ottoman incorporation in the 16th century. After World War I, France administered the region as part of Syria. Turkey annexed it in 1939—a territorial shift that neighboring Syria still contests. By 2024, the province hosted 354,000 Syrian refugees from the ongoing civil war, part of 1.75 million Syrians in southern Turkey.
Ancient Antioch's nemesis was seismic. The 526 earthquake killed tens of thousands—most from botched rescue efforts rather than initial collapse. Subsequent earthquakes flattened the city repeatedly. Each time, it rebuilt. The February 6, 2023, earthquake tested this regenerative capacity at modern scale. The 7.8 magnitude event killed over 50,000 across southern Turkey and Syria. Antakya suffered among the worst damage: 80% of buildings reportedly destroyed beyond repair.
Reconstruction in 2024-2025 proceeded slowly but deliberately. Government data shows over 210,000 people still living in container cities across Hatay. The wooden dome of Habib-i Neccar Mosque has been restored; sections of Kemal Pasa Street near completion. The Turkey Design Council developed a master plan over eight months through 40 meetings with 1,000 stakeholders—an attempt to build back earthquake-resistant rather than merely rebuild.
The October 16, 2024, Mww 6.0 earthquake in neighboring Malatya caused 254 injuries across seven provinces, reminding the region that seismic risk is perpetual rather than episodic. Antakya remains a symbol of diversity in Turkey—Arab, Turkish, Armenian, and other communities mixed across millennia. By 2026, Hatay tests whether cities built on active fault lines can survive the 21st century as they survived the 6th. The crossroads that made Antioch great still generates the friction—geological and cultural—that threatens its survival.