Belen is a municipality and

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Hatay Province Hatay Province (, ) is the southernmost province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey. Its area is , and its population is 1,686,043 (2022). It is situated mostly outside Anatolia, along the eastern coast of the Levantine Sea. The province ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Its area is 184 km², and its population is 34,449 (2022).

Etymology

When describing his visit to the region in the 17th century,

Evliya Çelebi Dervish Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi (), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman explorer who travelled through his home country during its cultural zenith as well as neighboring lands. He travelled for over 40 years, rec ...

mentioned that ''belen'' means ''slope'' in the Turkmen language.

Demographics

In late 19th century, traveler Martin Hartmann listed 6 of the 12 settlements in the

nahiyah A nāḥiyah ( , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiyeh, nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level divisi ...

of Belen as Turkish and the rest without any information on the population.

Geography

The district of Belen consists of a small town of the same name and the surrounding villages in the forested slopes of the

Nur Mountains The Nur Mountains (, "Mountains of Holy Light"), formerly known as Alma-Dağ, the ancient Mount Amanus (), medieval Black Mountain, or Jabal al-Lukkam in Arabic, is a mountain range in the Hatay Province of south-central Turkey. It begins sou ...

. The Belen Pass is the main route across the mountains and joins the coastal city of

İskenderun İskenderun (), historically known as Alexandretta (, ) and Scanderoon, is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Hatay Province, Turkey. Its area is 247 km2, and its population is 251,682 (2022). It is on the Mediterranean coas ...

with

Antakya Antakya (), Turkish form of Antioch, is a municipality and the capital Districts of Turkey, district of Hatay Province, Turkey. Its area is . Prior to the devastating 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, 2023 earthquakes, its population was recorded ...

. The pass is a key route between

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. The Belen district is known for its cool clean air (especially when compared with the heat of the Mediterranean coast below) and its mountain spring water. The roadside restaurants in the pass have long been a stopping place for travellers, serving the typical dishes of

Hatay Hatay Province (, ) is the southernmost Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality of Turkey. Its area is , and its population is 1,686,043 (2022). It is situated mostly outside Anatolia, ...

, and especially "Belen tava", meats fried in tomatoes, garlic, spices and peppers. Belen itself is a small market town with a post office and other basics. The people of Belen are conservative; the mayor of the municipality is İbrahim Gül of the Turkish far-right MHP, elected in 2019.

History

Known in earlier times as "Maziku Bagras" and "Bab-ı İskenderun" the pass was brought into the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

in 1516 after the Battle of Marj Dabiq. The Ottomans posted a guard on the pass, the main route from

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, and gave the area the name "Belen". In 1535 following a visit by Suleyman the Magnificent a wall was built to secure the pass along with a

caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and Caravan (travellers), caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a ...

, a mosque and a bathhouse, and with these facilities Turkish families were settled on the mountainside, partly acting as watchkeepers on the pass, along with the military garrison. This early Ottoman architecture is still in place. The town grew, acquiring the typical Ottoman mix of Muslim and non-Muslim traders and villagers. the 16th century traveller

noted the harsh climate, the narrow streets and the forest on the steep hillsides. Belen was key to the defence of the Ottoman Empire during the struggle against the breakaway

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

ian army in 1827. 13,000 people died during the Egyptian struggle to take the pass, they eventually succeeded but during their retreat from Anatolia were harried by bandits at Belen again. Along with the rest of

Hatay State Hatay State (; ; ), also known informally as the Republic of Hatay (), was a transitional nation that existed from 2 September 1938 to 29 June 1939, being located in the territory of the Sanjak of Alexandretta of the French Mandate of Syria. The ...

, Belen became part of Turkey in 1939.

Composition

There are 19

neighbourhoods A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

in Belen District:Mahalle
Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 19 September 2023. * Atik * Bakras * Benlidere * Çakallı * Çerçikaya * Cumhuriyet * Derebahçe * Fatih * Halilbey * İssume * Kıcı * Kömürçukuru * Müftüler * Muhlisali * Ötençay * Sarımazı * Şekere * Şenbük * Soğukoluk

References

External links

Slightly more pictures on site
{{Yaylas of Turkey Populated places in Hatay Province Yaylas in Turkey Districts of Hatay Province Metropolitan district municipalities in Turkey