Hatay is a Turkish province. Its capital is Antakya, the former Antioch. The province had 1,253,726 inhabitants in 2000 and an area of 5,678 sq. km. The majority are Sunni Turkish. The minorities include alevitische Arabs and Armenians (in the village of Vakifli) and (Aramaer).
The district of Hatay, until the late 1930s in the West Sandjak Alexandrette, geographically now forms the southernmost part of Turkey, situated in the northwestern border with Syria. The main cities are Iskenderun and Antakya.
Geography 46% of the area are mountains, valleys 33% and 20% plateau. The main mountain ranges are the only mountains in the north-south direction. They are also under the names Gavur or Amanos Mountains. The highest peak is the Migirtepe(Bozdag) with 2240 m. Other high mountains are the Ziyaret Mountain and the Keldag(Kel Mountain) with 1739 m . The most important river is the Asi (Orontes former). He comes from Lebanon and flows through Syria in southern Hatay near the town of Samandag into the Mediterranean.
Major lakes are Gölbasi and Yenisehir Gölü. The Amik lake dried up in the 1970s and is now seen as agricultural land.
The Amik Valley is the most important valley in Hatay. Other valleys are Dörtyol, Arsuz, Payas,Iskenderun and Erzin.
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