Defining the impacts of historical development activities on urban heritage of Iskenderun (Alexandretta)

Abstract

Iskenderun, also known as Alexandretta in antiquity, has long been a strategically significant port city in the Eastern Mediterranean thanks to its natural harbour. Due to its advantageous location, the settlement began to rapidly urbanize after the mid-19th century as a result of the impacts of Ottoman and later the French Mandate period development activities. This article focuses on defining the influences of historical development activities on the urban heritage of Iskenderun by understanding and evaluating various efforts that lie behind the formation of the city as an important trade centre and port city connecting the Middle East, Asia Minor, and Europe. By doing so, the formation, development and transformation of the settlement are chronologically deciphered regarding its historical turning points: the mid-19th century Ottoman period, the beginning of the French Mandate period (1919), and the joining of Iskenderun to the Republic of Turkiye (1939). Accordingly, the characteristics of the urban form, the ways these characteristics were transformed, and the problems and strategies encountered within different periods are decoded. This decoding employed a combined methodology, including historical interpretation and case study research methods. The results of the study reveal that Iskenderun has experienced different solutions for problems of infrastructure within the different periods, as a reflection of different political understandings and public and social needs among those periods.