Geography

Payas is a town in Dörtyol

Dörtyol

Dörtyol is a port city and oil terminus at the head of the Gulf of İskenderun, near the easternmost point of the Mediterranean coast. Dörtyol is located 26 km north of the city of Iskenderun in the province of Hatay in southeastern Turkey.-Geography:...

 district which is a part of Hatay Province. It is a Mediterranean

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

 coastal town situated at about 36°45′N 36°13′E. Distance to Dörtyol at the north is 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) and to İskenderun

Iskenderun

İskenderun is a city and urban district in the province of Hatay on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. The current mayor is Yusuf Hamit Civelek .-Names:...

 is at the south is 20 kilometres (12.4 mi).
The population is 33444 as of 2010.

History

Payas and the vicinity had always been inhabited all through the history. Ancient names of the town were Baias and Bayyas. During Byzantine-Sassanid War of 602-628, Payas was one of the theaters of war between Heraclius

Heraclius

Heraclius was Byzantine Emperor from 610 to 641.He was responsible for introducing Greek as the empire's official language. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, successfully led a revolt against the unpopular usurper Phocas.Heraclius'...

 and Khosrau II

Khosrau II

250px|thumb|Khosrau II 250px|thumb|Khosrau II 250px|thumb|Khosrau II (Khosrow II, Chosroes II, or Xosrov II in classical sources, sometimes called Parvez, "the Ever Victorious" – (in Persian: خسرو پرویز), was the twenty-second Sassanid King of Persia, reigning from 590 to 628...

. In the second half of the 7th century, Payas became a part of the rising Arabic Empire

Rashidun

The Rightly Guided Caliphs or The Righteous Caliphs is a term used in Sunni Islam to refer to the first four Caliphs who established the Rashidun Caliphate. The concept of "Rightly Guided Caliphs" originated with the Abbasid Dynasty...

. Turks annexed Payas towards the end of the 11th century. The town became a part of the Dulkadirids after the turbulent years following Crusades

Crusades

The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...

 and Mongols

Mongol Empire

The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...

, and a part of the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 after the campaign of Selim I

Selim I

Selim I, Yavuz Sultân Selim Khan, Hâdim-ül Haramain-ish Sharifain , nicknamed Yavuz "the Stern" or "the Steadfast", but often rendered in English as "the Grim" , was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to...

 in 1517. Following a a period of short French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 occupation after the First World War, Payas became a part of Turkey unlike most other parts of the Hatay Province where French occupation continued till 1938.

Economy

Main economic activity of the town was used to be agriculture. But after the establihment of the factory of Isdemir

Isdemir

İsdemir is a Turkish steel producer located in İskenderun, Hatay Province on the Mediterranean coast. The name is a contraction of the Turkish language İskenderun Demir ve Çelik A.Ş., which means "İskenderun Iron and Steel CO "...

, İskenderun Iron and Steel Co. within the town in 1970s, the town has quickly been transformed into an industrial town. At the present there are no less than 70 private rolling mills in the town. The transporatation business is also pronounced.