Reyhanlı is a town and district of Hatay Province

Hatay Province

Hatay Province is a province in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast. It is bordered by Syria to the south and east and the Turkish provinces of Adana and Osmaniye to the north. The province is part of Çukurova, a geographical, economical and cultural region that covers the provinces of...

, on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, near the country's border with Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

.

History

Formerly known as "İrtah" and "Reyhaniye", Reyhanli has been settled by Turks since the 16th century and in particular with Turkish "muhair" (refugees) from the Caucasus

Caucasus

The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...

 and Cyprus

Cyprus

Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

 in the 19th century.

Geography

The district today has a rich ethnic mix of Arabs, Caucasians, and Turks

Turkish people

Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...

. Reyhanlı has a larger community of Sunni Arabs than most of Hatay, where the Arab population are mostly Alawite

Alawite

The Alawis, also known as Alawites, Nusayris and Ansaris are a prominent mystical and syncretic religious group centred in Syria who are a branch of Shia Islam.-Etymology:...

.

The climate is typical of the Mediterranean region, and Reyhanlı is an agricultural district watered from Reyhanlı reservoir, growing cotton, wheat and other grains and raising cattle, sheep and goats.

The town lies on the main road between Iskenderun

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:...

 and Aleppo

Aleppo

Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...

. The border crossing point at Cilvegözü, 5 km south east of the town, is the busiest land border post between Turkey and Syria.

Well-known residents

• Cemil Meriç - rightist thinker for leftists, leftist thinker for rightists, born Reyhanlı 1916.