Why visit Belen
Townapedia lists 5 museums and landmarks, 9 parks and trails, 17 places to eat and 4 attractions in and around town.
Highlights include Çobandede Tepesi, Bagras and Myriandrus.
Weather in Belen
Forecast from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Full forecast
About Belen
Belen is a municipality and district of Hatay Province, Turkey. Its area is 184 km2, and its population is 34,449 (2022).
From the Wikipedia article Belen, Hatay (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Things to do4
Museums and landmarks5
Myriandrus
Monument and historic site · 11.4 km
Ancient Phoenician port city
Parks, trails and playgrounds9
Restaurants and cafes17
Pizza Piri Karağaç Konarlı
Restaurant · Pizza · 10.6 km
52/A Ortayol Caddesi, Hatay
5 more on the map.
History
Known in earlier times as "Maziku Bagras" and "Bab-ı İskenderun" the pass was brought into the Ottoman Empire in 1516 after the Battle of Marj Dabiq. The Ottomans posted a guard on the pass, the main route from Syria to Anatolia, 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 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 Evliya Çelebi 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 Egyptian 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, Belen became part of Turkey in 1939.
From the History section of Belen, Hatay on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Churches and places of worship54
Hacı Ahmet Karatoyuk Camii
Place of worship · Sunni · 10.2 km
İbrahim Karaoğlanoğlu Caddesi, Pınarbaşı Mah.
Shopping25
Gas and EV charging11
SHARZ Hypco Hatay Akaryakıt
EV charging · 5.8 km
Kıcı Mahallesi, Hatay İskenderun Yolu, 31350 Belen/Hatay, BELEN
Schools, colleges and libraries35
Healthcare113
Özel iskenderun diyaliz merkezi
Clinic and pharmacy · 9.5 km
no 100 İbrahim Karaoğlanoğlu Caddesi
Map of Belen
250 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
Hatay Airport (HTY) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 16 km away.
- Atik 3 km northeast, about 3 min by car
- Çırtıman 4 km north, about 4 min by car
- İskenderun 11 km north, about 11 min by car
- Kırıkhan 15 km east, about 15 min by car
- Antakya 32 km south, about 32 min by car
- Hıdırbey 32 km south, about 32 min by car
- Dörtyol 39 km north, about 39 min by car
- Samandağ 49 km southwest, about 49 min by car
- Osmaniye 65 km north, about 1 h by car
- Kilis 86 km east, about 1 h 30 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Local news
Headlines from INDB.
Reviews, tips and questions
Loading what members have shared...
Sources and licences
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, coordinates, regions and time zone
- Mapillary (see each image): photos
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- City view of Belen Turkey - panoramio, Chanilim714, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Restaurant at Belen Turkey - panoramio, Chanilim714, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Sky n Mountain at Belen, Turkey - panoramio, Chanilim714, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Belen Radar IMG 3549, Burak bilir, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Iskenderun Roman Catholic church 6687, Dosseman, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Baghras2, No machine-readable author provided. Godfried Warreyn assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY 2.5
- ISS055-E-30969 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- Biten akarsu IMG 5660, Burak bilir, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Manzara IMG 5671, Burak bilir, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Piknik alanı - panoramio, uğur baysan, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Çağlayan şelalesi IMG 3520, Burak bilir, CC BY-SA 4.0
- ISS038-E-6942 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- Houses Iskenderun Turkey - panoramio, Chanilim714, CC BY-SA 3.0
- ISS031-E-95561 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS031-E-96966 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS031-E-95264 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS031-E-95265 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS031-E-95560 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS031-E-96967 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS031-E-95558 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS067-E-51377 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS031-E-95559 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS031-E-95263 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS031-E-95262 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS031-E-96964 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS031-E-96965 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- Street-level photo, hderinoz, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, ahmettsafaa, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, ahmettsafaa, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, ahmettsafaa, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, hderinoz, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, burcudemir, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, ahmettsafaa, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, gozde, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, hderinoz, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, ahmettsafaa, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, ahmettsafaa, CC BY-SA 4.0
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