Gulf of Alexandretta
Gulf of the eastern Mediterranean or Levantine Sea
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Through Bay
Names
The gulf is named for the nearby Turkish city of İskenderun, the classical Alexandretta. It was also formerly known as the Sea or the Gulf of Issus (Latin: Mare Issicum or Issicus Sinus, Ancient Greek: Ἰσσικὸς κόλπος), named for the ancient city there. Herodotus and Stephanus of Byzantium also records it as the Marandynian/Myriandinian Bay (Ancient Greek: Μυριανδικὸς κόλπος), after the nearby town of Myriandus. Between the 9th and 12th centuries, the gulf was known as the Armenian Gulf or the Armenian Bay (Armenian: Հայկական ծոց) due to the Armenian presence and eventually statehood in Cilicia.
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Geography
The Gulf of Alexandretta forms the easternmost bay or inlet of the Mediterranean Sea. It lies beside the southern coast of Turkey, near its border with Syria. In antiquity, the adjacent Nur Mountains were usually thought to separate the regions of Cilicia and Syria, although Herodotus at one point places the division further south at Ras al-Bassit (the classical Posidium).
Pollution
There is a lot of heavy industry around Iskenderun Bay, including five cement factories, ten steel factories, and three coal-fired power stations: İsken Sugözü, Atlas and Emba Hunutlu. The mountains around the bay trap air pollution, but because smokestack details are sent to the government unpublished, it is difficult to apportion responsibility for deaths and illnesses caused by air pollution in the area. The water too is polluted by land-based, shipping and fish farming activities.