Antakya

Antakya, modern form of Antioch, is the capital of Hatay Province, the southernmost province of Turkey. The city is located in a well-watered and fertile valley on the Orontes River, about 20 kilometres from the Levantine Sea.

Today's city stands partly on the site of the ancient Antiochia, which was founded in the fourth century BC by the Seleucid Empire. Antioch later became one of the Roman Empire's largest cities, and was made the capital of the provinces of Syria and Coele-Syria. It was also an influential early center of Christianity; the New Testament asserts that the name "Christian" first emerged in Antioch.