A breather on the south-eastern route
Arsuz, the ancient Rhosus, sits on a sheltered bay of the Gulf of İskenderun, about 35 kilometres south-west of İskenderun and a little over an hour's drive from Antakya (Antioch). It has no great monuments. What it does have is a long beach, fishermen's houses, tangerine groves that run almost down to the water and a row of restaurants with their tables out on the sand. This is where people from Hatay come at the weekend, and where a trip through south-eastern Türkiye can slow down for a day or two.
What to do
Go out on a boat with the fishermen
At dawn or at sunset, with someone who has fished this bay all their life. You see the coast from the sea, watch the nets come in and sometimes catch your own dinner. It's one of the experiences I arrange with families from the village.
Dinner with a local family
Hatay cooking as it's made at home: herb-based meze, the catch of the day, künefe for dessert, and conversation in Turkish, Arabic and whatever else it takes. There's no better way to understand this land where so many cultures meet.
Vakıflı and Musa Dağı
On the slopes of the mountain behind the bay lies Vakıflı, the last Armenian village in Türkiye, with its church, its stone houses and a women's cooperative that makes jams. Musa Dağı is the mountain of Franz Werfel's novel The Forty Days of Musa Dagh; from the top you can see the whole bay.
When to go
May to October if you want to swim; the rest of the year it's still a lovely place for a meal by the water. In August it fills up with families from all over the region.
Getting there
From Antakya it's a little over an hour by road, via İskenderun; from Hatay Airport (HTY), about an hour to an hour and a half. The natural plan is to spend a night here after seeing Antakya.
What to eat
Fish and seafood from the gulf, cooked over charcoal; zahter, a salad of fresh wild thyme; hummus with pine nuts; and, in season, tangerines picked straight from the tree.
Fitting it into your trip
Spend one night here, between Hatay and Adana. It's the quiet ending to a route through the south-east, before you fly home.