ALsewedeyah City

Al-Sewedeyah city is called  Saman Dag in Turkish, which means the mountain of hay. It is located about 30 km to the north -west of Kasab, 25 km to the village of Alyerdi and 25 km to the city of Antakya.

Owing to its location on the Orontes River , Alsewedeyah is famous for its important port which had witnessed a great prosperity in the Roman Ages. The beautiful beach made Alsewedeyah to be one of the most important touristic towns.

Besides, it is characterized by its black stones, and the majority of its population have dark skin because of the hot climate of the city. During the Byzantine centuries, Alsewedeyah was subsidiary to the Emirate ( Seis ) , which is considered as the western Emirate of the Kingdom of Armenia in the east.

Agriculture is the important economic resource of Alsewedeyah town especially olives , citrus and all kinds of fruits.
In addition, people in Alsewedeyah subsist on tourism and fishing in their livelihood.

The inhabitants of Alsewedeyah still retain their customs, traditions and their main language which is Arabic.

There are three churches related to the Roman Orthodox in Alsewedeyah, the most important and largest is the one which carries the name of the prophet Eliya. This church was restored in 1996.

Alsewedeyah also embraces several ancient and modern mosques. There is also a large market in the city center which plies all kinds of fish.

On Latakia road and about 18 km before reaching  Alsewedeyah, there stands the wonderful monastery of St. Simeon.
The Turkish occupation has displaced most of Alsewedeyah population who emigrated to Latakia as being the closest to their city, geographically and climatically.

M.Wassouf