Hatay

The Necmi Asfuroğlu Archaeology Museum, which has the museum-hotel concept and displays artifacts belonging to five different periods, has welcomed 22,500 visitors since its opening last year.

Turkey's Orthodox community celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ on Jan. 6, recognized as Christmas according to the Julian calendar.

Greek Orthodox citizens in Istanbul reenacted the baptism of Christ with a traditional cross-throwing ceremony at the Kuzguncuk dock in Üsküdar district.

A hackathon on migration and entrepreneurship, called the "Migathon," is set to kick off on Jan. 8 with the participation of Turks and Syrian asylum seekers.

The event will take place between Jan. 8 and 10. Turks and Syrian asylum seekers residing in Turkey's Istanbul, Şanlıurfa, Adana, Mersin, Bursa, İzmir, Ankara, Konya and Hatay provinces will be able to participate.

A Turkish court on Dec. 29 issued a detailed verdict of prison sentences given to 27 people over the 2014 case of National Intelligence Organization (MIT) trucks stopped illegally near the Turkish-Syrian border.

Spark, a Dutch-based non-governmental organization (NGO) announced on Dec. 28 that it provided technical support and equipment to five Turkish universities to ensure proper access to distance education.

Ahmet Eden, an 80-year-old villager living in the foothills of the Amanos Mountains in the southern province of Hatay, has been carving pieces of wood into beautiful works of art, shaping them as spoons to use them as gifts.

He first took an interest in handicraft at the age of 16 when his uncle noticed his talent.

Turkish border guards on Dec. 14 took into custody a suspected French-origin terrorist trying to cross into the country from its southern border with Syria, officials said.

The suspect, sought with a red notice and identified only by the initials C.G., tried to enter the country's southern Hatay province with a fake name, said Turkey's National Defense Ministry in a statement.

Restoration and excavation work has resumed at the Saint Simon Monastery in southern Turkey after a pause of 60 years, and the site will host tourists once it is completed.

The monastery, located in Hatay province, is believed to have been built in the 6th century by Saint Simon.

Olive Oil Museum, which was brought to tourism with the restoration of the three-century-old olive oil facility in the southern province of Hatay, exhibits old and traditional tools used in the extraction of olive oil back in the time.

Retired Mehmet Keleş, who has been working voluntarily in the excavations of the Holy Apostles Church that he found in his garden in the eastern province of Hatay's Arsuz district, is happy to contribute his bit for bringing the cultural heritage to light.