There are a lot of cities that claim to be a "crossroads of civilization," many even in Anatolia. But Hatay really has as good a case as anywhere in the world to be given the term. Hatay is home it ancient Mesopotamia, where multiple religions rose up, and where civilization as we know it today originated.

And there’s so much to see, a home to all three of the great monotheistic religions, an important province to the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans and the Ottomans. And, set right on the shores of the Mediterranean, it’s also a beautiful spot surrounded by incredible natural scenery. It comes as no surprise, then, that this beautiful nature and the fusion of millennia’s worth of civilizations has led to a cuisine that is out of this world as well!

So if you could only see just one piece of history, one piece of nature, eat one dish and explore one religious beauty in Hatay, what it would be? Let’s find out, shall we?