Under this mound in Hatay lie the remains of ancient Alalah, a city whose first settlers arrived around 3400 BC. Seventeen building levels have been identified here, left by a long succession of peoples who made the place their home, the Late Hittites among them.
The mound is best known for its palaces, two large ones in levels 4 and 7. The older, in level 7, dates from the 18th century BC and was raised by Yarım-Lim, a Hittite prince of Yamhat who lived in the time of King Hammurabi. The level 4 palace of the 15th century BC, which belonged to King Nigme-Pa, stands right beside it. Both were built of mud brick on stone foundations, with their rooms set in a row around an inner courtyard.
When to go
- Climate
- Across Hatay as a whole, monthly mean temperatures run from 8.1 °C in January to 27.9 °C in August; the mean stays between 15 and 25 °C in April, May, June and October; rainfall is heaviest in January (197 mm) and lightest in July (16 mm). Long-term means for 1940-2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM).
