Grand Ontur Hotel Iskenderun

Turkish Drag Queen!?!?

by CrtnShdofGrn

I will address the title of this chapter in a minute. This is a nice coastal town (although extremely windy) on the Mediterranean where the coast turns south from Turkey and descends toward Syria, and beyond. On one edge of town is the sea, the other edge of town ascends dramatically to mountains whose peaks are often swallowed by the moderately low clouds. There are no real beaches here (with the amount of industrial plants in the area, you wouldn't really want to take a dip anyway. But the walkway along the town's waterfront is quite nice, and there are a few cafes along the way to break up your walk with a coffee or tea. The first time I came to Iskenderun was to meet with some people to go to a club called ªallen Bar. It is a nice place, and although I haven't been there in a few months and can't guarantee it's still a fun place to go, I do recommend it. The surprising thing (especially considering Iskenderun isn't too far from the Syrian border and also lies in an area of Turkey still claimed by Syria) was that all the times we went there, the singer of the house band was openly homosexual, and dressed and danced more feminine than Britney Spears. I have no problem with that, myself. In fact, he/she was a great entertainer...always trying to make sure the crowd got into the show and have a good time. The funny thing was, he took a liking to one of my friends (the only other American in our group that frequented the place), a country-raised guy from Oklahoma. Less than an hour into our first visit there, our entertainer saw my friend (who will remain nameless) and asked him to dance with him while he sang. Reluctantly, (and to avoid being the rude newcomer) he agreed and danced along (very rigidly) with the singer as he finished the song. This continued during a few of our later visits (including one night when my friend was seranaded) which provided me with even more entertainment than I expected going in to the bar. The best part was watching my friend squirm, as he tried to tactfully deter his not-so-secret admirer.

Iskenderun

by CemilKaynar

"Iskenderun"

AKDENIZIN INCISI ISKENDERUN

ISKENDERUN : Hatay iline baðlý Iskenderun, kendi adýyla anýlan körfezin kýyýsýndaki modern bir kenttir. Kýyýnýn hemen gerisinde bir duvar gibi yükselen (Amanos) Nur Daðlarýna sýrtýný vermiþ, yeþil ve dört mevsim sýcak bir turizm merkezi, bunun yaný sýra da iþlek bir ticaret limanýdýr. Ýlçede sanayi oldukça geliþmiþtir. Ýskenderun Demir ve Çelik Fabrikasý gibi büyük bir fabrikanýn da burada bulunmasýndan dolayý, buna baðlý küçümsenemeyecek derecede çevrede demir çelik haddehanesi bulunmaktadýr. Deniz turizmine elveriþli kumsallarýnýn olmasýna raðmen fazla tanýtým olmadýðýndan o kadar tanýnmamýþtýr. Coðrafi yapý olarak Ýskenderun; deniz kýyýsýndan biraz içeriden Amanos daðlarý yükselir. Kýyý ile daðlarýn arasý 3-5 km kadardýr Ýskenderun bu alana yerleþmiþtir. Nüfusu 200.000 den fazla olmasýna raðmen hala il olamamýþtýr. Ýskenderun coðrafyasý, insanlarý, sanayisi ve denizi ile gerçekten harika bir ilçedir.