Hatay during the early 1950S in a traveler’s eyes

In this study, starting from a series of articles published in Hakimiyet newspaper dated 1953 in Erzurum, we will try to explain Hatay of the 1950s. This series of articles named "Hatay Notes" was writted by Muzaffer Yenen. The writer, about whom we do not know much, decides to visit Hatay in Iskenderun, where he arrived after the sea journey he made between Istanbul-Rhodes-Iskenderun. The notes mentioned were written during this trip. He first visits the districts of Hatay, beginning with Antakya. He travels from Antakya to Reyhanlı, from Reyhanlı to Kırıkhan, and from Kırıkhan to Iskenderun. The information given by the traveler about Hatay of the 1950s enables us to compare the Hatay of the 1940s and the city under the French rule before joining the Republic of Turkey. The two-day short tour of Hatay, which started on January 20, 1953, is very valuable and important for us. Perhaps more importantly, this documentary series of articles was published in a newspaper in Erzurum, which is hundreds of kilometers away from Hatay 65 years ago. Our purpose in this study is to reveal Hatay's historical, cultural, social, economic, commercial, industrial, transportation, etc. aspects at the beginning of 1950s with regards to the mentioned articles. Thus, an opportunity to compare development progress of Hatay before and after the 1950s will be presented.