Wender·Vista
Antakya
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileTurkey
on the Orontes River in Hatay, near the Mediterranean coast

Antakya

— — the city of Saint Peter, twice rebuilt.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“Ancient Antioch on the Orontes, founded around 300 BC by Seleucus the First and counted in late antiquity among the great cities of the Roman world. The Hatay Archaeology Museum holds one of the largest collections of Roman mosaics anywhere. The February 2023 earthquake brought down much of the old town. The work of rebuilding it is now the work of the city. — from the studio

from the studio
Antakya
— bring it home

Antakya, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Antakya

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Antakya is the capital of Hatay Province in southern Turkey, on the lower Orontes River about twenty kilometres from the Mediterranean coast and a similar distance from the Syrian border. Founded as Antioch on the Orontes around 300 BC by the Seleucid king Seleucus I Nicator, it grew under the Romans into one of the four great cities of the Mediterranean, alongside Rome, Alexandria, and Constantinople. The modern city, population near 400,000 before the 2023 earthquakes, lies below the slope of Mount Habib-i Neccar.

— the stone

The Church of Saint Peter, cut into the slope of Mount Starius above the city, is held in Catholic tradition to be one of the earliest Christian meeting places, in use from the first century. Pope Pius IX named it a minor basilica in 1963. The Habib-i Neccar Mosque, founded in 638 AD, is the oldest mosque in Anatolia and was rebuilt repeatedly over the centuries. Both buildings suffered in the February 2023 earthquake. The Hatay Archaeology Museum, opened in 2014, holds one of the world's largest collections of Roman mosaic floors.

— the year

On 6 February 2023, two earthquakes of magnitude 7.8 and 7.5 struck southern Turkey within nine hours. Antakya was among the cities most severely damaged; an estimated 80 percent of the old city centre was lost, and the death toll in Hatay Province alone exceeded 20,000. Reconstruction is being planned around the surviving Ottoman houses of the historic quarter and the cleared sites of the lost ones. The Hatay Archaeology Museum, built to modern seismic standards in 2014, came through largely intact and reopened the same year.

— where
Turkey · Antakya, Hatay Province
— elevation
86 m · 282 ft
— position
36.2023° N · 36.1613° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
25 km SW
Samandağ
coastal town at the river mouth
55 km NW
İskenderun
port city
100 km SE
Aleppo
Syrian historical city
N
Antakya
Samandağ
İskenderun
Aleppo
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Antakya — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Antakya is the modern Turkish name for Antioch on the Orontes, founded around 300 BC by Seleucus I Nicator. Under the Romans it was one of the four great cities of the Mediterranean.

On 6 February 2023, two earthquakes of magnitude 7.8 and 7.5 struck the region. Antakya was among the worst-affected cities, with roughly 80 percent of its historic centre destroyed and tens of thousands killed across Hatay Province.

A modern museum in Antakya holding one of the world's largest collections of Roman and Byzantine floor mosaics, recovered from the ancient city and its hinterland. The current building opened in 2014 to seismic standards.

Cut into the slope of Mount Starius above Antakya, the cave church is held in Catholic tradition to be among the earliest Christian meeting places, in use from the first century AD. Pope Pius IX named it a minor basilica.

The Orontes, known in Turkish as the Asi, flows past Antakya and reaches the Mediterranean at Samandağ, about twenty-five kilometres downstream. It rises in Lebanon and crosses Syria before entering Turkey.

Founded in 638 AD on the site of an earlier church, Habib-i Neccar is the oldest mosque in Anatolia. The 2023 earthquake brought down its minaret and damaged the prayer hall; reconstruction is under way.

— about the piece in your home

Often, particularly since 2023. Many Hatay families now live across Turkey and abroad, and the city is held closely. A Small or Medium with a note from the studio reads as recognition, not nostalgia.

The warm ochres and stained-glass blues sit well in Mediterranean-modern, Levantine, and Jewel-tone Maximalist interiors. The piece pairs against tadelakt plaster, terracotta tile, or a dark painted wall.

Yes. The mosaic-warm palette reads cleanly against terracotta, lime plaster, and aged brass. A Medium or Large above a long sideboard holds the room without crowding the surrounding surfaces.

Above a standard sofa, the Large is usually right. Above a long console, a four-tile Mural carries the river and the old town together. A nine-tile Mural anchors a wider wall and becomes the room's centre.

Yes, in our Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and tolerate steam and splash, so they work above a sink or in a shower surround. The Glossy finish is for dry-wall display only.

A soft microfibre cloth with water is all it needs. Avoid abrasive sponges and solvent cleaners. The colour lives in the ceramic surface, so normal cleaning will not dull or fade it over time.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original, made in our Knoxville studio under Reid Wender's direction, and not licensed from any outside source. We work as a single studio, with no third-party reproduction.

— if this one stayed with you

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