Wender·Vista
İskenderun
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileTurkey
on Turkey's southeastern Mediterranean coast, in Hatay

İskenderun

— — a harbour Alexander left his name to.

— 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

“A port city on the Gulf of İskenderun, where the Amanos Mountains drop down to the sea and Turkey bends east toward Syria. Alexander founded it after the Battle of Issus in 333 BC and called it Alexandria — the Turkish name still carries his. The waterfront promenade runs long beside the gulf, with palms, tea gardens, and small fishing boats tied at the inner harbour. The February 2023 earthquake left deep marks here. The city is rebuilding, slowly, with the sea on one side and the mountains close behind. from the studio

from the studio
İskenderun
— bring it home

İskenderun, 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 İskenderun

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

İskenderun is a Mediterranean port city in Hatay Province on Turkey's southeastern coast, set on the Gulf of İskenderun where the Amanos Mountains meet the sea. The city was founded by Alexander the Great in 333 BC, shortly after his victory at the nearby Battle of Issus, and was originally named Alexandria ad Issum — the modern Turkish name preserves Alexander directly. With a population of roughly 250,000 before the 2023 earthquakes, it is one of Turkey's principal commercial ports and the seat of one of the largest container terminals on the eastern Mediterranean. Antakya, the provincial capital, sits about 60 km south.

— the water

The Gulf of İskenderun is a wide, shallow embayment of the eastern Mediterranean, sheltered by the Amanos range to the north and east. The seafront promenade, the Atatürk Bulvarı corniche, runs for kilometres along the waterfront with palms, benches, and tea gardens facing the water. Small fishing boats tie up at the inner harbour while large container ships anchor in the outer roadstead. The fish from the gulf — sea bream, anchovy, the local çupra — anchor the city's table. Sunsets on this coast burn red against the mountains behind, the gulf going copper to dark blue in minutes.

— the year

The 6 February 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes — twin shocks of magnitude 7.8 and 7.5 — hit Hatay province hard. İskenderun lost buildings along the waterfront and a portion of its port flooded as the coastline subsided. The city's recovery is ongoing and visible: cleared lots, scaffolding, new construction beside untouched older blocks. Hatay's older identity remains: a province where Turkish, Arabic, and Armenian families have lived side by side for centuries, where the cuisine — künefe, hummus, muhammara — reads as a single shared table. Winters are mild and rainy; summers run hot. Spring is the soft season here.

— where
Turkey · İskenderun, Hatay
— position
36.5867° N · 36.1739° 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.
60 km S
Antakya (Antioch)
historic provincial capital
35 km N
Battle of Issus site
ancient battlefield
10 km E
Amanos Mountains
coastal mountain range
30 km SW
Arsuz
seaside resort town
N
İskenderun
Antakya (Antioch)
Battle of Issus site
Amanos Mountains
Arsuz
— common questions

What people ask.

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

On the Gulf of İskenderun in Hatay Province, southeastern Turkey, where the Amanos Mountains drop down to the eastern Mediterranean. Antakya sits about 60 km south; the Syrian border is roughly 40 km southeast.

Alexander the Great founded it in 333 BC, shortly after his victory at the Battle of Issus nearby, and named it Alexandria ad Issum. The modern Turkish name İskenderun carries Alexander's name directly forward.

It is one of Turkey's main commercial ports and home to one of the largest container terminals on the eastern Mediterranean. The waterfront promenade, the Atatürk Bulvarı corniche, runs for kilometres along the Gulf.

Yes. The 6 February 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes, magnitudes 7.8 and 7.5, struck Hatay hard. Buildings along the waterfront were lost and part of the port flooded as the coastline subsided. Recovery continues.

Hatay cuisine reads as a single shared Turkish-Arab table: künefe, hummus, muhammara, fresh fish from the Gulf — sea bream, anchovy, çupra. The province is recognised by UNESCO as a Creative City of Gastronomy.

Spring is the soft season — mild, green, and rainy enough to settle the dust. Summers run hot and humid on the coast; winters are mild but wet. Autumn is steady and warm into November.

— about the piece in your home

Many of our customers have given the WenderVista pieces of places they once lived. After the 2023 earthquakes, a tile of the home harbour carries weight. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio carries well.

The blues and copper light of the artwork sit well with Mediterranean-modern interiors, warm-neutral coastal rooms, and Ottoman-revival spaces with carved wood and brass. It reads as harbour without being literal.

Yes. Painterly harbour pieces — fine-art rather than photographic — are a steady current in coastal-modern and global eclectic rooms. The Medium and Large both work as a focal piece without overwhelming a wall.

Above a standard sofa, a single Large is the simplest choice. For a wider wall, a 4-tile Mural carries the scale; a 9-tile Mural suits a long entry wall or a stairwell where the eye travels.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and built for vertical installations in damp rooms. The Glossy finish is for framed wall pieces and show areas away from steam and splash.

A soft microfibre cloth with plain water is all the tile needs. Skip ammonia, vinegar, and abrasive sponges. The colour lives in the ceramic surface beneath a thin glossy finish, so it will not wear off with normal cleaning.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to our family studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. No licensing, no third-party art. Reid Wender chooses each place that enters the atlas and the work is hand-finished in-house.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.