Alexandretta (Turk. Iskanderun; anc. Alexandria ad Issum), a Turkish seaport on the N. coast of Syria, in the vilayet of Aleppo, situated on the E. side of the bay of Iskanderun, in lat. 36° 35' N., lon. 36° E., 23 m. N. of Antioch; pop. about 1,000. Though much improved of late years, especially by the drainage of a pestilential marsh in its rear, it is still a wretched and unhealthy village. The harbor is capacious, and the town has considerable commercial importance as the port of Antioch and Aleppo. The products of northern Syria and Mesopotamia, consisting of grain, oils, soaps, gallnuts, wool, cotton, tobacco, etc, and European manufactures, pass through this port. English capitalists have projected a railroad from this port through the valley of the Euphrates to the Persian gulf, to be ultimately extended N. W. to Constantinople. - Alexandretta was founded by Alexander the Great to commemorate his victory over Darius III. in 333 on the neighboring plains of Issus. In 1097 it was taken by Tancred; and in 1832 it was the scene of a victory by the army of Mehemet Ali over the Turks.