Hatay to show its herbal richness in a new museum

HATAY - Anadolu Agency

A 22-room old Antakya house has been restored and turned into the Medical Herbs Aromatic Museums, which is the first of its kind in Turkey. Visitorsof the museum will also be informed about the herbs on display.

The southern province of Hatay, which is home to a rich variety of herbs thanks to its seasonal
features and known for its endemic types, will display this richness at a medical aromatic herbs museum.

Hatay Governer Mehmet Celalettin Lekesiz said that Hatay, where people of different religions live in peace together, was a very significant center of humanity as well as historical and natural beauties.

Lekesiz said that due to its geographical location, the city was rich in terms of medical aromatic herbs, adding that 861 herb species were growing in the city and 223 out of them were endemic types.

The governor said that a 22-room old Antakya house on the Kurtuluş Avenue had been restored and turned into the Medical Herbs Aromatic Museums, and that it was the first of its kind in Turkey with four closed and an open exhibition halls as well as a cafe and a guest house in it.

Informing about herbs

“Hatay has a magnificent richness in terms of various types of aromatic herbs. Nearly 2,577 types of herbs exists in the regions of Hayat, Kahramanmaraş, Osmaniye, Kilis and Gaziantep, 1,861 out of these herbs are growing in Hatay. Currently data show that 400 out of these 1,861 types of herbs are medical and aromatic herbs. We have decided to open this museum to show this richness to people, and inform them about which herbs is useful for which purposes,” the governor said.

Lekesiz also said that visitors of the museum, which displays different herb types including basil, sage, laurel, licorice, stone mint (cunila origanoides) and cercis, would also be informed by experts during their visit. “They will also be served drinks made of these herbs,” he added.

Lekesiz said that annually nearly 650 tons of spices in 55 types were sold in Hatay and they believed that the sales would increase thanks to the museum, which cost of 3 million Turkish Liras and will open in the coming days.