Antalya Tours
ANTALYA - SUN CITY
Antalya is described by many
travellers as Turkey's most
seductive coastal city and
it is certainly blessed with
fine beaches, a superb
panaroma of plain and
mountain and a near perfect
climate for sun seekers.
Three hundred days of
sunshine a year are not
uncommonly recorded and even
the winters are mild due to
the protection of the Taurus
mountains to the north. To
the west loom the impressive
peaks of the BEY DAGLARI.
But unlike many
mediterranean locations with
a comparable climatethe
plain of Antalya is well
watered and fertile. Thanks
to the streams of the Duden
Cay which irrigate the fie
lds and farms. The DUDEN
WATERFALL, 12 km to the
north of the city is a
favorite resort for swimmers
and picnickers. As might be
expected of such a
well-favoured spot, the
region has been inhabited
since the very earliest
times and finds from
Palaeolithic finds have been
made in the KARAIN CAVE 254
km. from the city heading
northwest. In historical
times, Hittites, Greeks,
Romans, Seleucids, Seljucks
and Ottomans have possessed
the area and all have left
their traces in some manner
or another. The most
impressive of historical
legacies however is without
doubt the old town or
KALEICI (inside the castle)
where 700 Ottoman houses
still remain making it the
most extensive of all
surviving Ottoman quarters.
It has been declared a
historical site and all
restoration work is
carefully regulated to
preserve its former
chcracter. The upper stories
of the houses spread beyond
the lower levels in typical
Ottoman fashion and the
roofs bend low toeards each
other above the streets
giving the place a medieval
feel. Needless to say
there's nothisng very
medieval about the wares on
sale in the countless shops
catering for today's tourist
trade.
The heart, and pearl of old
Antalya is the old harbour,
the ESKI LIMAN restored so
tastefully in the early '80s
that the work earned an
international award from
journalists and travel
writers. There are some
outrageously expensive boats
moored here nowadays but the
fishing vessels are still
alongside them too and the
fishermen mend their nets on
the quayas they always did.
After dark with the old city
walls looming above and the
boats riding sweetly on the
waters, this is an
enchanting spot. Seafood
restaurants and cafes line
the quayside. From here
boats large and small can be
chartered for daily
excursions. Close to the old
harbour are the city's most
famous monuments the FLUTED
MINARET at nearly forty
metres high Antalya's most
conspicuous landmark, and
close by the KESIK MINARE -
variously translated as
''broken'', ''truncated'',
''cut off'' - which was
struck by lightning in what
must have been a spectacular
disaster. The whole area in
fact is a palimsest of
bygone cultures. In the
ALAATTIN MOSQUE can be seen
a Byzantine dome resting on
Roman arches and HADRIAN'S
GATE, built to commemmorate
a visit by the Roman Emperor
in 130 A.D. is still an
imposing monument to the
grand and solid skills of
Roman architects even though
it has lost its second
storey over the centuries.
For those interested in the
past a visit to the
ARCHAEOLOGICIAL MUSEUM is
recommended. This can be
found on Kenan Evren Bulvari
heading wetward out of town
and here can be seen the
impressive record of
Antalya's long history from
the stone age finds from the
Karain cave to Ottoman
costumes and carpets to a
nomadictent complete with
household possessions. The
collection of Greco-Roman
statues features Hadrian
himself in a starring role
and there is a superb
collection of mosaics from
Xanthos. For a leisurely
stroll by date palms and
flame trees and amind an
almost tropical growth of
exotic plants, there are
acres of parkland along the
cliffs on both sides of the
town. Eastwards runs
KARAALIOGLU PARK where
walkers can refresh
themselves with freshly
squeezed juices and ice
cream while gazing up at the
silhouettes of pale
mountains or down at the
cobalt sea. Long stretches
of sandy beach extend for
long miles in bath
directions a long the bay.
AKSU (PERGE)
Perge is the place from
where Alexander the Great
entered Pamfilya. It is
observed by the things found
in excavations that Perge
was a religious center of
the Byzantium period. It
become a part of the Ottoman
land in 1391. The theatre
(15.000 people capacity),
stadium (12.000 people
capacity), city walls,
Agora, Baths, Column street,
Acropol is are some of the
historical buildings found
in excavations.
BELKIS (ASPENDOS)
Aspendos is located on the
Antalya-Alanya road 48 km.
east of Antalya. t was the
richest city of antiquity.
Since the city was founded
by the river that ships
could enter, it developed
very rapidly. Aspendos is
thought to be founded by
Argosses and hosted through
the eras of the persians,
romans, Byzantines and
Seljuks. It is established
on one large and two small
hills. A few of the
historical buildings face
come down to our times. In
the ecavations signs of life
going back 50.000 years are
observed. Aspendos was the
only city except side which
minted silver coins (5.
century B.C) The first
theatre festival of Turkey
was organized in the
Aspendos Amphitheatre in
1959. The theatre is the
most imposing building of
Aspendos. The traditional
Antalya Festival is
organized is this theatre
every year.
THEATRE OF ASPENDOS
The most splendid and best
protected building of
Aspendos. It is a work of
Roman architecture. It has
the capacity of 15.000
people. Except the theatre
the most splendid arch of
Turkey. Agora, fountains,
baths, temples, satdions and
sarcophagi are also here.
SELGE
As on old mountain city
Selge was established on the
southern fast of the Taurus
Mountains and it is 55 km
from Manavgat. After passing
through Koprulu Kanyon that
has a fascinating beauty,
you can reach the ancient
city. The city was ruled by
Persians, Lycians, Romans
and Alexander. It is
theatre, carved into rocks,
is still in good condition.
Since the city as
established on a mountainans
region it is not damaged so
much. The stadium, c,sterns,
metropol, temples and
sarcophagi are worth seeing.
MANAVGAT
If you are somewhere close
to Side, you should see the
Manavgat Waterfall. It is a
bit far from crowded
touristic complexes but it
is more suitable for small
pension accomodation.
MANAVGAT WATERFALL
The Manavgat Waterfall is on
the manavgat River which
stars from the Tauruses and
flows into the Mediterranean
sea close to Manavgat. It is
one yhe natural beauties of
the country. you can have
lunch, coffe or just sit by
the waterfall that is truly
worth seeing.
THERMESOS (GULLUK)
There is not reliable
informaion about the
establisment of the city. It
is one of the ancient cities
established on top of the
Taurus mountain chain
(1650m. height). Hadrian
gate, cisterns, city walls,
theatre are some of the
important monuments in the
city.
MYRA (DEMRE)
It is a coustal city
established in the IV.
century B.C. Since Santa
Clause lived and died here,
Demre is also called ''city
of Santa Clause''. The
famous St. Nicholas church
is also in Demre. Bones of
St. Nicholas found in a
sarcophagus in the church
are exhibited in the Antalya
Museum in a special box.
Another important building
surviving today is the
theatre from the Roman
period. There are many tombs
corved in to rock around the
theatre.
KEKOVA
It is sunken city on an
island 500 m. from the coast
and opposite the fishing
village Ucgazi (between Kas
and Demre). We strongly
suggest that any one
interested in diving should
see this place. It is
thought that the city sank
into the water after an
earthquake. On the west of
the island, you can see
''Shipyard cove'' tahy is
the stop of yatchs for bily
taht is the stop of yachts
for bily tours. A cavern
close to the shipyard cove
also is worth seeing.
OLYMPOS (CIRALI)
It is located on two sides
of the river flowing to the
sea from Deliktas. Olympos
is valley of unforgettable
beauty. It is thought that
it was built in the 8.
century B.C. by the pirate
Zeniketos. Olympos is a
place among fruit trees with
clean sea, campingplaces and
persions and the city is not
yet polluted and crowded.
You can see the legendary
Yanartas Hill 7 km. west of
Olympos. The fire on the top
of this 300-350m. high hill
exists since prehistoric
times and it is said that
hunters cooked their meat on
this fire. This fire stik
exists but in fact, it is
only a natural gas.
TEKIROVA (PHASELIS)
It is thought that the city
was established in 691 B.C.
It is 45 km. southwest of
Antalya. This ancient city
was built as a harbour city
and it is very beautiful. It
has 3 harbours. There are
tomb stones and sarcophagi
on the coast and theatre
agora, Athena temple
(completely destroyed) and
stadion on the peninsula.
Phaselis was attacked by
pirates many times and
pirates from Cilicia
captured the city. But in 67
B.B. the Lycian union got
this city back. Today, there
are many beautiful holiday
villages around Phaselis.
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Geographical Position
The surface area of Turkey is divided by the Dardanelles, the sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus. In the west, Turkey has boundaries with Greece (212km) and Bulgaria (269km). In the east and south east, Turkey has boundaries with four countries: The Soviet Union (610km) , Iran (454km), Iraq (331km), and Syria (870km). Geographically, Turkey is a land-bridge between Europe and Asia.
The european section of Turkey is a fertile hilly land. The Asian part of Turkey consist of an inner high plateau (1000m) with mountain ranges along the north and south coasts. The plaeau extends from the west to the Aegean coast, with many river valleys.
The western part is the most fertile section of the country. In eastern Turkey, the northern Pontus Mountains meet with the southern Taurus Mountains and from here the 1800m high Anatolian plateau. From this plateau rise the particularly high Vulkan Mountains over 3000m, while further south is the 5165m high Mount Ararat, the highest mountain in the country.
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