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Antalya (formerly known as Adalia) is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. It is the capital city of Antalya Province. The population of the city is 603,190 (2000 census) but reaches two million in summers at the height of tourism season.

Regarded as a privileged city with its marvelous Mediterranean Sea, long beaches with Blue Flags, untouched bays, tropical climate, historical sites dating back to the Hellenistic times and warm residents, Antalya on the Turkish Riviera offers much more than one can expect from a holiday city, exemplified by its popularity for long-term residence among foreigners.

About Antalya

Situated on a cliff over the Mediterranean, Antalya is surrounded by mountains. Developments in tourism, starting in the 1970s, have transformed the city into an international resort. With its airport and central location, Antalya is a gateway for the Turkish Riviera and many historical sites. In 2007, Antalya Airport’s number of passengers on international flights surpassed the total amount of Istanbul Ataturk Airport and Sabiha Gökçen International Airport for the first time, officially earning the title of “the capital of Turkish tourism”.

Since the area is closed to the cold northerly winds, it is characterized by the typical Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and moderately warm and rainy winters. Around 300 days of the year are sunny, the sea temperature never goes below 15°C and in summer is around 29°C. The temperature climbs up to 45°C in July and August. The sea breeze and the northeasterly winds blowing from inland relieve the area under this temperature.

In summer the town is heaving with tourists both from Turkey itself and sun-seeking foreigners, many from Britain and Germany and for the last few years a large number from Russia as well. On summer evenings it is too hot and humid to sleep and Antalya hums with the sound of people buzzing around on scooters or cracking open seeds and nuts with their teeth as they parade the streets with their friends and families. In winter the town is cool and quiet.

The economy of Antalya depends on a mixture of tourism, agriculture, and commerce, with some light industry. Agricultural production includes citrus fruits, cotton, cut flowers and even bananas. Antalya is a leading agriculture center of Turkey due to its suitable ecology.

Antalya pulses after dark with what is undeniably the Turkish south coast’s liveliest and craziest nightlife, centred on a wide variety of clubs and bars. Most bars double as discos, and most of the hotels offer floor shows, usually with belly-dancing, that are open to non-guests.

Culture of Antalya

Festivals and Events

• A number of sports championships including motor rallies.
• Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival: Turkey’s largest film festival, last week of September
• Antalya Festival: September
• Mediterranean International Music Festival: October, 6 days
• Antalya Honey Festival: Gündogmus, August
• Antalya International Folk Music and Dance Festival Competition: Last week of August
• Aspendos International Opera and Ballet Festival: June and July
• Antalya Piano Festival: October
• Antalya Painting Festival: September
• Beachpark Rock Festival: October
• Kas-Demre Festival: December
• Mediterranean Golden Orange Wrestling: Kumluca, May

Cuisine

Antalya’s most famous include Piyaz, made with tahini (crushed sesame seeds), garlic, walnuts and boiled dried beans, spicy hibeş with mixed cumin and tahini, şiş köfte, tandır kebap, domates civesi, şakşuka and various cold Mediterranean dishes with olive oil. One local speciality is tirmis, boiled seeds of the lupin, eaten as a snack.

Historical Sites Near Antalya

Rather than being stuck inside a giant hotel complex, You may opt to make the best use of our time by driving around and seeing the hot spots in Antalya, which is rich in historical and cultural values.

In the city center

• Kaleici: the historical center of the city; now restored as the touristic centre of the city with its hotels, bars, clubs, restaurants, and shopping. Kaleici retains much of its historical character and the restoration won the Golden Apple Prize, the Oscar of tourism.
• Ancient monuments include the City Walls, Hıdırlık Tower, Hadrian’s Gate and the Clock Tower.
• Hadrian’s Gate: constructed in 2nd century BC by the Romans in honour of the Emperor Hadrian.
• Kesik Minare (Broken Minaret): Once a Byzantine Panaglia church, later converted into a mosque.
• Yivli Minare (Fluted Minaret): The Seljuks built it. Decorated with dark blue and turquoise tiles, the minaret eventually became the symbol of the city.
• Karatay Medresesi, Ahi Yusuf Mescidi, Iskele Mosque, Murat Paşa Mosque, Tekeli Mehmet Paşa Mosque, Balibey Mosque, Musellim Mosque, Seyh Sinan Efendi Mosque and Osman Efendi Mosque are other Islamic buildings in the city.
• “Han”s are Seljuk or Ottoman inns which have architectural significance. Examples in Antalya include Evdir Han, Kırkoz Han, Alara Han and Castle and Sarapsu (Serapsu) Han.

Museums

• Antalya Museum: Prize winning archaeology museum. The museum, in which the excavation findings from Side, Perge, Karataş, Semayük, Arkyanda, Ksanthos, Limyra, Patara and Bayındır are exhibited, is among the most important museums in Turkey. Visitors can see the underwater, mosaic, coin and ethnography sections.
• Kaleiçi Museum: Opened in 2007 by the Mediterranean Civilizations Research Center (Akdeniz Medeniyetleri Araştırma Merkezi) see also their annual journal.

Historic sites

• Aspendos: A Pamphylian city, 50 km (31 mi) from Antalya city on the Antalya-Alanya highway.
• Termessos: A Pisidian city situated high on a mountain with remnants of an agora, theatre and an odion. It has a reputation of being the most magnificent necropolis on the Mediterranean, 35 km (22 mi) northwest of Antalya.
• Ariassos: 48 km (30 mi). along the Antalya-Burdur highway and before arriving at the village of Dag turn left and Ariassos is 1 km (1 mi). further on. A city of antiquity, Ariassos was built in a valley and could survey its surroundings. The gate, the baths, the rock tombs and the mausoleum are almost intact.
• Perge: 18 km (11 mi) northeast of Antalya. The ruins are spread on two hills, the theatre on one and the acropolis on the other. According to the legend three heroes from Troy built the city.
• Olympos / Cirali areas; Two small rural villages located just over 80 km southwest from Antalya and boasts a beautiful 3.5 km secluded beach, the ruins of Olympos, the flames of the Chimaera / Yanartaş, as well as being a protected area by the WWF for the nesting of the Caretta Caretta or also known as the Loggerhead Sea Turtles.
• Phaselis is an ancient Lycian city in the province of Antalya in Turkey. It is located between the Bey Mountains and the forests of Olympos National Park, 16 km west of the touristic town of Kemer and on the 57th kilometer of the Antalya-Kumluca highway. Phaselis and other ancient towns around the shore can also be accessed from the sea by daily yacht tours.

Travel Tips for Antalya

How to get there

Turkish Airlines, Onur Air, AtlasJet and Pegasus all have at least daily flights from İstanbul. There are also plentiful connections from Ankara. SunExpress connects Antalya directly to İzmir, Diyarbakır, Trabzon, Erzurum, Bodrum and Dalaman.

Where to stay

- The Alp Paşa, www.alppasa.com, Tel.: (242) 247 56 76
- The Atelya Pansiyon,www.atelyahotel. com, Tel.: (242) 241 64 16
- Dedeman, www.dedeman.com, Tel.: (212) 444 43 36
- Hillside Su, www.hillsidesu.com.tr, Tel.: (242) 249 07 00
- Sabah Pension, www.sabahpansiyon. com, Tel.: (242) 247 53 45
- Sheraton Voyager, www.sheraton.com, Tel.: (242) 243 24 32

Where to eat

- Antalya Balık Evi, Tel.: (242) 323 18 23
- Mr. Blues, Tel.: (242) 248 45 00
- Castle (Kale Bar), Tel.: (242) 248 65 91
- Stella’s Manzara, Tel.: (242) 316 35 96
- Vanilla, Tel.: (242) 247 60 13, e-mail: vanillalounge@hotmail.com 7 Mehmet, www.7mehmet.com