ANTALYA

Antalya is a beautiful city built on cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean. The snow-capped Taurus Mountains dominate the skyline to the north. The city has been increasing in size especially in the last 15 years. Many resorts have been built on the coastline and many people have moved to the city to work in tourism, one of Turkey's most important industries.

Antalya was founded in the 2nd century B.C. by Attalus II of Pergamum and named Attalie in his honor. In 130 A.D. Hadrian came to Antalya. His visit was commemorated by the erection of a ceremonial gate (Hadrian’s Gate), which is beautifully preserved in the city.

The Old harbor was restored quite nicely with restaurants and shops surrounding the small marina. Above the harbor, Yivli Minare (“fluted minaret”) built in 1230 overlooks the old section of the town. It was originally attached to a mosque, which was converted from a Byzantine church.

The Antalya Museum is one of the main attractions in the city. A rich collection of artifacts from the vicinity, ranging from the upper Paleolithic period to Ottoman times, offers a glimpse of the area’s rich history.

The Antalya region has so many things to offer that one can find a quite place even in the busiest tourist season (summer). Just east of the city is the ancient city of Perge, from where the apostles Paul and Barnabus began their first mission in Anatolia. The city was renowned for its schools of sculpture during the Roman period. It was also an important city for the Romans because of its strategic location on the Pamphylian plain, linked to the Kestas River by road but far enough from the sea to be safe from pirates. Its most notable remains include a theater, a stadium, two basilicas, and an agora.

Further east, the ancient Pamphylian city of Aspendos is noted for its Roman ruins. A wide range of coinage from the fifth century B.C. onward attests to the city’s wealth, which was based on trade in salt, oil and wool. Aspendos was occupied by Alexander the Great in 333 B.C. and later passed from Pergamene to Roman rule in 133 B.C.

Situated on Mt. Solyhmos, some 20 miles northwest of Antalya, Termessos, located on a mountaintop in dense woodland, is one of the best-preserved archaeological sites in Turkey. According to ancient sources, in 334 BC, when Alexander the Great passed through the region he did not attack the city because of its impregnable location and made his way to Sagalassos. Among the remains are a gymnasium, a Hellenistic theater, an agora, and a necropolis with good examples of Pisidian sarcophagi and rock-cut tombs.