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ANTALYA
Antalya; called the Turkish Riviera,
the Touristic Capital of Turkey, the Paradise. It
deserves these names by combining the Mediterranean Sea,
the close range of the Taurus Mountains, the numerous
rivers and waterfalls, the ski resort, long clean sandy
beaches, numerous historical sites and many five star
hotels lined up on approximately six hundred kilometers
of coast line. The well taken care of city, of Antalya
itself, is a site worthy to see. It reflects the ancient
Anatolian cultures including the Hittite, Lycian,
Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, and
Ottoman and is one of the prominent provinces of the
modern Republic of Turkey. The city was named after the
founder King Attalus II, King of Pergamum as Attaleia
and the present name of Antalya is derived from that
through the ages. Antalya is also an agricultural center
with suitable climate, plenty of water from numerous
rivers and green houses. Citrus, bananas, a variety of
vegetables and fruit, cotton, corn and grain are some of
the crops. It is also a good base for visiting the sites
around it. Starting from the east consecutively: Alanya,
Side, Manavgat waterfall, Aspendos, Köprülü Kanyon
(ideal rafting river of Köprü Çayi), Selge, Sillyum,
Perge, Kursunlu waterfall, Düden waterfalls, Termessus,
Karain Cave, Phaselis, Olympus, Myra, St. Nicholas’ (Santa
Claus) Church, Kekova, Üçagiz, Antiphellos, Xantos and
Sagalassos are some of the sites within close range of
Antalya. The Karain Cave has been a dwelling for the
human race since the Neanderthal man and with the other
historical sites in the region, it gives us a continuous
record of the culture of the human race from the
beginning. Alexander the Great has come here on his long
expedition and the Konya Seljuk’s have used the region
for their resort palaces. The antique name of the region,
Pamphylia (the land of various people), reflects it’s
meaning today with its approximately ten thousand
European citizens, other than the historical mixture of
the people, from all races and religions.
KALEİÇİ ( THE OLD
CİTY)
According to old travelers, the old city of
Antalya was surrounded by walls from both the land and
the sea side (port side). It was also divided internally
to four sections between races and religions by walls.
Hidirlik Tower, Hadrian’s Gate and the Clock Tower are
what remain of the ancient walls. What remains of the
harbor a wall is quite impressive. They also report that
it was surrounded by gardens and vineyards and that it
was a busy trade center exporting goods to Egypt. The
area that was within these city walls is now called the
old city (Kale Içi). The old city still reflects the
late Ottoman period quite well. The narrow streets show
houses heavy with lattice work windows overhanging into
the streets. They face one another as if reminding us of
the heavy gossip of the old days that were exchanged
across those narrow streets. These quaint streets lead
down to the antique harbor which has been restored as a
marina now. A good number of these houses have been
restored and are serving various purposes, i.e. Pensions,
hotels, bar restaurants, souvenir shops etc. |