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The Mediterranean
PLACES OF INTEREST
Antalya, the ancient Attaleia, was founded in the 2nd century B.C. by Attalus successively by the Romansand Seljuks. It is possible to visit all of the principal monuments either on foot or no horse-drawn carriage. There are well preserved city ramparts and the monumental Hadrian's Gate, in beautifully decorated marble, which was the Emperor's visit to the city.
nearbyis the Kesik Minare ( truncated minareted), which was transformed from a Byzantine church into a mosque. At the edge of the city park, which boasts an amazing variety of exotic flowers and plants, is the Hıdırlık Kulesi, which used to be an old lighhouse; Along the road from the park to the town centre stands the Karatay Medrese ( theological school ), with its typically Seljuk style portal.
At a short distance from the town square is the identifying landmark of Antalya, the curious fluted minaret of the Yivli Minare Cami, which was converted from in the 13th century by the Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin Keykubat and today houses a small ethnographic museum.From here one can walk downhill along the narrow winding streets of the old quarters lined with pretty wooden houses leading to the picturesque harbour, where Turkish Maritime Lines ships are regular callers. On the Konyaaltı road, at the western edge of the town, is a new archaeological museum housing a rich collection of ceramics mosaics figurines and sarcophagi discovered from the surrounding areas.
EXCURSIONS AND CRUISES
The environs of Antalya offer many possibilities for short excursionsand one can join a mini-cruise and visit the ancient Lycian sites by boat.
On the weters edge of the town is the huge crescent of the Konyaaltı Beach and a short distance to the east is the lovely Lara Beach near to which the spectacular Düden Waterfalls plunge 150 feet over the cliff edge to the sea, while further up the same river are the equally spectacular Upper Düden Termessos lies high in the hills to teh norht west of Antalya. The remains include city walls an agora a necropolis and a theatre perched on a sheer precipice. Along the road to Finike is the pretty mountain town of Elmalı, on the outskirts of which is Karagöl, whose waters rush out into a huge hasm.
To the west of the Gulf of Antalya the Taurus Mountains of the Lycian Peninsula sweep sheer down to the sea and this region abounds in deserted sandy beaches and fascinating historical remains. Due to the precipitous nature of the mountains the road is poor, but the scenic beauty more than compensates for this. If preferred, all of the by joining oneof the minicruises that depart regularly from the harbour of Antalya.
The asphalt road has recently been extended linking Antalya with the pretty resort of Kemer to the west, where a new luxurious holiday village is set in the midst of pinewoods stretching right down to the sea-shore. On a narrow creek opening on to the Gulf of Antalya a few kilometers south of Kemer, near Tekirova, lie the ruins of the ancient port of Phaselis. The city is believed to have been founded in the 7th century B.C. by settlers from Rhodes and it was a major port which had three harbours.
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Most of the remains are Roman and a ateatre ( still to be uncovered), an agora, a fine aqueduct, a necropolis with well preserved sarcophai and a Hellenistic fortress can be seen.
Further south is Finike, the ancient Phoeniscus, a lovely little resort surrounded by sandy beaches and orange groves. East of the town, off the coastal road in the perpetual fire which legend identifies as the Chimera, the fire-breathing monster that was slain by the hero Bellerophon mounted upon Pegasus. It is in fact burning natural gas escaping from a hole in the rock.
To the west of Finike is Demre, the ancient Myra, birthplace of St. Nicholas, "Father Christmas", who was bishop of this Mediterranean city during the 4th century. His tomb lies in a recently restored basilica and there are impressive Lycian rock tombs and a Roman theatre in the hills behind the town. The pretty fishing village and resort of Kaş, formerly Antiphellus, is beautifully situated at the foot of the mountain along the shores of a wide bay. In the town the remains of a small but well preserved Hellenistic theatre and some Lycian rock tombs now standing in the sea, can be seen. Just a short boat rde away the from Kaş is the island of Kekova where the ruins of several interesting Byzantine churches and the remains of a Lycian necropolis with partially submerged sarcobhagi can be seen.
SİDE
The resort and historical site of Side is in a fine location between two vast sandy beaches backing immediately on to sand dunes and ruins with the Taurus Mountains in the distance.
The exact date of the city's foundation is not clear, but major development took place in the 7th century B.C. when it was colonized by the Greeks. It was a major Pamphylian port and most of the remaining monuments are Roman. In the 9th and 10th centuries A.D. Side was notorious for piracy and its thriving slave trade. Ruins mark the approach to the site at quite a distance from the town.
The walls and towers of the ancient city are very well preserved and there is a partially extant aqueduct. Opposite the entrance outside of the city walls, is an exquisite fountain and the Roman baths which now house a museum displaying statues recovered from the site. The entrance portal is flanked by two towers and immediately upon entering is the theatre, which domitates the site, it could seat an audience of 20,000 and is remarkable in that the cavea was not built on to a hill, but was constructed: it is now partially collapsed but the covered gallery and rows of seats are still standing. Next to the theatre is the firts agora which is completely surrounded by porticos and shops on three sides with the ruins of a temple dedicated to Tyche in the centre. There is a second agora and shops on three sides with the ruins of a temple dedicated to Tyche in the centre.
There is a second agora and scattered throughout the rest of the site are the ruins of temples dedicated to Apollo and Athena, a Byzantine chapel, numerous fountains and the remains of private Roman houses and a harbour.
PERGE
The coast between Antalya and Alanya is intensively cultivated and indented by several streams and rivers, here was the ancient Pamphylia and theland bears the imprint of various civilizations. A turing from the main road at the village of Aksu leads to the ruins of Perge. Until the time of Alexander the Great, Perge was an independent city-republic, then became a principal city of Pamphylia in Hellenistic times; the city prospered under Rome its importance not declining until the byzantine period.
Just outside of the city walls is a Greco-Roman theatre which could seat an audience of 15.000. The auditorium has a colonnaded gallery running around the top and was built against a hillside. Next to the theatre is an impressive stadium ( 234 m x 34 m ) one of the biggest and best preserved of antiquity, which could seat approx imately 15.000 spectators. One enters Hellenistic enclosure via a Roman gate behind which lies a triumphal arch that has been restored by archaeologists.
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