Antalya

About — Antalya

Antalya Airport (AYT) has direct flights from the Gulf in summer, and more than thirty daily flights from Istanbul taking 1 hour 15 minutes. The city centre is 20 minutes from the airport, Belek 35, Lara 15 and Side 60. Families choose between three areas: Lara (close to the city, sandy beach, large all-inclusive hotels), Belek (golf and luxury resorts, hotels with ladies-only beaches) and Side (ancient town and calmer). Kaleici's restored Ottoman houses serve as boutique hotels for history lovers.

What to see: the narrow lanes of Kaleici, Hadrian's Gate and the marina; the point where the Duden Waterfall drops 40 metres into the sea (best seen by boat); the 15,000-seat Roman theatre of Aspendos, still used for concerts; and the ancient cities of Perge and Side. For families with children, Antalya Aquarium (131-metre tunnel), the Land of Legends theme park in Belek and gentle rafting in Koprulu Canyon are the most popular activities. Near Kemer, the Olympos cable car climbs to 2,365 metres.

Family tips: halal menus are standard at all-inclusive hotels; alcohol-free resorts and properties with ladies-only beach hours are found in Belek and Alanya. In summer plan tours for 08:00 or after 16:00 and spend midday by the pool. The sea is 24–28°C from June to the end of October. Antalya's large malls (TerraCity, Mall of Antalya) have Arabic-speaking staff. A private vehicle with driver can be added from 140 USD per day.

City Guide — Antalya

Legendary Anatolia, or Asia Minor, is one of the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea which was eventually the birthplace of a bold and unsurpassed civilization for centuries. This peninsula of the Turkish Republic has its coastline on the Mediterranean Sea, almost half of which is the border of Antalya City. The wonders still stand there today, even in ruins, in their power to amaze - through the excellence of the monuments, the spectacular tombs and, above all, the awesome spin of time through which their greatness has survived. Antalya has a large and radiant park embellished with flowers and trees of every kind; its south is the sea, and the cliffs, often rocky and steep, form a natural border 50 or 60 metres high to the south of the city, stretching along the shore for 10 or 12 kilometres. Rivers and streams, whose sources are in the Taurus Mountains, pour down in thunder over the cataracts on their way into the sea along this coast - another wonder for visitors: the water comes down over the cliffs in such a way that millions of water-drops look like a misty dust embracing the sea. Lara, Karpuzkaldiran and Mermerli beaches near the park, and the Adalar and Konyaalti beaches, provide good bathing for holidaymakers; west of Konyaalti, Arapsuyu Beach has been turned into a camping site. Perhaps you have heard about the enchantments of this miracle land from visitors of Antalya; you will see that there is really no exaggeration wherever you enter the city: on both sides of the streets date palms soar up into the sky, and in the middle of the streets water flows in canals in a never-failing continuity and serenity. Whoever visits Denizli (Hierapolis), Konya and Adana is bound to call at Antalya, because those cities are so near; and you will find priceless treasures of historical masterpieces, asking yourself how even one huge stone, tons in weight, in the facade of the theatre of Perge was hauled up 20 or 25 metres by levers, ropes and manpower only, why and for whom the theatre in Side was constructed so large, and why today no human beings live, except birds, in Termessos, which once had a population of 150,000.