ANTALYA

I took a flight from Istanbul to Antalya. Antalya is south of Turkey and approx a 1 hour flight from Istanbul. Antalya is a well known tourist area filled with beaches and nightlife.

Antalya referred to as the Turkish Rivieria is the place where sea, sun & history combine the most beautiful south coast along the Medditerranean.

Stories follow that in ancient times in 1st century BC the Pergamum King Attalus ordered his men to find the most beautiful piece of land on earth; he wanted them to find "heaven on earth".

After a long search all over the world, they discovered this land and said "This must be 'Heaven' " and King Attalus founded the city giving it the name "Attaleia". From then on many nations kept their eyes on the city.

When the Romans took over the Pergamene Kingdom, Attaleia became an outstanding Roman city which the great Roman Emperor Hadrian visited in 130 AD; an arch was built in his honour which is now worth seeing. I haven't found this Arch yet but when I do I will take 50 thousand pictures of it! LOL

Then came the Byzantines, after which the Seljuk Turks took over the city in 1207. The Ottomans followed the Seljuks and finally within the Turkish Republic it became a Turkish city.

I wanted to spend a week in Antalya in 2004 but ended up in other places and never got the chance to probably see Antalya. We spent 2 nights in Antalya in 2004 with the Turkey Tour Group.

I fell in love with Antalya back then and always knew I would come back some day to spend alot more time here.

I spent the day exploring the city center and hence present to you my pictures below:

Above - Antalya Main City Center features the clock tower, Camii (Mosque) and of course the famous Statue


To some extent Antalya reminds me of the Greek Island Rhodes. It has an old town referred to Kale Ici (Old Town) which similar to Rhodes you will find shops, cafes, restuarants and hotels.

Of course you will see alot of traditional Turkish plates as below:


It was time for lunch and Turks are well know for their kebabs. We asked for a mixed kebab plate and this is what I got! Hence why I've been putting on weight left right and center in Turkey!


After lunch I decided to walk down towards the Marina to snap up some pictures. Mind you it was like 35 degrees heat and I was dying.


When I got to the Marina I automatically became a target to the boat tour organisers as I had a camera in my hand. The guy pulled me aside to the dock to show me his tour packages. A 1 hour boat tour was 35 Euros.

I refused as I didnt have time for a boat tour as I had dinner plans for tonight. The guy reduced the tour to 25 Turkish Liras from 35 Euro's. I started walking when he started chasing me saying he would do me a special deal and take me for 10 Turkish Liras. God I was impressed. He dropped from 35 Euros which is almost 70 Turkish Liras to 10 Turkish Liras. This was an offer I couldn't refuse but I did.

I walked off to only be grabbed by another guy who questioned me how much the other guy was taking me for. I told him 10 Turkish Liras. He said he would take me for 5 Turkish Liras. These guys annoyed the shit out of me and I stormed off. For fucks sake when I say I dont want a boat tour I dont want a boat tour.

I swear their luckly another guy didnt grab me to offer me a boat tour as I was ready to strangle the next person!

I finally made my way to the top. Well actually to semi top. Because it was too hot I didnt walk all the way to the top to get a photo. I figured I'll get one later.

Antalya bird's eye view:

Antalya Marina Area:

History of Antalya

"Existing sources do not agree on when Antalya came under Ottoman sovereignty. According to some, Antalya became part of Turkish soil in 1391 during the reign of Murat I. Some others claim that the region was conquered by Yildirim Beyazit and was presented as a gift to his son, Sultan Murat. Antalya, which remained under Ottoman dominion until the First Word War, was know to be an important port city under the Teke Sancak.

Following the First Word War, Antalya was occupied on 29 April 1919 by the Italians. During this occupation every effort was made to avoid clashes between the local inhabitants and the occupying force. During the War of Independence, Antalya and the region supported the war on the western front by manpower and funds. It is known that the Italians assisted the Turks, especially from the point of view of intelligence. In early 1921 the Italians began to withdraw and by 5 July 1921 Antalya was completely free of the Italian occupation."

It all comes back to the ITALIANS!!!