Sign in with Facebook"Antalya at Christmas time" Antalya by budapest8
Antalya Travel Guide: 734 reviews and 2,038 photos
I spent Christmas here in 1995 when I got a cheap charter flight from Stockholm for a week.It cost about $220 for a weeks stay + return flight with breakfast included. It was a last minute offer and I didn't relish the idea of being stuck alone in Stockholm over Crimbo. I travelled there with an ex-girlfriend from Russia.The weather was really nice and it was sunny and quite warm on 4 of the days.Just go to the bus station and jump on a bus somewhere and experiance the more typical Turkish life.
• Evidence of human habitation dating back over 200 000 years has been unearthed in the Carain caves 30 km to the north of Antalya city. Other findings dating back to Neolithic times and more recent periods show that the area has been populated by various ancient civilizations throughout the ages.
• Records from the Hittite period (when the first recorded political union of Anatolian cities was set up calling itself the Lycian league) refer to the area as the Lands of Arzarwa and document the lively interaction going on between the provinces in 1700 BC.
• Historical records document how cities developed independently, how the area as a whole was called Pamphilia and how a federation of cities was set up in the province. There is also a record of the migration of the Akha Clan to the area after the Trojan war.
• The reign of the Kingdom of Lydia in the west Anatolia came to an end in 560 BC after the Persians defeated it during the battle of Sardis in 546 BC.
• From 334 BC until his death, Alexander the Great conquered the cities of the area one by one - leaving out Termessos and Silion- and so continued the sovereignty of the Persians.
• With the defeat of the Seleucid army at Apamaea began the reign of the Kingdom of Pergamon. In 150 BC Attalos the 2nd, king of Pergamon, founded the city of Attalaia (today’s Antalya) to base his powerful naval fleet.
• When Attalos the 3rd, the last king of Pergamon, died in 133 BC he left his kingdom to the Romans. The Roman and subsequent Byzantine Empires ruled the area for the next 13 centuries.
• In 1207 A.D. the Selchuk Turks conquered Antalya and then Alanya in 1220 A.D.This marked the end of Roman/Byzantine rule.
• Ottoman rule began in 1391. The brief occupation of the area by the Italians came to an abrupt end after the First World War with the founding of the Turkish Republic in 1923. The area is now registered as a province of the Republic of Turkey.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF TURKS
The Republic of Turkey, founded in 1923, has its roots in two historical resources well in the depths of the past. One of these resources inherited by modern Turkey is the successful and bright history of the Turks over a time frame of more than 4000 year. The other is fact that Turks have settled in Anatolia since the 11th century.
The brightest period of the Ottoman State was during the reign of Sultan Suleyman (1520-1566) when the boundaries of the Empire spread from the outskirts of Vienna to the Bay of Basra and from the Crimea to an expanded north Africa as far as Ethiopia.
The Ottoman Empire continued to acquire territory until the middle of the 17th century. In 1683, it suffered its first major loss with defeat in the siege of Vienna.
The attempt of the victorious Allies to control the Anatolian territory led to the Turkish War of Independence (1918-23).
Following the occupation of Istanbul in 1920 by the British, Italian and French, a Greek army advanced from Izmir deep into Anatolia.
While the sultan offered no resistance, under the leadership of Kemal Ataturk, the Turkish Nationalists overturned the postwar settlement embodied in the Treaty of Sévres (1920) and established the Republic of Turkey, formally recognized by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923.
Mustafa Kemal retired his military uniform and inspired the people to an even greater task: Transformation of the country into the democratic, secular Republic of Turkey
SIGHTSEEING
The coastal strip from Konyaaltı to Lara reveals a modern urban concept. Antalya is a developed Mediterranean city with wide boulevards and parks stretching along the shore. The restaurants accommodate a broad spectrum of tastes and budgets from fast food to French. It is one of the few cities combining the conveniences of urban life with the pleasures of a seaside resort.
It is best to start a tour of Antalya from the center of the city. The many minarets, tower, gate, narrow streets and the historical houses of the Kaleiçi (castle) area and the old harbor have a diameter of no more than 1 km. You can easily stroll through the area. The Antalya Museum featuring findings from Side, Perge and Patara is one of the most important museums in Turkey. The European Council extended it the jury special award for the museum of the year in 1988.
One of the most attractive aspects of Antalya is the opportunity to go skiing in the spring and winter and the interesting areas in its environs such as the splendid beaches of Beldibi, Lara and Kemer; Saklıkent; the waterfalls of Manavgat, Düden (height 40 m) and Kurşunlu; the Damlataş cave; the Alanya castle; the antique cities of Side, Perge, Selge and Thermessos; the Aspendos theater; the Köprülü Kanyon National Park that is ideal for rafting; the Olympos - Bey Mountain National Park and hundreds of other natural and historic beauties. You may also want to see the magnificent Taurus Mountains.
- Pros:Good food, plenty to see, great weather, friendly people, lots of history.
- Cons:Getting more commersialised for every day that passes.
- In a nutshell:Perfect place for a holiday if your choosing out of the tourist season
Reviews (18)
Chilling at your hotel on Boxing day
Things to Do
(3)
Our hotel had greta facilities and Wow what a view.There was a great view from our balcony! Down by the pool and... more travel advice
Take a Christmas Day swim at Lara Beach
Favorites
(2)
Our hotel overlooked the cliffs with the beach and sea below. When the weather is clear, a really fantastic view of the... more travel advice
Termessus! the only city Alexander...
Off The Beaten Path
(6)
Alexander did not, however, take the city. Alexander's purpose in the region was at an end; the isolated mountain... more travel advice
Alexander the Great and Termessus
Off The Beaten Path
(6)
Termessus entered history during the winter of 333 BC when Alexander the Great was in the region. Having swept through... more travel advice
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Comments (26)
Excellent historical intro! Great view from your hotel! I learned a lot on your page about the interesting city of Termessos that I ignored. I can imagine the hotel staff looking at the mermaid swimming, haha!
I visited Antalya two times at the end of the eighties. We stayed in a small hotel only a few blocks from the busstation because I had a wricked ankle... but I did manage to visit Termessos, dont ask me how, but I did it.
Haha, you rally had a great view from your hotel :-) Fantastic info on Termessos - thanks a lot for sharing. I watched the movie "Alexander" on DVD just yesterday. Have you watched it?
Whoo-hoo, swimming naked was certainly brave of Lara. Aside from that, I really enjoyed your history lesson, too!! Alexander the Great thwarted...
I do believe I would be addicted to this coastline... tall, jagged cliffs and all. Nice, interesting journey! And thank you for dropping by the Andamans - here's hoping you make it there, sooner rather than later!
Hi there :) Thanks for dropping by! Love your Antalya page- going there in 2 weeks & gonna stay at Lara! Now that I've read your tips, I definitely wanna visit Termessus :) Great info & pics!!! Poka, MM
Your Lada sounds like she was a game girl - nude swimming in the afternoon in front of the hotel staff, and then skinny dipping at night!
Agree completely with all your general tips, and apart from the baths did it all. Instead we swam at lara beach in october.
Thermessos looks really interesting ! Thanks for sharing !
It seems you are really interested in a history! Great page and a lot of interesting infos.