October 12, 2016
Antalya is an interesting town. The city has a population of almost 2 million people, which almost doubles in the summer time, spread out over an area of 8000 square miles. It is hard to fathom its size, but the heart of Antalya is the walled ancient city of Kaleiçi.
The historical architecture of Antalya is located here as the new city was built upon much of the ancient city.
Kaleiçi, has narrow cobbled streets lined with historic Ottoman era houses. It is also filled with higher end hotels, bars, clubs, restaurants, and shopping. It is surrounded by two walls, one of which is along the seafront, built in a continuous process from Hellenistic to Ottoman times. The historical harbor is located in this part of the city.
The tour boats, offering tours of the area, are garish and ridiculously decorated like pirate theme parks
Looking down on the historic harbor and sunbathing area just below the historic city center
Looking at the historic harbor from the other side
There are sites with traces of Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Seljuk architecture and cultures throughout Kaleiçi . The historic walls have 80 bastions and inside of the walls, there are approximately 3000 houses with red tile roof.
The homes of the Ottoman time were quite possibly painted as this one with faux stones painted over plaster. Even the shutters are faux painted.
Farther out are all-inclusive resorts that line the sandy beaches of this part of the Turkish Riviera.
Turkey is one of the world’s most popular destinations, but terrorism, political turmoil and the war in neighboring Syria are having a devastating impact on tourism. This has been evident all over Turkey, but it is most dramatic in Antalya as the city has doubled its size since 1988 all due to the tourism trade.
The main decline in tourism for Antalya is the Russian market, the four-and-a-half million Russian tourists that normally come to the beach area has fallen by 95%. The trigger was Turkey shooting down a Russian military jet that violated Turkish airspace sparking a diplomatic crisis between the two countries. The Kremlin barred Russian tour companies from selling package deals to Turkey.
King Attallus
The city has a long and interesting history. King Attalus II of Pergamon is looked on as founder of the city in about 150 BC, during the Hellenistic period. It was named Attalea or Attalia in his honor.
Attalea became part of the Roman Republic in 133 BC when Attalus III, a nephew of Attalus II bequeathed his kingdom to Rome at his death in 133 BC.
The Seljuk Turks conquered the city and the surrounding region in the early 13th century. Antalya was the capital of the Turkish beylik of Teke (1321–1423) until its conquest by the Ottomans.
The city was occupied by the Italians from the end of the First World War until the founding of the Turkish Republic in 1923.
Hadrians Gate is one entry into the old town. The gate is a triumphal arch built in the name of the Roman emperor Hadrian, who visited the city in the year 130.
Many of the buildings have yet to be restored and old a charm of their own.
*
Simit is found everywhere in Turkey. It is a circular bread, typically encrusted with sesame seeds and hails from the Ottoman Empire. It is typical for simit sellers to carry their load on their head, this gentleman was willing to pose for pictures after I bought a roll. The cost is usually around 1TL or about 33cents
Here are a few random shots of Kaleiçi;
Cats are everywhere, even hidden in the topiary
Cats are absolutely everywhere, so running across a bunny rabbit was rather unique.
*
Pebble floors and interesting doors are all a part of Kaleiçi
*
*
A woman makes Gozleme on the sidewalk
Gozeleme filled with onions, spinach and potatoes and cooked with a lot of butter
Horse carriages, decorated rather garishly, can be ridden around the newer parts of Antalya
Boys break from school and enjoy kebab
Ibex can be spotted in the Taurus Mountains just outside of Antalya, these are wooden sculptures gracing one of the many public parks within Kaleiçi
An old abandoned mosque in Kaleiçi
Wishing Trees are common all over the world, most commonly the Clootie Trees of Scotland and Ireland. In the Anatolya region they are called Dede Trees.
Dede literally means “grandfather”.
The story goes that nomadic women would never head to the village mosque as the men sometimes did and instead, all of the women would tie little strips of cloth to the dede trees when they came across them. Apparently, the Sarikeçeli nomads (the oldest nomadic group of Anatolya) believe that a dede can fulfill wishes
The museum of Antalya is spectacular. It holds most everything found at Perge, an ancient site that was not looted. It is well laid out, full of amazing finds and well worth the visit.