Antalya (population 2.7 million — the capital of Antalya Province and the fifth-largest city in Turkey) is the Mediterranean capital of Turkey: the gateway to the "Turquoise Coast" (the Türkiye Rivierası — the 660km of Mediterranean coastline from Bodrum to Alanya) and the most visited tourist destination in Turkey, receiving approximately 16 million visitors per year (more than Istanbul in some years). But Antalya is far more than its resort reputation: the old city (Kaleiçi — "Inside the Castle") is one of the most beautifully preserved Roman and Ottoman port cities in the Eastern Mediterranean (the ancient city of Attaleia founded by Attalus II Philadelphus, the King of Pergamon, in 159 BCE — the founding king gave the city his name: Attaleia → Adalya → Antalya), with a circular harbor enclosed by Roman walls, the Hadrian's Gate (the triumphal arch built in 130 CE to mark the visit of Emperor Hadrian to the city — the most complete Roman triumphal arch surviving in Asia Minor), the Hidirlik Tower (the 2nd century CE Roman lighthouse that is the most photographed monument in Antalya), and the Yivli Minare (the "Fluted Minaret" — the 13th-century Seljuk minaret, the most important medieval Islamic monument in Western Anatolia). The surrounding region contains some of the most important archaeological sites in the ancient world: the UNESCO-listed Xanthos-Letoon (the capital of ancient Lycia — the civilization unique in the ancient world for its democratic governance, its female-line inheritance and its rock tombs), the ancient theater of Aspendos (the best-preserved Roman theater in the world, still used for opera performances), the ruins of Perge (the Hellenistic city where the Apostle Paul began his first missionary journey in Asia Minor, c. 46 CE) and the Düden waterfalls (the cascade that falls directly into the Mediterranean from the Antalya plateau, 8km from the city center).
Hadrianos Kapısı (Hadrian's Gate — the triple-arched marble triumphal arch built by the city of Attaleia to mark the state visit of Emperor Hadrian in 130 CE: the arch is the finest surviving example of a Roman civic triumphal arch in Asia Minor: the three archways (the central arch taller, the two flanking arches shorter — the standard Roman triple-arch formula), the fluted Corinthian columns on projecting pedestals, the marble coffered ceiling (the carved octagonal and hexagonal panels in the barrel vault of the central arch — the most elaborately decorated triumphal arch ceiling in Asia Minor), and the original carved marble reliefs on the architrave. The gate marks the main entrance to the Kaleiçi (the "Inside the Castle" — the old city) from the modern city.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideKaleiçi ("Inside the Castle" — the old city of Antalya enclosed within the Roman walls (the walls originally built by the Attalid kings in the 2nd century BCE and expanded by the Romans and Byzantines): the most atmospheric historic neighborhood on the Turkish Mediterranean coast): the circular Roman harbor (the most photogenic harbor in Turkey: the small boat harbor enclosed by the Roman breakwater, with the Ottoman and Greek Revival mansions on the harbour edge and the Seljuk clock tower (1244) above), the Hidirlik Tower (the 2nd century CE circular Roman tower (14m tall) on the harbor cliff — the most photographed monument in Antalya, originally a lighthouse or a mausoleum), the Yivli Minare Mosque (the "Fluted Minaret" — the cylindrical brick minaret (38m tall) built by the Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad I in 1230 — the finest Seljuk monument surviving on the Turkish Mediterranean coast), and the Kesik Minare (the "Truncated Minaret" — the Roman Corinthian temple converted to a Byzantine basilica converted to a mosque (the minaret was added) and then destroyed by fire, leaving only the truncated minaret stump standing in the ruined nave).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideAntalya Müzesi (the Antalya Museum — one of the most important archaeological museums in the world: the winner of the Council of Europe Museum Award 1988: the "Gallery of Gods" (the most important single room in the museum — the largest collection of Hellenistic and Roman marble divine statuary outside of Greece: the complete Olympian pantheon in marble, from the Perge excavations (the ancient Hellenistic city 18km northeast of Antalya): the Zeus (the most imposing), the Athena, the Artemis, the Apollo, the Hermes, the Aphrodite, the Tyche (the Fortune of the city — the seated goddess with the tower crown (the mural crown) and the cornucopia), and the Heracles (the standing statue with the lion skin)), the Perge gallery (the portrait sculpture of the Emperor Hadrian (the most important Roman imperial portrait from Asia Minor), the stone sarcophagi (the most elaborate carved sarcophagi from the 2nd century CE in the Eastern Mediterranean — the battle sarcophagi, the Garland sarcophagi and the Column sarcophagi).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideAntalya piyazı (the Antalya piyaz — the most distinctive regional dish of the Antalya kitchen: the white bean salad (haricot beans, hard-boiled eggs, parsley, olives, tomatoes and onions) dressed with a specific sauce of tahini (sesame paste), olive oil, lemon juice and vinegar: the Antalya piyaz is the only piyaz (the Turkish white bean salad) to use tahini in the dressing — elsewhere in Turkey, piyaz is dressed only with olive oil and vinegar: the specific tahini-piyaz combination has been the defining Antalya dish for at least 150 years), and the tirit (the Anatolian dish of slow-braised lamb (the Anatolian lamb braised for 4–6 hours until falling off the bone), served over pide (the flat bread), with the lamb cooking juices as the sauce and a spoonful of garlic yogurt on top: one of the oldest dishes in the Anatolian repertoire — similar preparations appear in medieval Ottoman cookbooks).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideAspendos Theater (the ancient theater in the ruins of Aspendos, 47km east of Antalya — the most completely preserved Roman theater in the world: the theater built during the reign of Marcus Aurelius (161–180 CE), designed by the architect Zeno (a local from Aspendos): the seating capacity (approximately 12,000), the full semicircular cavea (the seating bowl — carved into the natural hillside and completed with constructed upper tiers: the most intact Roman theater seating in the world), the stage building (the skene — the elaborate two-story marble facade with the niches for statues, the royal box, the projecting stage and the original marble reliefs): uniquely, the Aspendos theater retains its original 2nd-century stage building facade almost completely intact (at other Roman theaters, including those at Epidaurus and Orange, the stage building facade has been partially or entirely lost). The theater is still used for the Aspendos International Opera and Ballet Festival (June–July annually — the most dramatic venue for opera performances in the world).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuidePerge (the ancient Greek and Roman city 18km northeast of Antalya — one of the most important cities in ancient Pamphylia: the city where the Apostle Paul and Barnabas arrived from Cyprus in 46 CE and began their first missionary journey in Asia Minor (Acts 13:13–14)): the colonnaded main street (the most complete Hellenistic-Roman colonnaded avenue in Asia Minor: 300m long, flanked by the columns and the water channel that ran down the center of the street to cool the city in summer), the Nymphaeum (the monumental 2nd-century fountain complex at the end of the main street — the most elaborate nymphaeum surviving in Asia Minor), the theater (12,000 seats — the statues now in the Antalya Museum), and the stadium (30,000 seats — the largest stadium in Pamphylia, one of the largest in Asia Minor).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideLower Düden Waterfalls (Aşağı Düden Şelalesi — the waterfall 8km east of the Antalya city center where the Düden River reaches the edge of the Antalya coastal plateau and falls 40m directly into the Mediterranean Sea (the only waterfall on the Turkish coast that falls directly into the sea): the cave behind the falls (accessible at low water levels), the boat tour from the harbor (the sea-level view of the waterfall from below), and the upper Düden Waterfall (12km north of the city center: a different section of the same river, where the falls cascade 20m into a tree-shaded pool — the most popular picnic site in Antalya).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideKaleiçi harbor seafood (the fish restaurants on the circular Roman harbor of Antalya — the most atmospheric dining location on the Turkish Mediterranean coast: the terrace tables at the water's edge, the fresh fish displayed on ice for the customer to choose (the price is per kilogram — always agree the price before ordering), the specific Antalya fish: the çipura (gilt-head bream — the most prized Mediterranean fish, recognizable by the gold stripe between the eyes), the levrek (European sea bass — the second most important Mediterranean fish), the barbunya (red mullet — the most intensely flavored of the small Mediterranean fish, cooked whole and eaten bones and all), the grilled ahtapot (octopus — tenderized by beating on the harbor wall, then marinated in olive oil, lemon and oregano and grilled over charcoal: the most characteristically Mediterranean of all the Antalya seafood preparations).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideTermessos (the ancient city of the Pisidian (Pisidya) mountain people at 1,050–1,700m altitude in the Taurus Mountains (30km northwest of Antalya): the only major ancient city in Asia Minor that Alexander the Great besieged but chose not to capture (333 BCE — Alexander approached the city, assessed the impossibility of the position and the strength of the Termessian defenders (the most formidable mountain warriors of Asia Minor) and withdrew: the only city in Asia Minor to successfully refuse him without being destroyed): the ruins include the theater (the most dramatically sited Greek theater in the world — the 4,200-seat theater carved into the mountain at 1,050m, surrounded by cedar and pine forest, with a view of the Antalya plain and the Mediterranean far below), the agora (the market square on the mountain edge), the gymnasium and the necropolis (the most extensive Pisidian rock tomb necropolis surviving, with hundreds of sarcophagi collapsed by earthquakes).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideKonyaaltı Beach (the 7km pebble beach immediately west of the Antalya city center — named after the Konya plain visible beyond the Taurus Mountains that rise dramatically behind the beach: the most dramatic beach backdrop in Turkey (the 2,000m Taurus peaks rise to snow line in winter, visible from the beach): the water clarity (the Mediterranean here is at its clearest in Turkey — visibility 20–30m, turquoise color at the shoreline from the mineral-rich runoff from the limestone Taurus Mountains)), and the beach promenade (the 7km seafront esplanade with the beach clubs, the outdoor cafés and the rotating restaurant — the Antalya Rotating Restaurant on the cliff above Konyaaltı, 170m above sea level, rotating 360° in 45 minutes).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Kaleiçi harbor cliff at sunset: the most celebrated sunset view on the Turkish Mediterranean coast (the cliff west of the circular Roman harbor, where the Hidirlik Tower stands at the edge: the sun sets over the Bey Mountains (the Beydağları — the limestone range west of Antalya) directly behind the harbor, turning the Mediterranean gold-orange from the cliff-top). The café terraces on the harbor cliff (the Kalekapısı and the harbour-edge restaurants with the terrace tables directly above the Roman harbor are the best sunset position in the city).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideŞiş tavuk (the Turkish chicken shish kebab — chicken marinated in yogurt, olive oil, tomato paste, cumin and paprika (the Turkish marinade for chicken: the yogurt acts as a tenderizer and the tomato paste gives the characteristic charred-orange color on the grill), skewered and grilled over charcoal). Baklava (the most important Turkish sweet: the phyllo pastry with finely ground pistachio or walnut filling, soaked in simple syrup or honey: the Gaziantep baklava uses the Antep fıstığı (the Gaziantep pistachio — the Turkish Geographical Indication pistachio from the Gaziantep region, the most important pistachio in the world): any good pastry shop in Antalya carries freshly baked baklava from the Gaziantep tradition).
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