Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. It is Turkey's biggest
international sea resort, located on the Turkish Riviera.
In 2011 the city had a population of 964,886 and the metropolitan municipality 1,041,972.
In 2013, Antalya became the third most visited city in the world by number of international
arrivals, ranking behind Paris and London, respectively. Antalya previously ranked third
in the world in 2011 and 2012 and fourth in 2010 with over 10.5 million visitors in 2011.
Name and Etymology The city was founded as "Attaleia", named
after its founder Attalos II, king of Pergamon. This name, still in use in Greek, later mutated
in Turkish as Adalia and then Antalya. Attaleia was also the name of a festival at Delphi
and Attalis was the name of an old Greek tribe at Athens. Despite the close similarity, there
is no relationship to the name Anatolia. History
It is uncertain when the site of the current city was first inhabited. Attalos II, king
of Pergamon, is believed to have founded the city around 150 BC, during the Hellenistic
period, naming it Attalia and selecting it as a naval base for his powerful fleet. However,
excavations in 2008 in the Doğu Garajı district have uncovered remains dating to the 3rd century
BC, suggesting that the city was founded earlier than previously supposed. Antalya became part
of the Roman Republic in 133 BC when King Attalos III of Pergamon bequeathed his kingdom
to Rome at his death. The city grew and prospered during the Ancient Roman period.
Christianity started to spread in the region after 2nd century. Antalya was visited by
Paul of Tarsus, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles: "From Perga, Paul and Barnabas
went down to Attalia and sailed from there to Antioch after preaching in Pisidia and
Pamphylia". The ruins of the 13th-century Selcuk mosque at Attalia was previously a
Christian Byzantine basilica from the 7th century. The Great Mosque had also been a
Christian basilica and the Kesik Minare Mosque had been the 5th century Christian Church
of the Panaghia or Virgin and was decorated with finely carved marble. The archaeological
museum at Attalia houses some sarcophagi and mosaics from nearby Perga and a casket of
bones reputed to be those of St. Nicholas, the bishop of Myra, further down the Turquoise
coast.
Antalya was a major city in the Byzantine Empire. It was the capital of the Byzantine
Theme of the Cibyrrhaeots, which occupied the southern coasts of Anatolia. At the time
of the accession of John II Comnenus in 1118 it was an isolated outpost surrounded by Turkish
beyliks, accessible only by sea. The city and the surrounding region were conquered
by the Seljuk Turks in the early 13th century. Antalya was the capital of the Turkish beylik
of Teke until its conquest by the Ottomans except Cypriot rule between 1361 and 1373.
The Arabic traveler Ibn Battuta, who visited the city in 1335-1340, noted:
From Alanya I went to Antaliya [Adalia], a most beautiful city. It covers an immense
area, and though of vast bulk is one of the most attractive towns to be seen anywhere,
besides being exceedingly populous and well laid out. Each section of the inhabitants
lives in a separate quarter. The Christian merchants live in a quarter of the town known
as the Mina [the Port], and are surrounded by a wall, the gates of which are shut upon
them from without at night and during the Friday service. The Greeks, who were its former
inhabitants, live by themselves in another quarter, the Jews in another, and the king
and his court and Mamluks in another, each of these quarters being walled off likewise.
The rest of the Muslims live in the main city. Round the whole town and all the quarters
mentioned there is another great wall. The town contains orchards and produces fine fruits,
including an admirable kind of apricot, called by them Qamar ad-Din, which has a sweet almond
in its kernel. This fruit is dried and exported to Egypt, where it is regarded as a great
luxury.
In the second half of the 17th century Evliya Çelebi wrote of a city of narrow streets
containing 3,000 houses in 20 Turkish and four Greek neighborhoods. The town had grown
beyond the city walls and the port was reported to hold up to 200 boats.
In the 19th century, in common with most of Anatolia, its sovereign was a "dere bey".
The family of Tekke Oğlu, domiciled near Perge had been reduced to submission in 1812
by Mahmud II, but continued to be a rival power to the Ottoman governor until within
the present generation, surviving by many years the fall of the other great beys of
Anatolia. The records of the Levant Company, which maintained an agency in Antalya until
1825, documented the local dere beys. In the 20th century the population of Antalya
increased as Turks from the Caucasus and the Balkans moved into Anatolia. The economy was
centered on its port that served the inland areas, particularly Konya. Antalya was picturesque
rather than modern. The chief attraction for visitors was the city wall, and outside a
promenade, a portion of which survives. The government offices and the houses of the higher
classes were outside the walls. As of 1920, Antalya was reported as having
a population of approximately 30,000. The harbor was described as small, and unsafe
for vessels to visit in the winter. Antalya was exporting wheat, flour, sesame seeds,
live stock, timber and charcoal. The latter two were often exported to Egypt and other
goods to Italy or other Greek islands, who received mainly flour. In 1920, the city had
seven flour mills. Wheat was imported, and then processed in town before exportation.
Antalya imported manufactured items, mainly from the United Kingdom and United States.
The city was occupied by the Italians from the end of the First World War until the founding
of the Turkish Republic in 1923. Large-scale development beginning in the 1970s transformed
Antalya from a pastoral town into one of Turkey's largest metropolitan areas. Much of this has
been due to tourism, which expanded in the 21st century.
In the early 20th century, the Antalya had two factories spinning and weaving cotton.
As of 1920, the factories had 15,000 spindles and over 200 looms. A German-owned mill baled
cotton. There were gin mills. Demographics
In 2010, the Address-Based Birth Recording System showed a metropolitan population of
1,001,318. Source for 1530-1889
Climate
The area is shielded from the northerly winds by the Taurus Mountains. Antalya has a hot-summer
Mediterranean climate with hot and dry summers and mild and rainy winters. Around 300 days
of the year are sunny, with nearly 3,000 hours of sunlight per year. The mean sea temperature
ranges between 16 °C in winter and 27 °C in summer. The highest record air temperature
reached 45 °C in July which normally averages as high as 34.4 °C and the lowest record
dropped to −4 °C in February, when the low average is as low as 6.1 °C.
Economy Agricultural production includes citrus fruits,
cotton, cut flowers, olives, olive oil and bananas. Antalya Metropolitan Municipality’s
covered wholesale food market complex meets 65% of the fresh fruit and vegetable demand
of the province. Since 2000, shipyards have been opened in
Antalya Free Zone, specialized in building pleasure yachts. Some of these yards have
advanced in composites boat building technology. Corendon Airlines and SunExpress are headquartered
in Antalya. Tourism
Kaleiçi, with its narrow cobbled streets of historic Ottoman era houses, is the old
center of Antalya. With its hotels, bars, clubs, restaurants, and shopping, it has been
restored to retain much of its historical character. Cumhuriyet Square, the main square
of the city, is the location for temporary open air exhibitions and performances. There
are sites with traces of Lycian, Pamphylian, and Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Seljuk
architecture and cultures. Festivals and events
Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival: national film festival usually held in September / October.
International Eurasia Film Festival: annual international film festival, now part of the
Golden Orange festival. Antalya Television Awards: awarded annually
since 2009. Antalya Festival: September
Mediterranean International Music Festival: October, 6 days
Antalya International Folk Music and Dance Festival Competition: Last week of August
Aspendos International Opera and Ballet Festival: June and July
Flower festival May Main sights
Antalya has beaches including Konyaaltı, Lara and Karpuzkaldıran. Beydağları and
Saklikent are used for winter sports. There are a number of mosques, churches, madrasahs,
masjids, hans and hamams in the city. Kaleiçi, the harbor, which the city walls enclose,
is the oldest part of the city. Kaleiçi contains historic houses with traditional Turkish and
local Greek architecture. Historic sites in the city center
Kaleiçi: the historical center of the city. Ancient monuments include the City Walls,
Hıdırlık Tower, Hadrian's Gate, and the Clock Tower.
Hadrian's Gate: constructed in the 2nd century by the Romans in honor of the Emperor Hadrian.
İskele Mosque: A 19th-century Mosque near the Marina.
Karatay Medrese: A Medrese built in 1250 by Emir Celaleddin Karatay.
Kesik Minare Mosque: Once a Roman temple then converted to a Byzantine Panaglia church and
finally into a mosque. Tekeli Mehmet Paşa Mosque: An 18th-century
Mosque built in honor of Tekeli Mehmet Paşa. Yat Limanı: the harbour dating to Roman era.
Yivli Minare Mosque: Built by the Seljuks and decorated with dark blue and turquoise
tiles, this minaret eventually became the symbol of the city.
Museums Kaleiçi Museum: Opened in 2007 by the Mediterranean
Civilizations Research Center Atatürk's House Museum
Antalya Toy Museum. The Antalya Metropolitan Municipality opened the exhibition facility
in 2011. Suna & İnan Kıraç Kaleiçi Museum : An
ethnographic museum run by the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation.
Sites of interest Tünek Hill
Karaalioglu Park Arapsu Bridge
Antalya Aquarium
Sports The football club of Antalya, the Medical
Park Antalyaspor plays in the Süper Lig. The team's home venue is Mardan Sports Complex.
A New Antalya Stadium, which will have a seating capacity of around 42,000 people, has been
proposed. Another football venue in the city is Antalya Atatürk Stadium.
The city hosts a number of international sports competitions due to its longer lasting warm
weather condition. Since 2006, one of the four stages of Archery World Cup events are
held at the Antalya Centennial Archery Field. Since 2010, an international multiday trail
running ultramarathon, called Lycian Way Ultramarathon, is held on the historical Lycian Way. The
event runs eastward on a route of around 220–240 km from Ölüdeniz in Fethiye district of Muğla
Province to Antalya in six days. Education
Akdeniz University enrolls over 30,000 students. Culture
Cuisine Antalya’s signature cuisine includes Piyaz,
spicy hibeş with mixed cumin and tahini, şiş köfte, tandır kebap, domates civesi,
şakşuka, and various cold Mediterranean dishes with olive oil. One local speciality
is tirmis, boiled seeds of the lupin, eaten as a snack. "Grida" is a fish common in local
dishes. Transportation
The main transportation to the city is by air and land. Sea routes are still under development.
In 2007, the airport added a new terminal. The city has a main port at the south of the
Konyaaltı. Buses
There is a network of look-alike Dolmuşes that are privately owned and operated minibuses,
under municipal government control. Antalya Ulaşım, a municipally-owned corporation,
runs the public bus system. The corporation owns Antobus and Antray. Antobus was started
in September 2010. In 2010, the city planned to increase from 40 to 140 more buses.
Payment for public transportation was made in cash until the launch of a public transportation
card, Antkart, in late 2007. The card system met with criticism and was subsequently canceled
in June 2009, returning to a cash system. Halkkart has been used for the transportation
system since the summer of 2010. Halkkart is managed by A-Kent Smart City Technologies
under the control of Antalya Metropolitan Municipal government. Passengers can use identified
cards to take buses or trams. Rail
A tram system, opened in 1999, runs from Antalya Museum, and the Sheraton Voyager and Falez
hotels, along the main boulevard through the city center at Kalekapisi, Hadrian's Gate,
Karaalioglu Park, and ending at Talya Oteli. Trams depart on the hour and half-hour from
the terminal, and reach Kalekapisi between 10 and 15 minutes later.
In December 2009, a 11.1 kilometres light rail line Antray was opened from one of the
main city public bus hub northwest to the Zoo and beyond to suburban areas.
Major routes The infrastructure such as roads and drains
are struggling to catch up with the increase in population and tourists.
Airports Antalya Airport has two international terminals
and one domestic terminal. In 2007, its number of passengers on international flights surpassed
the total number at Istanbul Ataturk Airport and Sabiha Gökçen International Airport
for the first time, officially earning the title of "the capital of Turkish tourism".
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities Antalya is twinned with:
Notable people from Antalya
Tarık Akıltopu, architect, historian, poet, writer
Cafercan Aksu, football player Michael Attaliates Byzantine lawyer of 11th
century Deniz Baykal, leader of Republican People's
Party Coşkun Göğen, film actor
Onat Kutlar, writer Özgürcan Özcan, football player
Rüştü Reçber, football player Yağmur Sarıgül, musician, composer of maNga
Sümer Tilmaç, actor Musa Uzunlar, actor
Burak Yılmaz, football player Levent Yüksel, musician, composer
References
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh,
ed.. Encyclopædia Britannica. Cambridge University Press.
External links Antalya travel guide from Wikivoyage