The city was formerly known as Attalia and was founded in around 200 BC by KingAttalus IIofPergamon.Attalia was soon conquered by theRomans.Roman rule saw the city thrive, including the construction of several new monuments, such asHadrian's Gate,and the flourishing of nearby ancient cities such asPatara,XanthosandMyrain theLyciaregion;Perga,AspendosandSideinPamphylia;andSagalassos,AntiochandTermessosinPisidia.These cities were already significant centers before Roman influence. Attalia has changed hands several times, including to theSeljuk Empirein 1207 and an expandingOttoman Empirein 1391.[8]Ottoman rule brought relative peace and stability for the next five hundred years. The city wasoccupied by Italyfor three years in the aftermath ofWorld War I,but was recaptured by a newly independent Turkey in theTurkish War of Independence.
While the city itself only has modest elevation changes, Antalya has high mountains in all directions to its interior. With moisture being trapped, thelocal climatethus has high winter rainfall, while the interior bay setting result in very hot summers for a coastal city.
The city is Turkey's biggest international sea resort on the Turkish Riviera. Large-scale development and governmental funding has made it a prime destination for tourists. Antalya is currently thefourth-most visited cityin the world, trailing behind onlyIstanbul,London,andDubai,attracting more than 16.5 million foreign visitors in 2023.[9][10]
The city was founded as "Attaleia" (Ancient Greek:Ἀττάλεια), named after its founderAttalos II,king ofPergamon.[11]This name, still in use in Greek, was later evolved in Turkish as Adalia and then Antalya.[12]Attaleia was also the name of a festival atDelphiand Attalis (Greek: Ἀτταλίς) was the name of an oldGreektribe atAthens.[13][14]Despite the close similarity, there is no connection with the nameAnatolia.
KingAttalus IIofPergamonis looked on as founder of the city in about 150 BC, during theHellenistic period.It was namedAttaleiaorAttalia(Ancient Greek:Ἀττάλεια)[15]in his honour. The city served as a naval base for Attalus's powerful fleet. Excavations in 2008, in theDoğu Garajıplot, uncovered remains dating to the 3rd century BC, suggesting that Attalea was a rebuilding and expansion of an earlier town.[citation needed]
Attalea became part of theRoman Empirein 133 BC whenAttalus III,a nephew of Attalus II, bequeathed his kingdom to Rome at his death in 133 BC. The city grew and prospered during theAncient Romanperiod and was part of theRoman provinceofPamphylia Secunda,whose capital wasPerga.
Christianity started to spread to the region even in the 1st century: Attalea was visited byPaul of TarsusandBarnabas,as recorded in theActs of the Apostles:"Then they passed throughPisidiaand came toPamphylia.And when they had spoken the word inPerga,they went down to Attalea, and from there they sailed toAntioch".[16]Some of the bishops attributed to theepiscopal seeof Attalea in Pamphylia may instead have been bishops ofAttalea in Lydia(Yanantepe), sinceLe Quienlists them under both sees.[17][18]No longer a residential bishopric, Attalea in Pamphylia is today listed by theCatholic Churchas atitular see.[19]
The 13th-centurySeljukmosque at Attalea, now in ruins, had been a ChristianByzantinebasilica from the 7th century.[citation needed]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.[citation needed]The archaeological museum at Attalea houses some sarcophagi and mosaics from nearby Perga and a casket of bones reputed to be those ofSt. Nicholas,the bishop ofMyra,further down the Turquoise coast. The area of Antalya was subject to naval attacks by theArabsof theAbbasid Caliphate.[citation needed]
Attalea was a major city in theByzantine Empire.It was the capital of theByzantine Themeof theCibyrrhaeots,which occupied the southern coasts ofAnatolia.According to the research of Speros Vryonis, it was the major naval station on the southern Anatolian coast, a major commercial center, and the most convenient harbor between theAegean Seaand Cyprus and points further east. Besides the local merchants, "one could expect to see Armenians, Saracens, Jews, and Italians."[20]
At the time of the accession ofJohn II Komnenosin 1118, Attalea was an isolated outpost surrounded by Turkish beyliks, accessible only by sea,[21]but hiscapture of Sozopolisin 1120 re-opened land-communication with the city once more. Following theSack of Constantinopleby theCrusadersin 1204,Niketas Choniatesrecords that Attalea was the personal fiefdom of a certain Aldebrandus, "an Italian by birth who was strictly raised according to Roman tradition". WhenKaykhusraw,sultan of theSeljuk Turksattempted to capture the city in 1206, Aldebrandus calledCyprusfor help and received 200 infantry from the Latins. The attackers were defeated after a siege of less than 16 days.[22]Kaykhusraw would take Attalea the following year and build its first mosque.[23][24]Christians rebelled and captured Attalea with aid ofWalter of Montbéliardin 1212. Briefly restoredByzantinerule in Attalea was ended byKaykaus Iin 1216.[25]
The city and the surrounding region were conquered by theSeljuk Turksin the early 13th century. Attalea was the capital of the Turkishbeylik of Teke(1321–1423) until its conquest by the Ottomans, except for a period ofCypriotrule between 1361 and 1373. TheArabtravellerIbn Battuta,who visited the city in 1335–1340, noted:[26]
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, theJewsin 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 centuryEvliya Çelebiwrote of a city of narrow streets containing 3,000 houses in 20Turkishand fourGreekneighborhoods.[citation needed]The town had grown beyond the city walls and the port was reported to hold up to 200 boats.[citation needed]
In the 19th century, in common with most of Anatolia, its sovereign was a "derebey"(landlord or landowner). The family of Tekke Oğlu, domiciled nearPergehad been reduced to submission in 1812 byMahmud II,but continued to be a rival power to the Ottoman governor until the early 20th century, surviving by many years the fall of the other great beys of Anatolia. The records of the Levant (Turkey) Company, which maintained an agency in Antalya until 1825, documented the local dere beys.[27]
In the early 20th century, Antalya had two factories spinning and weavingcotton.As of 1920, the factories had 15,000spindlesand over 200looms.AGerman-ownedmillbaled cotton. There weregin mills.[28]
In the 20th century, the population of Antalya increased as Muslim refugees from theCaucasusand theBalkansmoved into Anatolia. The economy was centered on its port that served the inland areas, particularly Konya. Antalya (then Adalia) 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.[27]
The Ottoman houses in Kaleiçi
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,livestock, timber and charcoal. The latter two were often exported toEgyptand other goods to Italy or other Greek islands, who received mainly flour. In 1920, the city had sevenflour mills.Wheat was imported, and then processed in town before exportation. Antalya imported manufactured items, mainly from the United Kingdom.[29]The city had a Greek minority that made up 1/3 of the population until the population exchange. Antalya also had a tiny Armenian population which had a church on the street of "Hamam çikmazi" named Hovhannes Surp Garabed, which was later on demolished. Antalya also had a Jewish community which had a tiny Synagogue in the neighborhood of Balbey and a Talmud Torah. The Synagogue was closed in 1948 and its exact location is not known, and the Synagogue might not exist anymore. The Jewish community had 2 graveyards and one was located across "Donerciler carsisi" and was demolished when the area was opened to construction, but one marble tombstone belonging to a Jew named Raphael Moshe was transferred to theAntalya Museumwhere it can be seen in the museum garden.
The city wasoccupied by Italyfor three years (1919-22) in the aftermath ofWorld War I,but was recaptured by a newly independent Turkey in theTurkish War of Independence.[citation needed]Large-scale development beginning in the 1970s transformed Antalya from a pastoral town into one of Turkey's largest metropolitan areas.[citation needed]Much of this has been due to tourism, which expanded in the 21st century. In the 1987 singing divaDalidaheld her last concert in Antalya.
Antalya was the host city for the2015 G-20 summitand theEXPO 2016.Five countries have their consular missions in Antalya including Belgium, Germany, Russia, Serbia and the United Kingdom.[30]
Antalya has ahot-summer Mediterranean climate(Köppen:Csa) or a dry-summerhumid subtropical climate(Trewartha:Cfor'wet Cs'). It experiences hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. While rainy spells are common and often heavy in winter, Antalya is very sunny, with nearly 3,000 hours of sunlight per year. Frost does occasionally occur at night almost every winter, but snow is a very rare phenomenon. The highest recorded air temperature was 45.4 °C (113.7 °F) on 1 July 2017 but later this record was removed and turned back to 45°C (113°F) in 6 July 2000. Record low is -4.6°C (23.7°F) in 5 February 1950. Record snow depth is 5 cm (1.97 inches) in January 1993. The mean sea temperature ranges between 16 °C (61 °F) in winter and 27 °C (81 °F) in summer.[32]
Climate data for Antalya (1991–2020, extremes 1930–2023)
In 2010, the Address-Based Birth Recording System showed a metropolitan population of 1,001,318 (502,491 male; 498,827 female).[38]Source for 1530–1889.[39]According to the TÜİK Institute of Statistics, as of October 2022, 120,000 foreigners live in the city.[40]
Agricultural production includescitrus fruits,cotton,cut flowers,olives,olive oiland bananas. Antalya Metropolitan Municipality's covered wholesale food market complex meets 65% of the fresh fruit and vegetable demand of the province.[41]
Since 2000, shipyards have been opened in Antalya Free Zone,[42]specialized in building pleasure yachts. Some of these yards have advanced in composites boat building technology.
Antalya is one of theMediterranean's leading tourism destinations, the city being home to an array of famous attractions.[45]In 2012, it was reported it attracted 30% of foreign tourists visiting Turkey.[46]
In 2022, Antalya received 13.4 million foreign tourists by air.[47]
Despite having architectural heritage dating back up toHellenistictimes, most historical architecture in Antalya date to the medievalSeljukperiod, with a number ofmosques,madrasahs,masjids,caravanserais,Turkish bathsand tombs giving the city a Turkish-Islamic character.[48][49]Historical architecture is concentrated in the walled city,Kaleiçi;ancient structures are not well-preserved in the rest of the city of Antalya as the modern city was built on the ancient city.[50]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.[50][51]It is surrounded by two walls in the shape of a horsenail, one of which is along the seafront, built in a continuous process from Hellenistic to Ottoman times. The historical harbour is located in this part of the city; narrow streets extend from the harbour and branch off into the old city, surrounded by wooden historical houses.[49]Cumhuriyet Square, the main square of the city and a spot very popular for tourists and locals, is surrounded by shopping and business centres and public buildings.[52]There are sites with traces of Hellenistic,Roman,Byzantine,andSeljukarchitecture and cultures.[50]There are also examples of the local Greek architecture in the city, with five Greek Orthodox churches in the old city.[53]
The walled city is surrounded by a large metropolitan area. With high rates of immigration since the 1970s, this area contains largegecekonduneighborhoods that are not well-integrated into the fabric of the city and suffer from poor economic conditions and insufficient education. Gecekondu areas are concentrated in theKepezdistrict, where an estimated 70% of the houses were gecekondus in 2008.[54]In 2011, it was estimated that there were 50–60,000 gecekondus in Antalya, housing around 250,000 people.[55]
Antalya has beaches includingKonyaaltı,Laraand Karpuzkaldıran. Beydağları andSaklikentare used for winter sports.
The city is popular for its waterfalls.Ancient monuments include the City Walls,Hıdırlık Tower,Hadrian's Gate(also known as Triple Gate), and the Clock Tower.
İskele Mosque: A 19th-century Mosque near the marina.
Karatay Medrese:A Medrese (Islamic theological seminary) built in 1250 by Emir Celaleddin Karatay.
Kesik Minare(Broken Minaret) Mosque: Once a Roman temple then converted to a Byzantine Panayia 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(Fluted Minaret) Mosque: Built by theSeljuksand decorated with dark blue and turquoise tiles. This minaret eventually became the symbol of the city.
Murat Pasha Mosque:A historic Ottoman mosque located in the city center.
Aya Yorgi Church (Saint George Church): A historic church built by theGreeksof Antalya which is currently used as a museum housing exhibitions of historical artifacts.
Saint Alypius Church: A tiny historicGreek Orthodoxchurch which is still currently a functioning Orthodox Church.
Sultan Aladdin Mosque: A historic building built as aGreek Orthodoxchurch in 1834 and converted into a mosque in the 1950s and currently used as a Mosque.
Ahi Yusuf Mosque: A historic mosque built in the year of 1249 and is possibly one of the oldest mosques in Antalya or even the oldest.
Ahi Kizi Masjid: Historicmasjidlocated in the old town.
Kara Molla Masjid: Tiny historic masjid built in the 14th century.
Balibey Mosque: A historic mosque built by thevizierBali Pasha.
Müsellim Mosque: A small historic mosque built by Hacı Osmanoğlu Mehmed Ağa in 1796.
Antalya Synagogue: A historicSynagogueused as house currently in the Balbey neighborhood between Kavakli Masjid and the Balbey Kesik Minaret Mosque.
Mevlevihane (Dervish lodge museum): A former Dervish lodge housing a museum aboutDervishesandSufism.
Antalya is the most popular summer tourism destination in Turkey.Antalya beach
There are urban parks and protected natural areas located outside the cities, allowing the people to have fun, rest and get closer to nature. Some of them are green areas around lake, pond and dam lakes, and some are highland and forest areas.
The prime urban green areas include Antalya City Forest, Atatürk Park, Kepez City Forest.
The largest amusement park in Antalya is the Aktur Park. Other modern recreational areas include 3 aquaparks in the city, Konyaaltı, Lara beaches, Beachpark especially for summer holidays, while Saklıkent also has facilities for skiing in the winter months.
The preserved nature areas include Güllük Mountain National Park in Antalya-Korkuteli highway, Mount Olympus National Park in Kemer and Düden and Kurşunlu Waterfalls. Other protected areas include the Damlataş and the Karain Cave and the Guver Cliff.
It offers picnic and recreation facilities in various parts of the city. Picnic areas, rafting facilities in Köprülü Kanyon in Manavgat. The part of Korkuteli-Antalya border in western part of Antalya is covered with forests. In these areas, picnic areas, playground, restaurant and similar facilities are provided. There are lake and forest views on the promenade at Feslikan Plateau to the west of the city center where visitors can also enjoy nature sports and nature walks. The oil wrestling competition festival organized in summer, what accompanied with concerts. The pond in Doyran town, located to the west of city is very suitable for picnic and fishing.
In addition to the open air recreation areas, the number of shopping centers, which have increased rapidly in recent years, can also be classified as a rest area with the facilities they offer. The shopping centers in the city are gathered in the center. Among the leading shopping centers in the city are Antalya 5M Migros, Antalya Kipa, Terra City, Deepo, Agora, and Mall of Antalya.
The mayor of the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality isMuhittin Böcekof the CHP, in office since 2019. For general elections, Antalya elects 18 Members of Parliament to the TurkishGrand National Assembly.
Antalya has traditionally been seen as a stronghold for theKemalistcentre-left partyRepublican People's Party(CHP). Being the capital of the fifth most populous province in Turkey, Antalya is politically strategic and has been a target for the governing right-wingJustice and Development Party(AKP). The AKP unexpectedly won control of the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality in the2004 local election.The AKP won a plurality in Antalya in the2007 general election,symbolising the city's political transformation from a CHP stronghold to a CHP-AKP marginal battleground in the 21st century. The loss of Antalya was a major political setback for the CHP not only because of its significance as a centre for tourism, but also because the CHP's former leaderDeniz Baykalis aMember of Parliamentfor the province. The province is divided into 19 districts.
The CHP regained control of the Metropolitan Municipality in the2009 local elections,though the AKP won a plurality in the2011 general election.TheNationalist Movement Party(MHP) also have a strong political base in Antalya, winning approximately between 15 and 25% of the vote in elections since 2007. The city voted in favour of the AKP government's proposed constitutional reforms in the2007 referendum,butvoted againstthe reforms proposed in 2010.
The city hosts a number of international sports competitions due to its longer lasting warm weather condition. Since 2006, one of the four stages ofArchery World Cupevents are held at theAntalya Centennial Archery Field.It also hosted European Weightlifting Championship in 2012, European Beach Volleyball Championship in 2003, European Triathlon Championship in 2013 and World Kickbo xing Championships in 2013.
Scene aroundKaleiçi,the old city centerA view of Antalya's coastlineTheRoman Theatre of Aspendosis one of the best preserved Roman theatres in the world.
Antalya's signature cuisine includespiyaz(made withtahini,garlic, walnuts, and boiled beans),şiş köfte(spicy meatball which is cooked around a stick) spicy hibeş with mixed cumin and tahini,tandır kebap, domates civesi, şakşuka,and various cold Mediterranean dishes witholive oil.One local speciality istirmis,boiled seeds of the lupin, eaten as a snack. "Grida" (also known as Lagos or Mediterranean white grouper) is a fish common in local dishes.[citation needed]
Bir Zamanlar Antalya Müzesi: Located inDokumapark,Kepez.Serving artifacts and documents about contemporary urban history of Antalya.
Kaleiçi Museum:[72]Opened in 2007 by the Mediterranean Civilizations Research Center (Akdeniz Medeniyetleri Araştırma Merkezi)[73]
Kepez Araba Müzesi: Located in Dokumapark, serving historical vehicles in contemporary history.
Kepez Open Air Museum: Serving scale models of various structures of Turkey. The models were located in Minicity park inKonyaaltıbefore the demolition of park in late 2010's and moving to current location in Dokumapark.
Mevlevihane Museum: Former dervish lodge with Sufi and Islamic cultural artifacts.
Suna & İnan Kıraç Kaleiçi Museum: An ethnographic museum run by the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation.
There is a network of look-alikeDolmuşesthat are privately owned and operatedminibuses,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.[74]
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.Halkkarthas been used for the transportation system since the summer of 2010.Halkkartis 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.[75]
The Antray Light RailTransportation lines of tram system
Atramsystem, 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 (east and west), and reach Kalekapisi between 10 and 15 minutes later.
In December 2009, an 11.1-kilometre (6.9 mi)light railline Antray was opened from one of the main city public bus hubs northwest to beyondsuburban areasand the zoo. An extension to Airport,AksuandExpo 2016site was completed in 2016.
D400connects with D650 in Antalya, while D650 alternativeD685connects toIspartaand provincial road 07-50 connects toKumlucabyAltınyaka,an alternative to D400.[76]
Antalya Airporthas two international terminals and one domestic terminal. In 2020, its number of passengers on international flights surpassed the total number atIstanbul AirportandSabiha Gökçen International Airportfor the first time, officially earning the title of "the capital of Turkish tourism".[77][78]
^Vryonis,The decline of medieval Hellenism in Asia Minor: and the process of Islamization from the eleventh through the fifteenth century,(Berkeley: University of California, 1971), pp. 13f
^Norwich, John Julius.Byzantium: The Decline and Fall.(New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996) p. 68.
^O City of Byzantium: Annals of Niketas Choniates,translated by Harry J. Magoulias (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1984), p. 351
^Islam and Christianity in Medieval Anatolia,ed. Bruno De Nicola, Sara Nur Yıldız, and A.C.S. Peacock, (Ashgate Publishing Company,2015), 121
^Notes on Saldjūq Architectural Patronage in Thirteenth Century Anatolia,H. Crane,Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient,Vol. 36, No. 1 (1993), 6.
^"ContactArchived29 October 2013 at theWayback Machine."Corendon Airlines.Retrieved on 17 February 2012. "CORENDON Airlines Head Office Address: Gzeloluk Mahallesi 1879 Sokak No:148 Antalya-Turkey"
^"Imprint."SunExpress.Retrieved on 23 December 2011. "TR-07300 Antalya, Türkiye P.O. Box 28 Mehmetçik Mah. Aspendos Bulv. Aspendos Iş Merkezi No. 63/1-2"
^Galen,De Element. ex Hippocr.,i. 6. vol. i;Defin. Med.,prooem. vol. xix;De Trem. Palpit.,etc. c. 6. vol. vii.;De Differ. Puls.,iv. 10. vol. viii.
^Gautier, «La Diataxis de Michel Attaliate», 12 argues convincingly for birth in Attaleia; Tsolakis, “Aus dem Leben des Michael Attaleiates,” 5–7; Kazhdan, “The Social Views of Michael Attaleiates,” 58 both argued for Constantinopolitan origins.
Turkey
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