Antalya

The city is named after the ancient center of Attaleia, founded in this place in the 1st century. p.n.e. by King Attalus II of Pergamon (159 – 138 p.n.e.). The king wanted, to make the new city the main Pergamon harbor on the Mediterranean coast, what also happened. Atta-los surrounded them with a series of walls with towers, which were fortified and expanded by the Romans, Attaleia fell into their hands with the handover of the kingdom of Pergamon to the "Roman people" (as the last Pergamon king Attalus III put it in his will). Some of the magnificent walls can still be admired in the vicinity of the port. Attaleia was the main base during Rome's battles with pirates, who occupied some of the cities formerly belonging to the Pergamon state. After a brief deal with the corsairs of the coastal town, headed by Attaleia, began to develop rapidly, and the latter became the most important port of Pamphylia. Throughout the ancient and Byzantine times, the city maintained this status. Called Adalia by the Byzantines, it was the seat of the bishopric, and during the crusades it was often shipped by soldiers going to the Holy Land in order to avoid the long and arduous march through Asia Minor. Before that, the city was often besieged by Arabs.

W 1207 r. fell prey to the Seljuks, who thus could call themselves "masters of both seas", referring to the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Over the next two centuries, the city changed hands. The emirs of various nearby Turkmen tribes ruled here, Adalia was briefly ruled by the king of Cyprus, Piotr 1, then Turkmen again, at the end, w 1387 r., it was conquered by the Ottoman Turks led by Sultan Murad I.. The city was then renamed Antalya. During Tamerlane's invasion of Asia Minor (beginning of the 15th century) also Antalya did not escape the siege and, after a short defense, surrendered, but it returned to the Ottomans in 1415 r., this time forever. At the time of the empire, representatives of various nationalities lived in Antalya, and it came from here, that already in the thirteenth century. The Seljuk Turks allowed merchants from Europe to settle in the city. They were mainly Venetians and Genoese. This policy continued during the Ottoman era, and the Greeks came to the city, Armenians and Jews. After 1 WWII city to 1921 r. it was in the hands of the Italians, and after the end of the Turkish-Greek war, all the Greeks were displaced from here, as a result, Antalya became a typical Turkish city.

Like in ancient times, so today the whole life of the city is concentrated in the vicinity of the port. To the east and south of it is the old quarter of Kaleici, bounded to the south by the large Kara Alioglu Park, from the east one of the main shopping streets of Antalya – Ataturk Cad., and from the north no less important Cumhuriyet Cad. From the landmark at Cumhuriyet Cad., what is the clock tower, another commercial street goes north – promenade Kazim Ózalp Cad. Along Ataturk Cad. i Cumhuriyet Cad.. a tram line runs, which starts in the south, far beyond the stadium, it encircles the port in a wide arc, and ends in the west at the Archaeological Museum and Konyaalti City Beach. Anafartalar Cad is also an important street., extending north of Cumhuriyet Cad. some 700 m from the city center. To the west of the clock tower stands the most characteristic landmark and at the same time the showcase of the city – Fluted Minaret (Yivli Minaret). Even further, on the main square of the city, Republic Square (pl. Republic), stands the equestrian statue of Ataturk.

Accommodation

There are plenty of accommodation places in Antalya. The cheapest hotels can be found in the district north of the bazaar, in the vicinity of the Balbey Mosque. There is also a lot to choose from in the old town – in addition to numerous cheaper offers, we are also moderately and very expensive, because many of the old houses have been beautifully restored and converted into luxury hotels.

Gastronomy

There are only better restaurants in Kaleici, and if we want to eat a little cheaper, we must direct our steps outside the old town. The group of the cheapest premises in the vicinity of the city center can be found at the Ataturk Cad intersection. z Cumhuriyet Cad., both on the south corner, and on the north-eastern side in the district, where there are also handicrafts. Besides, around the port, on the terraces, exclusive restaurants were set up, serving delicious fish at salty prices. The entertainment venues are in the neighborhood of Hidirlik Kulesi, port and in Kaleici itself.

Bathhouses

There are at least a few bathhouses in Antalya. One of the more popular ones is located in the very center of the old town, historical, recently renovated Tarihi Balik Pazari Hamami (róg Paja Camii Sok i Balik Pazari Sok). Admittedly, the bath itself costs only here 3 USD, but we will pay for the whole set with massage 17 USD. Another bathhouse in the Kaleici district is Sefa Hamami (Kocatepe Sok.), which looks very inconspicuous from the outside. Well, it is something like a block, but appearances are deceptive. The block was built over the really old one, ok. 500-summer bath. A bath costs money here 3,5 USD, washing – 2,7 USD, and massage – 4 USD. We will only pay for the set 10 USD. Regardless of the time of day, men and women can enter the baths at the same time. Republic Bath (east of the Balbey Mosque) it is focused mostly on tourists, but the set is not that expensive, bo 10 USD. Who just wants to take a bath, will pay 2,7 USD, and for washing -1 USD. The bathhouse is also old – it certainly counts more than 300 lat.