ANTALYA
Antalya is located on the southwest coast of Turkey and is quickly becoming popular for its ancient history and modern Turkish culture. The town has quickly become a hot spot for tourists, seeking sun, with its Mediterranean climates. Not only the warm temperatures draw in the tourists, the well preserved Roman-Ottoman quarter of Kaleici, offer heart stopping views of the surrounding mountains, as well as the Roman style harbour.
HISTORYAlthough this city has been populated since the earliest times, it is unknown when the city was first inhabited. The oldest artefacts have been found in the Karain Cave and date back to the Palaeolithic period. It is thought that Antalya was founded by Attalos II, the King of Pergamon in the 1st century BC. It was first named after this founder, Attalia and used to base his powerful naval fleet.
Attalia became a Roman city, when King Attalos III of Pergamon willed the kingdom to Rome upon his death. At this point the city grew and prospered, with Christianity spreading through the region in the 2nd century. Emperor Hadrian visited and a arch, known as Hadrian’s gate was built in his honour.
Antalya became a major city in the Byzantine Empire, until the Seljuk Turks from Konya snatched the city. In 1391 the Ottomans got back the city and this control lasted until the First World War, when the allies divided the Empire, giving Antalya to Italy. However Ataturk’s armies put an end to these foreign holdings and took Antalya back when the Turkish republic was founded in 1923.
On this special cruise ship to the "capital" of the Turkish Mediterranean Coast, sprawling a modern city that offers a small, charming historic center, a good archaeology museum, long sunny beaches spreading from east to west, the Turquoise Coast's busiest airport, good hotels, lots to see and do, easily making this cruising trip a memorable one with dramatic sea and mountain views as backgrounds. Recommended Antalya shore excursions