Magic city Antalya

Itinerary

• DAY 1

  Antalya

  Meet at your hotel’s lobby (after breakfast at around 09:00/09:30 am) with Demavend Travels tour leader for a fascinating trip through the magic city of Antalya and its surrounding historical and cultural sites.

  It is uncertain when the site of the current city was first inhabited. Attalos II, king of Pergamon, was believed to have founded the city around 150 BC, but excavations have uncovered remains dating to the 3^rd century BC, suggesting that the city was founded earlier than previously supposed. The city grew and prospered during the ancient roman period and today includes sites with traces of Lycian, Pamphylian, Hellenistic -but mainly Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman-architecture and cultures.

   

  Advisable sites and options for the day

  The old city centre (Kaleici), with its narrow cobbled streets of historic Ottoman era houses; with streets and buildings still bear the marks of Antalya’s history. The old city centre has been restored to retain much of its historical character; most famous the Hadrian’s gate, the clock tower, Yivli Minare and Hidirlik tower.

  Antalya harbour, a beautiful small natural harbour surrounded with ancient city walls. Local boats organize daily boat trips along the coast, there are also a few cafes available where you can relax and enjoy the scenery.

  Antalya museum, covering an area of 30 000 square meters with 13 exhibition galleries. The galleries include artefacts of the prehistory, pottery’s, finds from the region excavations done by the museum and universities, gods statues, mosaics, icons, statues of Perge theatre, sarcophagi, coins and jewellery and ethnographical collections.

  Termessos was an ancient fortified Pisidian city rising 1.050m above the sea level. The most significant remains of the site are the city walls, towers, the king's road, Hadrian’s gate, gymnasium and agora, the theatre with spectacular views and richly decorated tombs and cisterns.

  Perge (or Perga) was once the capital of Pamphylia. St. Paul the apostle and his companion St. Barnabas, twice visited Perge as recorded in the biblical book, the Acts of the Apostles, during their missionary journey. Today the site is an archaeological attraction, its ruins include a theatre, a palaestra (ancient Greek wrestling school), a temple of Artemis and two churches.

  Aspendos was an ancient city in Pamphylia, known for having the best-preserved theatre of antiquity. Nearby stand the remains of a basilica, agora, nymphaeum (a monument) and 15 kilometres of a Roman aqueduct.

  Side ancient city is located at a natural peninsula and belongs definitely to one of the must see places in the region around Antalya. The cities natural geography made it one of the most important places in Pamphylia and one of the important trade centres in the region. The great ruins are among the most notable in Asia Minor. There are colossal ruins of a theatre complex, well-preserved city walls with a Hellenistic main gate, three temples, an aqueduct and a nymphaeum.

  Duden & Kursunlu waterfalls, Antalya is also known for its beautiful waterfalls. The Duden waterfalls are located within a beautiful public park with pine trees and small lakes. The lover Duden waterfall offers a great view of Mediterranean coast and Antalya bay. Kursunlu waterfall is on one of the tributaries of the Aksu River and is situated in the middle of a pine forest of exceptional beauty.

  Meals:   - / - / -