WESTERN ASIA · REGION GUIDE
Roman harbours, Lycian tombs and pine-backed coves shape Turkey’s Mediterranean shore between Antalya and Fethiye.
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Understand Antalya And The Turquoise Coast
Antalya began as Attaleia around 150 BCE; westward, Lycian ports such as Olympos, Patara and Xanthos tied mountain communities to Mediterranean trade.
Chapter 01 · ORIGIN
King Attalus II of Pergamon founded Attaleia, modern Antalya, around 150 BCE. East of the city lay Pamphylia; westward, Lycian communities including Xanthos and Patara formed a federation before Rome annexed Lycia in 43 CE. Harbours, mountain passes and cedar forests made this coast strategically valuable long before tourism arrived.
Chapter 02 · PEOPLE
Lycians, Greek-speaking settlers, Romans, Seljuks and Ottomans each reshaped the coast. Antalya’s capture by Seljuk sultan Kaykhusraw I in 1207 connected its port to Anatolian caravan routes. After the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, population exchange altered long-established Greek Orthodox communities, while modern Antalya grew rapidly through agriculture and tourism.
Chapter 03 · FOOD
The Taurus Mountains limited inland routes but supplied goats, herbs and timber, while Mediterranean ports brought olive oil, wheat and spices. Antalya piyaz combines white beans, tahini and vinegar rather than the simpler onion-based versions elsewhere in Turkey. Around Kaş and Fethiye, fish, octopus and meze reflect working harbours and Aegean connections.
Chapter 04 · ARCHITECTURE
Roman prosperity produced Perge’s colonnaded streets and the 2nd-century theatre at Aspendos. Seljuk control introduced fluted brick minarets and caravan architecture, represented by Antalya’s 13th-century Yivli Minare. Ottoman merchants later built courtyard houses inside Kaleiçi, using stone lower floors and timber-framed upper rooms suited to shaded lanes.
Chapter 05 · NATURE
The Taurus Mountains descend sharply toward the Mediterranean, creating short rivers, limestone gorges and coves reached by steep roads or boats. The 540-kilometre Lycian Way, opened in 1999, follows old paths between Fethiye and the Antalya region. At Çıralı, natural gas vents feed the flames of Yanartaş above a protected nesting beach.
Turning points
Pergamon’s King Attalus II establishes the harbour city that becomes Antalya.
Emperor Claudius annexes Lycia and later joins it administratively with Pamphylia.
Kaykhusraw I takes Antalya, securing a Mediterranean outlet for the Seljuk Sultanate.
Sultan Bayezid I brings Antalya firmly under Ottoman control.
Italian forces occupy Antalya after the First World War armistice.
Antalya joins the Republic of Turkey after the Turkish War of Independence.
Kate Clow launches the marked long-distance route between Fethiye and Antalya.
Discover
Days combine Roman theatres, gulet cruises, swimming coves and sections of the Lycian Way, with the Taurus Mountains rising immediately behind the coast.
Antalya
Hadrian’s Gate, built in 130 CE, opens into Antalya’s Ottoman-era harbour quarter.
Serik
This 2nd-century Roman theatre retains a stage building and seating for thousands.
Side
Five restored Corinthian columns mark Side’s 2nd-century waterfront sanctuary.
Tekirova
Three Roman harbours, an aqueduct and a theatre occupy this Lycian coastal site.
Çıralı
Natural gas vents have burned from the rocks of Mount Chimaera for centuries.
Demre
Myra preserves Lycian rock tombs and a Roman theatre near the Church of Saint Nicholas.
Kekova
Boat and kayak routes reveal partly submerged walls from an ancient Lycian settlement.
Fethiye
A protected lagoon and Belcekız Beach meet beneath Babadağ’s paragliding launch sites.
On the table
White beans are dressed with tahini, lemon, vinegar and garlic, often beside grilled köfte.
Small seasoned meatballs are grilled on skewers and served with piyaz, peppers and flatbread.
Tahini, lemon, garlic and cumin form a thick meze associated with Antalya kitchens.
Paper-thin hand-stretched pastry is folded around cheese, minced meat or vegetables.
Goat’s milk is deliberately scorched before freezing, producing a lightly smoky flavour.
Thin griddled flatbread comes filled with spinach, cheese, potato or minced meat.
Plan
seven to ten nights is what the place is worth — not how long our trips happen to run.
Antalya Airport serves Antalya, Kemer and Çıralı; Dalaman Airport is better for Fethiye, Kalkan and often Kaş. Intercity buses use Antalya Otogar and Fethiye Otogar. The D400 links the coast, although mountain bends slow the Kaş–Fethiye and Antalya–Kaş sections. There is no practical coastal railway.
Antalya has the AntRay tram, municipal buses and taxis. Coaches and minibuses follow the D400 between resort towns, but schedules thin around trailheads and smaller beaches. A rental car is useful for Termessos, Patara and Saklıkent. Kaş–Meis ferries and Fethiye excursion boats operate seasonally and depend on weather.
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Your time
7:11 PM
Asia/Kolkata
In Antalya And The Turquoise Coast
4:41 PM
Europe/Istanbul
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