Antalya Travel Guide

Where to go in Antalya? What to eat? Before we talk about such information, we should talk about the history of Antalya. Antalya is one of Turkey's top tourist cities. One of the most important reasons for this is the climate and its amazing history.

History of Antalya

Antalya means Attolos Dormitory. Many civilizations, including pirates, have reigned in this region. It can be said that the community that survived the most was the Byzantines. Unfortunately, with modern urbanization, many historical buildings were lost, but there are still many worth seeing in the city. Not only the city centre but also the surrounding towns like Side, Aspendos and Olympos are worth a visit.

Historical places to see

· Inside the castle

Even though most of the buildings were destroyed, it still maintained its Horseshoe-shaped structure. It is surrounded by walls from Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman periods. There are houses where they give you an idea of life in the region. Today, inside the castle is designated as a protected area.

· Old Antalya Houses

Summer in Antalya is very hot. The winter months are warm. Therefore, all properties in Antalya are built to especially to keep the heat out and keeping the interior nice and cool. All houses are designed to be three floors with an entrance.

· Grooved Minaret

It was built during the Anatolian Seljuk period. It is the first architectural art built by Turkish people.

· Ulu Mosque

This building also has another name called ''Broken Minaret'' and built as a basilica. However, there are very few relics left after it was repaired in the Ottoman period, but now mentioned in its name, it is used as a mosque.

There are many more historical places in and around Antalya centre. We just mentioned some things that should be seen.

Antalya Food Culture

Since it is a touristic region, you can find almost every kind of world cuisine in restaurants. But if you choose to eat something local, Iskender, Tandir kebab, meat stew, Hibes and Arapasi can be prefered.

Tandir kebab

made with lamb meat, thyme, salt and butter. Tandir is a kind of oven made by digging holes and covering them with stones on the sides. Because meat is roasted in this oven, the name of the dish was ''tandir'' which translates to Tandoori. Today, however, they cook meat in different ways.

Meat stew

It has lamb or veal cubed meat, tomatoes, peppers, onions, salt, pepper, chilli pepper and thyme. Meat stew is cooked in a clay pot then the top is covered to prevent heat from escaping.

If you want to learn more about Turkish food and culinary tourism in Turkey, check out our other blogs for more information.

Where Can I Stay?

Nowadays, many tourists prefer renting a property in Antalya instead of staying in a hotel. It's cheaper and more comfortable to stay. With the leftover money you didn't spend, we recommend you to lease a car and decide which places to visit.

If you do not prefer to rent a summer house, then you can stay in hotels in Antalya centre or a region closer to the sea. Staying in the hotel is much convenient because your room will be cleaned and sorted for you.

How can I get there?

There are find roads and flights that lead to Antalya all over Turkey. In addition, sea transportation is also provided.