Antalya
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Located in the south of Turkey on the Mediterranean Sea, Antalya is a city of sunny castles, Greek temples, Roman gates, Ottoman mosques, and Christian churches. It is also a popular destination for tourists from cold climates.
Turkey is a country of contrasts. In the north, near the Black Sea and Istanbul, the weather can be stormy and cold, like eastern Europe. In the east, high mountains draw skiers to vast deposits of snow, and desert-like terrains uncover stone-age civilizations. In the west, Izmir and its Aegean islands create a Greek-like dream. And in the south,
Antalya nestles on a crescent bay of Mediterranean sunshine framed by mountains.
I went to
Antalya because the weather is like my native Southern California. I enjoyed living near Istanbul, but after surviving one cold winter, I didn't want another. The Antalyan summer was so hot that many locals went up to their mountain cabins, and it didn't rain for four months. But I loved it, exploring the Old Castle (
Kaleiçi) section of town with my Turkish husband, taking romantic sunset cruises out of the yacht harbor, and swimming at Lara or Konyaaltı Beach under stars in the calm, warm Mediterranean.
It was easy (but time-consuming) to get around the spread-out city by bus or tram. The Mediterranean-style food was not expensive, and I found shops selling traditional Turkish goods in old stone buildings not far from modern shopping malls. Tall apartment buildings held balconies and roof-top, solar-powered water tanks. Narrow, cobbled streets wound between old stone villas. Grand hotels offered strong Turkish tea on the beach. I explored
Duden Waterfall, took photos of
Hadrian's Gate, and walked through the modern campus of
Akdeniz (Mediterranean) University. Although I didn't get to the historic places of
Aspendos or
Olympos, Antalya was one of my favorite places in Turkey.
A fountain runs through the streets of downtown Antalya
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One of the many grand hotels of Antalya
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A tourist yacht sails in the Mediterranean Sea near Antalya
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The lighthouse at the yacht harbor's entrance
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A tourist boat sails past a castle tower
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A cave by the seacliff waterfall
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Gates to Akdeniz (Mediterranean) University
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A palm tree reflects in a fountain
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A sunny Mediterranean walkway
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An overview of the Kaleiçi (Old Castle) section of Antalya. The castle walls frame the harbor.
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Castle walls above the yacht harbor
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Restaurants in the castle walls
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This restaurant stands above a Mediterranean swimming cove
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with its rocks at the end
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and aqua wavelets where I took my waterproof camera
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Imagine dining with this view of the Mediterranean Sea and distant mountains
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and then strolling through the cobbles streets and stone villas of Kaleiçi
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Where you can see quaint shops
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with its active Christian church
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A photographer takes photos from the view point
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which looks down at Mediterranean trees and rocks
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the view toward Konyaaltı Beach
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and the end to a perfect Antalya day
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