Antalya Province is the centre of Turkey's tourism industry, attracting 30% of foreign tourists visiting Turkey. Its capital city of the same name was the world's third most visited city by number of international arrivals in 2011,[citation needed] displacingNew York. Antalya is Turkey's biggest internationalsea resort. The province of Antalya corresponds to the lands of ancientLycia to the west,Pamphylia to the east, and part ofPisidia to the north. It features a shoreline of 657 km (408 mi) with beaches, ports, and ancient cities scattered throughout, including theWorld Heritage SiteXanthos. The provincial capital isAntalya city with a population of 1,344,000.
Antalya is the fastest-growing province in Turkey; with a 4.17% yearly population growth rate between years 1990–2000, compared with the national rate of 1.83%. This growth is due to a fast rate of urbanization, particularly driven by tourism and other service sectors on the coast.
Antalya has been settled since pre-historic times. Evidence of human habitation dating back to the early Paleolithic age (150,000–º200,000 years ago) has been discovered in theKarain cave, 30 km (19 mi) of the north of Antalya city.[3] Other finds dating back to theMesolithic (Beldibi Cave),Neolithic (Bademağacı Höyüğü) and more recent periods show that the area has been populated by various civilizations throughout the ages.
According toHerodotus, the earliest known inhabitants were aBronze Age people called theMilyae (Milyans), who referred to the area asMilyas and spoke anIndo-European language known asMilyan. A people called theTermilae, fromCrete, also settled and eventually dominated the coastal margins, which were known asTrm̃mis (while the Milyae became concentrated in the mountains). According toGreek legend, an exiledAthenian calledLykos (Latin:Lycus) became prominent in the region. Records from theHittite period refer to the inhabitas and the area asLukka, and document lively interactions with neighboring regions in the 2nd millennium BC. It is commonly accepted that Lukka is cognate with the later,Latinised exonymLycia. The Lukka were known for their seafaring skills (including piracy) and demonstrated a fiery, independent spirit; neither the Hittites, nor theArzawa, to the west, could ever dominate them for long.
According to Greek legend, there was immigration by a Greek tribe called theAkhaioi (from the northernPeloponnese) to the area, after theTrojan War, and eventually many Greek settlements built up along the coast and inland. In theHellenistic period, the western parts of the later Antalya were regarded asLycia, whereas the east wasPamphylia, and the extremes eastCilicia, whilePisidia was to the north. These communities grew into independent cities, and eventually a federation was set up, under the name of Pamphylia.
Antalya was part of theLydian kingdom from the 7th century BC until Lydia was defeated by theAchaemenid Empire during theBattle of Sardis in 546 BC. TheMacedonian commanderAlexander the Great ended Persian rule and in around 334 BC conquered the cities of the area one by one—except forTermessos andSillyon which managed to repulse his armies in 333 BC. After thedeath of Alexander in 323 BC, along battle erupted between his generals that lasted until 188 BC.
The reign of the kingdom ofPergamon began with the defeat of theSeleucid army at Apamea. Shortly after this the city ofAntalya was founded. WhenAttalos III, the last king of Pergamom, died in 133 BC he left his kingdom to theRoman Republic. At this time the area is dominated by pirates based in small cities along the coast.
During the mid-Byzantine era (the 5th and 6th centuries) the city of Antalya grew beyond the city walls.
From theearly Muslim conquests of the 7th centuryMuslim Arabs started to be dominant in theLevant region and Antalya later played a part in the ChristianCrusades againstIslam. The army of KingLouis VII of France sailed from Antalya forSyria during theSecond Crusade in 1148, and the fleet ofRichard I of England rallied here before the conquest ofCyprus during theThird Crusade. In the late 11th and early 12th Century much of the area of the modern province fell to theTurks especially theDanishmends. From 1120 to March 1207, Antalya was again under the sovereignty of Byzantines.[5]
The area was conquered by theSeljuk Turks and recaptured by the Byzantines again and again from 1076 onwards as the Seljuks strove to establish a trading base on theMediterranean. At one stage Turkish lordKilij Arslan had a palace here. In 1220 Byzantine rule ended for the last time and the city was quickly divided into Christian and Muslim sections, the Christian trading communities includingVenetians andGenoese.Alanya also grew and throve during the Seljuk period.
Antalya province is situated in south-westAnatolia, between the longitudes 29°20'-32°35'East and latitudes 36°07'-37°29'North. The province covers an area of 20,591 square miles. The southern border of the province is theMediterranean Sea while theTaurus Mountains draw the land border. From west to east the province is bordered byMuğla,Burdur,Isparta,Konya,Karaman andMersin provinces. The land of the province is 77.8% mountainous, 10.2% plain and 12% uneven. Many of the peaks of the Taurus mountains are above 500–3000 metres. TheTeke Peninsula (corresponds to ancientLycia) in the west includes wide plateaus and river basins. Climate, agriculture, demographics and habitation patterns differ greatly between the inland mountain areas and the coastal plain.
The Antalya basin consists of three sub-basins: theManavgat in the east, theKöprü Çay in the middle, and theAksu in the west.[8]: 135
The western part of the Antalya plain is crossed by two rivers: theKaraman Çay, west of the city, and theDüden Çay, east of the city.[8]: 142 A wide undersea canyon extends to the south of the area where these rivers flow into the Antalya Gulf.[8]: 142 Offshore from the Aksu's mouth, there is no canyon; there is instead a shallow marine shelf where the river deposits sediments in a broad area.[8]: 142
West of the Aksu basin is a 30x40 km-wide area oftufa andtravertine deposits that mark the SW boundary of the basin; the city of Antalya is built on top of this area.[9]: 9–10 These deposits were formed from prehistoric cold springs in the earlyPleistocene.[9]: 17 They are deepest at the west end, where they are 250 m deep; they get shallower towards the east and are 30 m deep at the easternmost part.[9]: 9
A narrow band of limestone deposits stretch fromGebiz in the north to theKüçük Asar Tepe hills in the south.[8]: 139 This is known as theGebiz limestone and was likely deposited from shallow coral reefs on the east side of the Aksu basin.[8]: 139–40 There are abundantgastropod andbivalve fossils in these deposits.[9]: 7
The population of Antalya province is estimated 2,426,356 in 2018. Antalya is the fifth province of Turkey with high foreigner resident population which is 6,343.[13]
Antalya has a number of local media such as radio channels (including asTRT's regional radio service based in Muratpaşa) and newspapers.Kanal V, the only active local television network of the province, is aired nationally in Turkey byTurksat 4A satellite.
The highest point of theTaurus mountains isAkdağ at an altitude of 3025 metres. Located to the northwest of the city centre and at a distance of 50 km (31 mi) is theSaklıkent ski and recreation centre onBeydağları. Here one can ski and then go down to the shore and into the sea during the months of January–April. In Saklıkent there are two teleski and ski courses along with villas and accommodation facilities available in the area. Situated on Bakırlı Hill behind Saklıkent is theAntalya National Space Observatory. In rivers rafting and canoeing sports and on the Taurus mountains jeep safari, hunting and trekking tours are organised. Alternatively, there is rock-climbing, bird watching tourism, photo-safari, mountain tourism, line fishing and health tourism at the thalasso and dialysis centres inGeyikbayırı. Holy tourism activities are organized inMyra andPatara whereSt Nicholas was born and lived. The eternal flames ofChimaera that was the inspiration for theChimera myth is also located in Antalya. In the area ofBelek, 30 km (19 mi). east of Antalya, there is a big potential for golf tourism with the bonus of the cultural, historical and natural sightseeing of the region. There are five golf facilities already operating in Belek. There are underwater diving centres on the coast, primarily inKemer,Çamyuva,Olympos,Adrasan,Kaş,Kalkan,Üçağız,Kekova,Side andAlanya. In addition, yacht tours are organized from the port of Antalya toDüden Waterfall-Karpuzkaldıran and Kemer, from Side to Alanya, fromDemre-Çayağzı to Kekova, from Kaş to Kekova, from Kemer toÇıralı-Olympos-Adrasan andCape Gelidonya. There are also boat tours onManavgat creek and canoe tours onXanthos creek. In addition,Blue Cruise, which covers the southwestern Anatolian coast, ends in Antalya. There are ferryboat trips from Alanya toCyprus and from Antalya toItaly. Antalya today is a tourism centre with touristic accommodation facilities, nature and historic sites.[citation needed]
Hadrian's Gate, the Roman fortification and the clock tower in the city ofAntalya itself. Also near the city the Pamphilian city ofAspendos,Perge (on two hills, once the capital ofPamphylia) and the Pisidian city ofTermessos, high in the mountains 35 km (22 mi) northwest of Antalya.
^Steiner, Zara (2005).The lights that failed : European international history, 1919-1933. Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-151881-2.OCLC86068902.
^"Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution". Nature Scientific Data.DOI:10.1038/sdata.2018.214.
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