Set amid amazing scenery of sharp contrasts, Antalya, Turkey's principal holiday resort, is an attractive city with shady palm-lined boulevards and a prize-winning marina. In the picturesque old quarter, Kaleici, narrow, winding streets and old wooden houses abut the ancient city walls. Since its founding in the second century B.C. by Attalos II, a king of Pergamon, Antalya has been continuously inhabited. The Romans, Byzantines and Seljuks successively occupied the city before it came under Ottoman rule.
At Antalya, the pine-clad Toros Mountains sweep down to the sparkling clear sea forming an irregular coastline of rocky headlands and secluded coves. The region, bathed in sunshine for 300 days of the year, is a paradise of sunbathing and swimming and of sporting activities such as windsurfing, water skiing, sailing, rafting, mountain climbing and hunting. If you come to Antalya in March and April, you may ski the mountains in the mornings and swim in the warm waters of the Mediterranean in the afternoons. Important historic sites and beautiful mosques await your discovery amid a landscape of pine forests, olive and citrus groves and palm, avocado and banana plantations. Perge, 18 km from Antalya along the east coast, is an important city of ancient Pamphylian. It was originally settled by the Hittites around 1500 B.C. The city features the remains of a theater and a handsome city gate.
Also east of Antalya, the town of Aspendos features the best-preserved theater of antiquity. The Aspendos Theater, with seating for 15,000, is still in use today. Nearby stand the remains of a basilica, agora and one of the largest aqueducts in Anatolia.
The Turquoise Coast is Turkey's tourism capital. Its full range of accommodations, sunny climate, warm hospitality and variety of excursions and activities make it a perfect holiday spot and popular venue for meetings and conferences.