ANTALYA
The city of Antalya stretches along the bay bearing its name, and is built at 39 meters altitude on a rocky coastline. One is immediately struck by the Taurus mountains rising to 3086 meters above this coastline, intersperesed withvalleys of varying sizes. Land and sea everywhere meet the beaches stretching for miles or the steep cliffs. The Taurus mountains against the blue backdrop of the sky, the precipices and especially the caves close to the sea add another dimension to the beauty of the region.
Small and large streams emerging from the west side of the Taurus water the plains on their journey to the Mediterranean. This translucent running water, cascading into the sea at points along the coast, is another attractive sight.

The plant life of Antalya is extremely varied. Every kind of tropical plant can be found along the coast. Visitors to Antalya are struck by the size attained by the different species of cactus. When you reach the foothills of the Taurus, you will see they are covered in the typical Mediterranean maquis, while the forests are full of thriving oaks and pine trees. The coton and sesame plantations and citrus and banana groves of the plains have a beauty of their own.


In Antalya the four seasons only appear on the calendar, as there is no real winter here, so much so that when in 1985 for the first time in 60 years snow fell, it was front page news.

BRIEF HISTORY OF ANTALYA
Evidence of human habitation dating back over 200 000 years has been discovered in the Carain caves 30 km to the north of Antalya city. Other finds dating back to Neolithic times and more recent periods show that the area has been populated by various ancient civilisations throughout the ages.
Records from the Hittite period (when the first recorded political union of Anatolian cities was set up calling itself the Lycian league) refer to the area as the Lands of Arzawa and document the lively interaction going on between provinces in 1700 BC.
Historical records document how cities developed independantly, how the area as a whole was called Pamphilia and how a federation of cities was set up in the province. There is also a record of the migration of the Akha clan to the area after the Trojan war.

The reign of the kingdom of Lydia in west Anatolia came to an end in 560 BC after it was defeated by the Persians during the battle of Sardis in 546 BC.
From 334 BC until his death Alexander the Great conquered the cities of the area one by one - leaving out Termessos and Silion.
With the defeat of the Seleucid army at Apamaea began the reign of the kingdon of Pergamom. In 150 BC Attalos II, king of Pergamom, founded the city of Attalaıa (present day Antalya) to base his powerful naval fleet.
When Attalos III, the last king of Pergamom, died in 133 BC he left his kingdom to the Romans. The Roman and subsequent Byzantine Empires ruled the area for the next 13 centuries.
In 1207 A.D. the Selchuk Turks conquered Antalya and then Alanya in 1220 A.D.This marked the end of Roman/Byzantine rule.
Ottoman rule began in 1391. The brief occupation of the area by the Italians came to an abrupt end after the First World War with the founding of the Turkish Republic in 1923. The area is now registered as a province of the Republic of Turkey.