ANTALYA
The Antalya Region, offering all the mysticism of past in our day, is now called the ‘Turkish Riviera ‘ due to its archeological and natural beauties. Antalya is the place where sea, sun, history and nature constitute a perfect harmony and which also includes the most beautiful and clearest coast along the Mediterranean. The city still preserves its importance as a centre throughout history in the south coast of the country, in addition to its wonderful natural beauties. The mythological city which housed the Gods and Goddesses now exhibits all its secrets and marvels to mankind.
"Antalya is located in the west of the Mediterranean region. In ancient times it covered all Pamphylia which means the land of all tribes. The land really deserves the name since it has witnessed many successive civilizations throughout history. In 1st century BC the Pergamum King Attalus ordered his men to find the most beautiful piece of land on earth; he wanted them to find ‘heaven on earth. After a long search all over the world, they discovered this land and said “this must be "Heaven and King Attalus founded the city giving it the name ‘Attaleia’. From then on many nations kept their eyes on the city. When the Romans took over the Pergamene Kingdom, Attaleia became an outstanding Roman city which the great Roman Emperor Hadrian visited in 130 AD; an arch was built in his honor which is now worth seeing. Then came the Byzantines, after which the Seljuk Turks look over the city in 1207 and gave it a different name, Adalya, and built the Yivli  Minaret. The Ottomans followed the Seljuk’s and finally within the Turkish Republic it became a Turkish city and an important port. Antalya has been growing rapidly since 1960 and its population is 1,146,109 according to the 1990 census.  The climate of the province is typical Mediterranean: hot and dry in summers and temperate and rainy in winters. Sunshine is guarantee’ from April to October and the winters are pleasantly mild. The humidity is a little bit high, about 64%, and the average water temperature is 21 Antalya is really a heavenly place where the summer season~ about 8-9 months long.

Transportation
You may reach Antalya from almost every city of the country, and even from title towns; coach companies going to Antalya are available. Antalya has an international airport, which may connect you to major cities; it has modern facilities including waiting rooms, restaurant, cafe-bar, and a shopping centre. When traveling by sea, one can use the Antalya-Venice-Ferryboat line.

Touristic Attractions
Antalya and its surroundings are important and noteworthy touristic centers on the Mediterranean Coast with perfect climate and splendid harmony of archeological, historical and natural beauties, throughout the year. Daily tours to touristic areas like Side, Alanya and Termessos are available, in addition to longer tours to Pamukkale or Cappadocia. Professional tourist guides are also available.Sightseeing

City Wails: The memorial Hadrian Arch and The Clock Tower are remarkable and date back to Hellenistic era. Kaleici: This is the nucleus of a city, which embraced many civilizations. It is now restored and has become a most attractive touristic centre with its hotels, restaurants, and shopping and entertainment facilities. Kaleici retains all the original ancient Turkish archeological characteristics. The port’s marina has been completely restored and is well-worth visiting. The restoration activities in Kaleici won the Golden Apple Prize, the Oscar of Tourism, in 1984.

Antalya Museum: A prize-winning museum and one of the most notable archeology museums, of the world. It is also the only museum in Turkey with a children’s department exhibiting ancient monuments appealing to children.  Hadrian’s Gate: the Romans in honor of the Emperor Hadrian constructed this ornamental marble arch in 2nd century BC. It is the most amazing area in the whole ancient Pamphylia region.Kesik Minaret (Broken Minaret); Once a Byzantine Panaglia church, later converted into a mosque.  Yivli Minaret: the Seljuks built this fluted minaret of 13th-century.Decorated with dark blue and turquoise tiles, the minaret eventually became the symbol of the city.  Karatay Medresesi, Hidirlik Tower, Ahi Yusuf Mescidi, IskeleMosque, Murat Papa Mosque, Tekeli Mehmet Pasa Mosque, Balibey Mosque, Muselim Mosque, seyh Sinan Mosque and Osman Efendi Mosque is other places to be visited. Han’s are Seljuk or Ottoman inns, which have architectural significance. Some worth visiting are the Evader Han, Kırkgoz Han, Alara Han and Castle and sarapsa  (Serapsu) Han.Ancient Cities

Termessos: It is a Psydian city with remnants of an agora, theatre and an odeon. It has a reputation of being the most magnificent necropolis in the Mediterranean region, 35 kms northwest of Antalya.
Perge: 18 kms northeast of Antalya. The ruins are spread on two hills, the theatre on one and the acropolis on the other. According to the legend, the city was built by three heroes from Troy.
Sillyon:34 kms from Antalya on the Alanya direction. It is situated Between Aspendos and Perge and dates back to 4th century BC
Beaches  & Sports FacilitiesYou may go to the beaches in the environs of the city by municipal buses or by dolmus.
Konyaalti Beaches 3 kms west of Antalya with a length of 1.5 kms. There are restaurants, little cafes as well as pensions and hotels.
Adalar Beach A rocky beach within the city park with restaurants and cabins for changing.
Lara Beach 13 kms east of Antalya. A very popular sandy beach with restaurants, camping grounds and hotels.
Excursions City Park (Inönü Park) Karaalioglu Park: In the city centre within an area of 70.000 m2 sheltering 120 kinds of plants. There are also children parks and tea houses.Atatürk Park: Constructed on steep rocks facing the sea, mostly preferred by the inhabitants of Antalya.September 12th Grove: 2 kms west of Antalya, a nice picnicking and camping area. There is an interesting, wooden amphitheatre in the park.

Olympos Beydagları National Park: The greatest national park of Turkey, it stretches from Antalya port to the ancient city of Gagae.Güllük Mount (Termessos) National Park: It is 35 kms northwest of Antalya in a  valley hidden between mountains. There is the ancient fortified city of Termessos rising 1 050m above the sea.Köprülü-Canyon national park: 110 kms from Antalya. It is a valley filled with cedar trees.Düzler çami & Güver Abyss: On the Korkuteli road 8 km north of  Antalya. It is an ideal picnicking area with shady pines. The Güver Abyss is a 115 meters deep canyon naturally formed between three Mountains separating them.Düden Waterfall: it is 12 kms north of the city centre. The waterfall, with its very green surroundings resembles to heaven. There are also rock tombs, which merits visiting. It is a suitable place for picnicking.Kursunlu Waterfall: 24 kms from Antalya. There are 7 ponds connected to each other with waterfalls. There are facilities, like scenic observation points, game areas, paths for little excursions and a parking area.

Manavgat Waterfall: High Meadows (Yaylalar): The high meadows, which are 1000 m of more above the sea level where the summers are cool, are called ‘yayla' in Turkish. There are plenty of these around Antalya, which are for inhabitants of the region during hot summers. The major meadows are Bakirli, Fesligan, Yesil Vayla and Saklikent.Caves: Karain Cave: 27 kms northwest of Antalya. It is the largest human-inhabited cave in Turkey.Beldibi Cave: 27 kms southwest of Antalya, on the coast.
Karats-Semahoyok Cave: 115 kms from Antalya. One of the oldest settlements of the region

Altın besik Cave: It is on the Antalya-Alanya road, north of Manavgat. This is one of the most interesting caves of the world with underground caves lakes, giant stalagmites and stalactites.Yachting
The province offers excellent opportunities for those who like to sail the vast turquoise waters of the Mediterranean. The marina is being established by Turban Antalya Kaleici Establishments. The marina has a capacity for 65 vessels. Customs and passport personnel are at the marina, as are PTT and exchange offices. Marina’s administrator, Turban, provides restaurants, shopping and entertainment facilities as well as electricity, water supply, telephone, fax, shower, laundry services and a filling station.
Hunting and Fishing The climate and plantation of the region sustain various animal speciesHunting: On the coast and high meadows (yayla) there are plenty of partridge, quail, and woodpigeon. On the meadows and in the caves there are woodpigeon, blackbird, woodcock and many others numerous wild ducks live in the ponds and lakes, descending to the coast in winters. In the forests on the coast, you may go for deer, fox, marten and squirrel. On the mountains there are bears, foxes, wild-goats and wolves.
Fishing: The Sea offers more or less every kind of fish you would like to see. There are also delicious lobsters and crayfish.
Antalya is a heaven for trout, especially at Akçay and Karatay in Finike. The Köprüçayı and Manavgat rivers are also full of trout.Mountaineering
Saklikent is the most popular and praiseworthy part of Antalya and it has the distinction of being the closest ski centre to the sea; its on the snowy peaks of Taurus Mountains at an altitude of 1750-1900 m. Them are ski lifts and ski-rental facilities as well as restaurants, special tea-houses, and small hotels with an enjoyable atmosphere as well a small hotels.
There are also some mountains of average height, which are suitable for trekking and amateur mountaineering. There are about 30 ancient cities on the edges of these mountains some of which are Phaselis, Olympos, Limyra and Xanthos. These mountains are: Kizlar Sivrisi (3071 m), OyukIutepe (3040 m), Tahtali Dan (2380 m), Alacadağ (2336 m), Gümbe Akdağ (3024 m), and Korkut Akdağ (2900 m).Conference 

Facilities: Due to the climatic characteristics of the region, Antalya has gained more importance as a centre for conferences. Many of the hotels are active in the off-season period with seminars symposiums and similar activities.