Antalya (formerly known as Adalia; from Pamphylian Greek: Attalia) is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. It is the capital city of Antalya Province. The population of the city was 775.157 in the 2007 census. Antalya has a Mediterranean climate. Situated on a cliff over the Mediterranean, Antalya is surrounded by mountains. Developments in tourism, starting in the 1970s, transformed the city into an international resort.
History
It is unknown when the site of the future city was first inhabited. Excavations in 2008 in the Doğu Garajı district of Antalya have uncovered remains dating to the third century, B.C, suggesting that the city was founded earlier than when Attalos II, king of Pergamon, believed to be the founder of the city, named it Attalia (present day Antalya) around 150 B.C. and chose it to be a naval base for his powerful fleet. Later Antalya became part of the Roman Republic in 133 BC when King Attalos III of Pergamum willed his kingdom to Rome at his death and the city grew and prospered in the Ancient Roman period. Christianity started to spread in the region after 2nd century. Antalya was visited by Paul of Tarsus, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 14:25-26), wherein Antalya is referred to by its ancient name, Attalia.
From Perga, Paul and Barnabas went down to Attalia and sailed from there to Antioch after preaching in Pisidia and Pamphylia. The city later became a naval base for the Christian Crusades against the Muslims in the Levant and in Cyprus.
It was a major city in the Byzantine Empire. It was the capital of the Byzantine Theme of Carabisiani, which occupied the southern coasts of Asia Minor and the Aegean Islands. At the time of the ascension of John II Comnenus (1118) it was an isolated outpost against the Turks, accessible only by sea. The following year, with the aid of his commander-in-chief John Axuch, John II drove the Turks from the land routes to Antalya and reconnected the city with the rest of the empire.
The city, along with the whole region, was conquered by the Seljuk Turks in the early 13th century. Antalya was again the capital of the Turkish beylik of Teke between 1321-1423 until its conquest by the Ottomans.
By the second half of the 17th century Evliya Çelebi recorded a city of narrow streets containing 3,000 houses in twenty Turkish neighbourhoods and four Greek. The town had grown beyond the city walls and the port could hold up to 200 boats.
In the 18th century, in common with most of Anatolia, its actual lord was from the Dere Bey family. The family of Tekke Oglu, domiciled near Perge, though reduced to submission in 1812 by Mahmud II, continued to be a rival power to the Ottoman governor till within the present generation, surviving by many years the fall of the other great Beys of Anatolia. The records of the Levant (Turkey) Company, which maintained an agency here till 1825, contain information as to the local Dere Beys.
In the 19th century the population of Antalya increased as Turks from the Caucasus and the Balkans moved into Anatolia. By 1911 it was a city of about 25,000 people, including many Christians and Jews, still living in separate quarters, round the walled mina or port. The port was served by coasting steamers of the local companies only. Antalya (then Adalia) was picturesque, but ill-built and backward. The chief attraction for visitors to see was the city wall, outside which ran a promenade and which survives to this day. The government offices and the houses of the better class were all outside the walls.
The city was briefly occupied by the Italians from the end of the First World War until the founding of the Turkish Republic in 1923.
Geography
Antalya is in south-west Anatolia, by the Gulf of Antalya on the Mediterranean coast. It is around 550 kilometres (342 mi) distant to Adana, Izmir or Ankara.
The Taurus mountain range of southern Anatolia runs parallel to the Mediterranean in an east-west direction, resulting in the formation of narrow coastal plains, which are surrounded by mountains on three sides and open south to the Mediterranean sea. On some parts of the coast, the mountains plunge sharply into the sea, forming small natural bays and peninsulas. Antalya is situated on a plain that consists of two flat areas formed of travertine rock at a height of 35 metres (115 ft), where the mountains recede from the shore. The town centre is located on the first rocky plain on the coast. On the Kepezüstü Plain behind it, housing has been established.
Climate
Since the area is closed to the cold northerly winds, it is characterized by the typical Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and moderately warm and rainy winters. Around 300 days of the year are sunny, the sea temperature never goes below 15°C and in summer is around 28°C. The temperature can climb into the 40°Cs in July and August but low to mid 30°Cs is more typical. The sea breeze and the northeasterly winds blowing from inland help to make the high temperatures more bearable.
Economy
The economy of Antalya depends on a mixture of tourism, agriculture, and commerce, with some light industry. Agricultural production includes citrus fruits, cotton, cut flowers and even bananas. Antalya is a leading agriculture center of Turkey due to its suitable ecology. Antalya Metropolitan Municipality’s covered wholesale food market complex meets 65% of the fresh fruit and vegetable demand of Turkey.
Tourism
Places to visit in the city include sites with traces of Lycian,Pamphylian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman architecture and cultures.
Kaleici, with its narrow cobbled streets of historic Turkish and Greek houses is the old center of Antalya, now mainly hotels, gift shops, and bars. New hotels such as the Sheraton are along the coast above the Konyaalti and Lara beaches.
The tourism boom has brought migrant labour to the city, fueled the growth of a large construction industry and provided transportation and other large-scale infrastructure which has led to Antalya becoming the hub of commerce in this part of Turkey.
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