Antalya: just a little bit of heaven on earth

Well, I've just returned from the second study trip organized (and paid for) by my wonderful fellowship at the RCAC and it was fantastic!  We took a short trip to Antalya and the ancient site of Perge.  Such an ideal vacation--the gorgeous views of the city, the educational value of the things that we saw, and the incredible fun that I had with my fellow fellows, not to mention the posh hotel, overwhelming amounts of food, the quirky charm of this coastal gem of a city, and the adorable dogs, cats, and kittens!  There is way too much to tell in one post and an abundance of perfect photos (for some reason is was a weekend of great lighting!), so I'm going to do this in two parts--the first will be about Antalya and our time in the city and in a second post I'll include the amazingness of the Antalya Archaeological Museum and the site of Perge.  [other upcoming posts to look forward to--Xmas in Turkey, Cats on things, and the activities of important international scholars]

View of Antalya from citadel

View of Antalya's harbor

 The city of Antalya (ancient Attaleia) lies on the southwestern coast of Turkey.  Today, it is a city of just over 1 million people and it is the largest international sea resort in Turkey.  It is surrounded on three sides by the Taurus mountain range; on the fourth side is a harbor and a pebble beach.  Apparently, it is the favorite location of Russian tourists and is advertised as a place where one can ski and swim in the same day!  In fact, we did see snow on the mountains in the distance and one of our fellows was brave enough to test the waters one afternoon.  In the summer, the city is crowded with tourists, hot, sunny and humid, but while we were there it was relatively empty, cool and overcast--a pleasant 60 degrees during the day.  Wonderful.

Photo courtesy of travel agency website, but you get the idea

ok, back to my photos

Apartments on the cliff--can you see the waterfall?

Main shopping street with water channel through middle (under construction).  They totally stole this idea from the Romans (see below, and upcoming Perge entry)

The city was originally founded by Attalos II, King of Pergamon around 150 BCE (although there is evidence for earlier habitation).  It was a city of minor importance in the Hellenistic and Roman periods serving as one of the ports in the region of Pamphylia.  Numerous Roman ruins still stand in the city, including a Consular tomb, a Roman arch, and fortification walls.  Attaleia became a major and capital city in the Byzantine ere; it remained important under the rule of the Seljuk Turks in the 13th century and then was part of the Ottoman Empire.  Numerous walls from these various historical periods wind through the city and their dating served as a frequent topic of conversation for our fellows as we went on an extensive walking tour through the narrow streets--we even took a vote at the pub in order to resolve the question (publication of these results is forthcoming).

Evidence of earlier occupation courtesy of the kids' section from the Antalya Museum

Roman remains preserved in the basement of a new hotel under construction!

Starbucks built into the Roman walls!  They really are everywhere!

Seljuk? Earlier? who knows? wall at back of tea garden

Were the different religious populations of the city divided by these walls as one early traveller writes? So many questions and controversies!

Nowadays the walls just serve as a great backdrop for a cafe

inner city wall with Seljuk inscriptions of victory on spoliated columns

Let's toast to making decisions the democratic way!

From earliest literary records, the city was praised for its beauty, described as heaven on earth, and was famous for its orchards--most of the streets on our trip were lined with orange trees bearing fruit!

The oranges were delicious!

As were the pomegranates--although I didn't eat this baby one

Evidence of it being the most beautiful place :) Boat tour to the waterfall

So now that you have an idea of the awesomeness and beauty of the city, let me narrate (with photos of course) a little bit of the particulars from our trip.  The first thing I learned about Antalya is that they are all about safety!  From where they place their fire extinguishers in the airport, to how they decorate their car windshields. Safety first!

Fire extinguisher placed on appropriate label in the middle of the floor at the Antalya airport

Our bus around town with windshield decal strategically placed so driver could still see.

Antalya, being a resort town that thrives on tourism, is full of swank and posh hotels.  Many of those in the old city are in stylized, restored Ottoman-style buildings, complete with swimming pools.  And RCAC, loving its fellows so much, was able to set us up in such swank accommodations!

Outdoor dining with Christmas decorations, would we settle for anything less?

Outside courtyard

Checking in...in-style!

Minimalist and a little retro, so what if it took two days to figure out the heating--there were bathrobes!

Total sophistication.  I obviously belonged there!

Even Santa Claus stayed at the hotel!

The town was obviously crazy about Santa Claus' upcoming visit!

There were other hotels in town though, perhaps not as nice as ours, but still charming (at least in name)

Secret Hotel: it took me forever to find this place!

I swear I've stayed here before :) [I took this photo knowing that I would give it this very caption]

But one of the best things about our hotel, besides Santa Claus and happy hour (2 for 1 drinks!!!) was the breakfast and dinner buffets...

Most of those plates are of different kinds of cheeses...just sayin'

 

But RCAC fellows always eat well on study trips...

Lokanta-style home-cooking!

Mushroom stew

Some of the best chicken wings I have ever had (after mine of course)!



And when we eat, we always enjoy each other's company! And we have a tendency to make friends with the locals, especially since we are such good dancers!

Tera, Emma, and I

The guys practicing different styles of smiles :)

That's hilarious!

The Italians!

Gettin' jiggy with it (Austrian/Turkish style)!

Totally nailing local dance customs!

In fact, Antalya has a fairly large university in it and so you can find a wealth of nightlife options available for all the university students...

I'm assuming this is a bar for Americans and Americans who do bad German accents

They did it! They finally did it! The made the best dance club!

No comment

This bar was obviously advertising to me!

But as I mentioned above, Antalya is full of historic monuments and this was a study field trip, so let me walk you past just a few of these amazing landmarks!

Requisite awkward Ataturk statue. In this one he is riding a horse led by sea nymphs, I think.

Hidirlik Tower: This 'tower' was originally a tomb for a provincial Roman consul.  It was built in the early 2nd century CE in a style reminiscent of elite tomb monuments in Italy.  When new fortification walls were built in the Byzantine Period, the tomb was turned into a tower and incorporated into these walls--it was ideally situated as a look out point over the harbor.  It served as a tower in subsequent occupations.  Now it is a pleasant stop for tourists in a public park, offering amazing views of the city and surrounded by cafes.  We, being privileged fellows, were able to go inside the tomb and up a narrow flight of stairs to the top, where once a statue of the deceased would have most likely stood.

Archaeological park around the tomb/tower

Fantastic views from the outcropping where the tomb stands, complete with defensive canons!

Up on top!

Aleksander serving as look-out

It was pretty far up

The grounds of the tomb are also home to the largest leaf I have ever seen!

See--you can actually see the giant leaf from the top of the tomb!!!  It was huge!

Another Roman monument is Hadrian's Gate.  This complex of two towers and a triple arch/gate, date to the early 2nd century CE and the reign of the Roman Emperor, Hadrian.  One of the towers was donated by a local benefactress, Julia Sancta, and she was most likely responsible for the construction of the whole complex.  It is an incredibly beautiful gate and in relatively good preservation--at least the lower story.

Inscription of Julia Sanct on Tower face

A slightly later monument is the Keisk Minare complex (broken minaret).  The confusing structure was originally a Christian basilica built in the 6th century (debated) entirely out of spoils and material from other buildings.  It was situated in the open space that was once part of the Hellenistic and Roman Agora (city center/market), built just off the main avenue of the Roman city (which still serves as a major pedestrian street today).  In the Roman period, this street was divided by a water channel, which helped cool the city on summer days, not to mention that it's just pretty.  One of the main shopping streets today has just such a water channel, under construction (see above).  After the Byzantine period, the basilica was converted into a mosque, most likely in the 16th century.  It burnt down in 1846 and is now undergoing archaeological investigation and restoration.

A view of the Broken Minaret and the main pedestrian street, once the main Roman avenue in the city.

Side view of the basilica, note the wealth of spoils (architectural pieces taken from other buildings--if you can't find them, just trust me, there's a lot)

View from front of basilica to apse at rear

State of Roman water channel today; not as pleasant as it once I was (I am assuming)

Another famous minaret in the city is the Yivli Minaret (Fluted Minaret).  This 38m high structure stands in a square at one of the highest points in the city.  It was constructed as part of a larger mosque complex (along with places for theological education) in the 14th century and has since served as a symbol of the city. 

In addition to these fabulous sites, there are also some incredible museums.  The archaeological museum of Antalya has amazing finds, to be posted very soon in a separate entry, but there is also the Suna-İnan Kıraç Mediterranean Studies Center & Museum.  This facility, also associated with Koc University (like my institute in Istanbul), houses an excellent research library, gift shop, an ethnographic exhibition, and a museum in a refurbished church.  The exhibition and collection is focused on Ottoman, 19th century (and earlier)culture in Turkey (the library has material from all periods).  And all of it is housed in two renovated Ottoman style houses with courtyards and gorgeous architecture.  I took the opportunity to learn about possible career options if I had lived in a Turkish city in the 19th century (and was a man)...

Courtyard of research library

Scene from ethnographic exhibition: Turkish barbers apparently jab a dish into your throat before you get a shave

Collection in refurbished church

In the 19th century, I could have been a street cauliflower seller!

Or a street knife-sharpener!

But how could I pass up a life as a Bear tamer!

And when you are done seeing all the wonderful sites around town, be sure to take in some of the amazing shopping!

The poor kid has to decide between a life as Spiderman or a life as Venom!

If there is one thing I hate more than plaid shorts, it has got to be plaid capri pants...

And besides shopping and sightseeing, there's lots of other activities to enjoy in this magical city!

Take in a monologue at this street side theater (get it? cause the performance space is only big enough for one person)

Go sailing or fishing for the day

Or join a rowdy bunch of pirate statues and plunder the people that go sailing and fishing!

Pet some of the local animals!

Ok maybe don't pet this dog...

Enjoy local artistic productions!

Whatever you decide to do in this city, even if it's just walking around and taking in the marvelous views, you are bound to have a phenomenal time and make incredible memories.  The bottom line is, I don't know how you can visit such a place and not immediately start planning your next trip back--mine's in June if you want to join!

Happy Holidays!