Essential Antalya travel attractions and vacation guides: Temple of Apollo ruins at Side: The ancient ruins scattered around the small town of Side are only 64 kilometers to the northwest of Alanya so can be easily visited as a day trip. Side is a small but busy waterfront resort with a very touristy bazaar area winding through the old town district that leads down to a harbor front area. There are plenty of cafés and restaurants strung out along the shore here, so if you’re planning on ticking off Aspendos as well on your day trip, this is the best place to stop for lunch. The main area of ancient ruins is just opposite the inland entrance to Side’s old town district. This is where you’ll find Side’s imposing 2nd-century Roman Theater, which holds seating for up to 20,000 spectators. This is one of Turkey’s most remarkably well-preserved Roman theaters and the town’s most dramatic tourist attraction. Don’t miss visiting Side Museum, which is set in a Roman bathhouse across the road from the theater entrance. Afterwards, make sure to explore the rambling area of ruins incorporating the Agora and the Temple of Tyche that sits just to the east of the theater. Once you’ve wandered through this archaeological site, head into the old town itself and stroll up to the harbor. Find extra details on https://www.tourmoni.com/antalya-excursions.
On your visit to the Dim River make time for the largest cave system in the Alanya area, carved out by water over millions of years but only discovered in 1999. The Dim Cave is 360 metres long, and worthwhile for its many concretions. Something to remember is that there are lots of steps and narrow walkways, so the Dim Cave isn’t accessible to all. As with the Damlataş Cave there’s high humidity at 75%, although the cave does offer respite from the summer heat, with a temperature never rising above 19°C. One of the things to love about this park is its location, right by the cable car station, tourist office, Damlataş Cave and archaeological museum, at the east end of Kleopatra Beach. Within a few steps north along Güzelyalı Cd. there are dozens of places to eat. As for the park, it’s somewhere to escape the heat for a few minutes, under a palm tree or one of the enormous ficuses. There’s a mini-golf course, a fishpond, flowerbeds and pieces of public art like a ceremonious statue of Cleopatra. This is also somewhere to witness Alanya’s affinity for its stray cats, which roam the lawns freely and have special wooden shelters and feeding stations.
Pergamon in the third century BC was one of the most prosperous cities of the ancient world. Known today as Bergama. Located 100 km. north of Izmir. Attalid Dynasty assigned the city as a capital for their kingdom named as Pergamon Kingdom. Pergamon has also a biblical importance. Mentioned in the book of revelation in the new testament among the seven churches of asia minor. The city was known as the city where the throne of satan is located. Once it was the Lydian Kingdoms capital. A very rich city where Lydians invented the coins in a river called pactolus. Today a 3rd century AD imperial gymnasium and the largest ancient synagogue stands in the site. The gymansium is reerected today. The mosaics in the synagogue are amazing. Sardes is mentioned in the Book of Revelation among the 7 churches of Asia Minor.
Silk Worm Cocoon in the Culture House in Alanya in Turkey: This structure serves as Alanya Municipality Culture and Social Affairs Department and the Alanya Castle Site Management Office. It’s also known as Hamamlı Ev (Bath House) due to the historical bath on the ground floor. This traditional Alanya house was built with quarry stone and a lathing wood system. It used grog and haired plaster, specific to the region in the early 20th century. It was restored according to its original form after it was assigned to the Alanya Municipality by its owners.
The legendary Cleopatra Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in Turkey, clearly worth visiting during your trip to Antalya. With its crystal-clear water and numerous water sport activities, it attracts about 2 million tourists a year and gets more and more popular every year. The Alanya Archeology Museum is located in the very center of Alanya, on Ismet Hilmi Balcı Street behind Alanya Castle and Damlataş Cave. Alanya is a city with a very rich historical heritage in every aspect. However, you don’t have a lot of chances to visit a cultural places in Alanya. Although the best cultural museum in the region is the Antalya Museum, followed by the Side Archaeology Museum, the Alanya Archaeology Museum is the best witness of the area’s heritage. It’s located in the heart of the city. The Archaeology Museum in Alanya exhibits bronze, marble, terra-cotta, and glass artifacts, mosaics and coin collections belonging to the Archaic and Classical periods, and also Turkish Islamic works of art from the Seljuk and Ottoman Periods.
The person known as Prytan was the Mayor of Ephesus. Since there are emperor and goddess statues around the Prytaneion, this palace is accepted as a sacred place. Prytaneion is the sacred place where the sacred fire of Hestia is lit, which represents the independence and sovereignty of the city in every Greek city-state. The word comes from the word prytaneis or pyrtan (the executive board of the democratic Greek city), where sacred rituals and dinner parties attended by the city’s rulers were held, and above all important decisions were made for the city government. The sacred fire of Hestia symbolizes the immortality of the city, the extinction of this fire was regarded as bad luck, Prytan’s most important task was to make sure that this sacred fire won’t blow out. With this location, it was the most important of the official buildings and the heart of the city. Besides, the official guesthouse was also within the parts of this building.
The six-kilometer stretch of ancient walls of Alanya Castle trail along the high promontory that shadows the modern sprawl of Alanya below. Inside the walls is Alanya’s old town district, the most interesting area of the city to explore. Alanya Castle’s history dates back to the Classical era, when this craggy, cave-riddled peninsula was a favorite haunt for pirates. The Greek-built fortifications were extended under Roman rule but it was during the Byzantine era that Alanya’s role as a Mediterranean seaport began to take off. Find extra info on https://www.tourmoni.com/.
The city’s steep peninsula, protected on three sides by the Mediterranean, is topped by a 13th-century castle with 6.5 kilometres of fortified walls. This rocky mass is a natural defence, and today’s castle was built on earlier Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine enclosures. In all there are 83 towers and 140 towers in the walls, and many of the 1,200 original cisterns continue to fulfil their original role. Alanya Castle is one massive archaeological site that warrants hours of exploration. The starting point has to be the citadel or Kale on the southwest side, where you’ll come to the Byzantine Church of St George, later adapted as a mosque. The north side of the promontory is the scene of the Seljuk Ehmedek Fortress, built on Hellenistic vestiges and holding a military garrison, arsenal and Sultan’s treasury for hundreds of years. Here you’ll discover countless ruins, together with historic 19th-century houses that went up after the castle had lost its defensive purpose.