Turkish Riviera

Here it is all about theater, because Aspendos has the best-preserved theater in Asia Minor. As with... Selge at the middle reaches of the former river Eurymedon (Köprü Cay), the foundation of the city on the fertile plains of the Köprü delta goes back to Calchas, who passed here with the Greek army around 1200 BC during his retreat from Troy. In the 6th century BC the Lydian king Croesus captured Aspendos, followed by Alexander the Great and the Romans, under whom the city began to flourish. The silting of the harbor in late antiquity then marked its end. The great Roman theater of Aspendos (2nd century AD) is in such a good condition and has such great acoustics (contrived by the architect Zenon) that today, every year in June and July, the International Opera and Ballet Festival takes place here. The semicircle with 40 rows of seats, at that time for up to 20,000 spectators, has a 98 ft (30 m) high jutting stage, which served as a backdrop. Compared to this, the ruins of the upper town are a little less spectacular, but on a double hill you can find the remains of an agora, a marketplace, a nymphaeum and an aqueduct. more

Most parts of Antalya's ancient medieval city wall are still well-preserved. Evliya Çelebi, who had... left behind a famous travel report on the Ottoman Empire in 1671, wrote that it had 80 towers and was 4,400 steps long. The old main entrance from the times of the Turkish Great Seljuk Empire was located north along the Cumhuriyet Caddesi, the clock tower (Sanat Kulesi) being one of its last remains. The Hadrianus Gate (Hadrianus Kapisi) was built as a tirumphal arch in 13 BC to honor the visit of the emperor Hadrianus. The three vaulted passages were decorated with sculpted marble tops and friezes. A statue of the emperor probably used to stand on top of it. The gate is so well preserved because it was walled during the Middle Ages. You can still see the the ruts of the Roman wagons on the paving tiles6 ft (2 m) below the current ground level. more

The Yivli Minare, a minaret made of bricks, is 124 ft (38 m) high and the town's landmark. The name "grooved... minaret" comes from its unusual shape with eight supporting half-columns. It was built during the reign of the Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin Keykubat around 1220, probably as a victory tower honoring his father Izzedin Keyhüsrev, who had taken over Antalya from the Byzantines for the first time. A Seljuk Islamic school stood in front of the Yivli Minare, which has been constructed anew as a steel framework hall. The Ulu Cami (great mosque) behind the minaret was induced by Hamide-Emir Mehmet Bey in 1373 as the major mosque of the city. Above the mosque lies the Mevlevihane, a former convent of the dancing dervishes, nowadays often hosting exhibitions. The big octagonal Mehmet Bey Türbesi is the tomb of Emir Mehmet Bey, who up to this day is worshiped by the peasants as a saint. more