Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. It is Turkey’s biggest international sea resort, located on the Turkish Riviera. In 2011 the city had a population of 964,886 and the metropolitan municipality 1,041,972. The Turkish Riviera is also the home for the internationally known Blue Voyage, which allows participants to enjoy a week-long trip on the locally built gulet type schooners to ancient cities, harbors, tombs, mausolea and intimate beaches in the numerous small coves, lush forests and streams that lace the Turquoise Coast.
In 2013, Antalya became the third most visited city in the world by number of international arrivals, ranking behind Paris and London, respectively. Antalya previously ranked third in the world in 2011 and 2012 and fourth in 2010 with over 10.5 million visitors in 2011.
Kaleiçi, with its narrow cobbled streets of historic Ottoman era houses, is the old center of Antalya. With its hotels, bars, clubs, restaurants, and shopping, it has been restored to retain much of its historical character. Cumhuriyet Square, the main square of the city, is the location for temporary open air exhibitions and performances. There are sites with traces of Lycian, Pamphylian, and Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Seljuk architecture and cultures. Antalya has beaches including Konyaaltı, Lara and Karpuzkaldıran. Beydağları and Saklikent are used for winter sports. There are a number of mosques, churches, madrasahs, masjids, hans (caravanserai) and hamams (Turkish bath) in the city. Kaleiçi, the harbor, which the city walls enclose, is the oldest part of the city. Kaleiçi contains historic houses with traditional Turkish and local Greek architecture.
Agricultural production includes citrus fruits, cotton, cut flowers, olives, olive oil and bananas. Antalya Metropolitan Municipality’s covered wholesale food market complex meets 65% of the fresh fruit and vegetable demand of the province. Antalya’s signature cuisine includes Piyaz (made with tahini, garlic, walnuts, and boiled beans), spicy hibeş with mixed cumin and tahini, şiş köfte, tandır kebap, domates civesi, şakşuka, and various cold Mediterranean dishes with olive oil. One local speciality is tirmis, boiled seeds of the lupin, eaten as a snack. “Grida” (also known as Lagos or Mediterrenean white grouper) is a fish common in local dishes.
