Irresistible Antalya, Turkey
Over one-third of all visitors to Turkey visit Antalya and photographs don't do it justice. Antalya has some of the cleanest beaches in the Mediterranean, the 630 km/391 mile shoreline of the province is scattered with the ancient cities of Aspendos, Perge and Termossos, all easy to access from Antalya.
Mustafa let the Explore group off several blocks away because the bus couldn't go down the narrow streets. The small inn/pension, Hotel Tuvana, is Ottoman-style and gorgeous. There was just one Ottoman house when we visited but now, five more comfortable houses have been added to Hotel Tuvana. Hotel Tuvana is located right in the middle of Antalya in the historical castle and only 100m/300' downhill to the Marina with a garden, swimming pool and breakfast room.
ex-Marine and I never expected an pension/inn/small hotel of this caliber (my original thinking was..."a dump") and had already made prepaid reservations for our three-day add-on at the Sheraton Hotel, Antalya otherwise would have cancelled and stayed on at Hotel Tuvana. The Sheraton also is less conveniently located.
It was a short walk down to the waterfront, past the old castle walls...View image, into Kaleici, the restored historical center of the city. Kaleici has narrow cobbled streets filled with hotels, bars, shopping and the remainder of the restaurants...View image... that aren't lining the Marina. Sidewalk tables perfect for sitting in the sun, enjoying the views and people-watching. Idyllic.
Walking through the streets of Antalya, I stopped to watch men baking crusty and wonderful smelling bread in a little shop...View image. So very friendly, they invited me in to roll a few loaves myself.
Antalya was a perfect ending to Lycian Turkey with exploration of the old Roman and Greek sites in the morning, followed by shopping, eating and drinking for the remainder of the day in one of the most perfect settings in the world.
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