Serik is a town and district in Antalya Province of Turkey, 38 km (24 mi) east of the city of Antalya, along the Mediterranean coast.
Geography
Towards the coast the district is mainly flat farmland, used for growing vegetables, while the inland half of Serik is forested hills and the Taurus Mountains. The district has a typical Mediterranean climate of hot, dry summers and warm, wet winters, and the natural vegetation is dry shrubs.
Serik itself is a town of 30,579 people. The city of Antalya is nearby limiting the potential for retailing and commerce in Serik, but there is some light industry. There is a well-known köfte and piyaz restaurant in the town centre; the piyaz is served with a sesame (tahini) sauce.
Although wealthy and only 15km from the wild amenities on the coast the people of Serik are typically conservative and traditional in outlook. The population includes many who still identify themselves as Yörük or Turkmen, descendants of the nomadic people that populated the area during the Ottoman Empire and before. These are close-knit communities shunning outside influence and new immigration, prompting some Turkish people to give it the nickname Capital of a Yörük Republic, an echo of the vivaciously preserved traditions and lifestyle. Although the district has seen a large influx of migrant workers in agriculture and tourism most business in the town is still very much in the hands of these original Turkmen people. They will defend their interests aggressively and Serik municipality is controlled by the Turkish nationalist Nationalist Movement Party.
Tourism
With 22 km (14 mi) of coastline including the busy resort town of Belek the district of Serik is a major centre of Turkey's tourism industry, attracting 30 million visitors each year. Belek has over 30 5 star hotels and golf courses. Places of interest include the ruins of Sillion and Aspendos, the cave of Zeytinlitaş and Uçansu waterfall.
History
Two important cities here in antiquity were Sillion, a colony of the Kingdom of Pergamon, and Aspendos,one of the most important Pamphylian cities. Aspendos is situated on the point where the Kopru River meets the sea. Once an important port and a commercial centre, it had a reputation for raising the best horses on earth. The odeon, basilica, galleria and fountains are worth seeing.
The area was named Serik after a Turkish tribe that settled here, one of many waves of Turkish settlers attracted to this coast throughout history.
May 6, 2008
Manavgat
Manavgat is a town and district of Antalya Province of Turkey, 110 km (68 mi) from the city of Antalya. The Manavgat River has a waterfall near the town.
Geography
Between the Taurus Mountains to the north, and the sandy beaches of the Mediterranean coast, much of the district is flat. This is good farmland and agriculture is well-developed in Manavgat, keeping livestock and growing crops including grains, sesame and many fruits and vegetables; in recent years olives have been planted. There is no industry except for food-processing, so apart from agriculture the local economy depends on tourism.
The mountains are covered in forest and typical Mediterranean shrubs, there are small plains higher in the mountains too, traditionally used for summer grazing by the yörük nomads. Manavgat has a Mediterranean climate of hot, dry summers and warm, wet winters; the temperature rarely drops to freezing. The district is watered by the Manavgat River, which is dammed for hydro-electric power in two places. In 2001 plans began to export water from these reservoirs to Israel and other Mediterranean countries including Malta and Cyprus; as of 2006 these plans are on hold.
History
The antique cities of Side and Selge date back to the 6th century BC. Manavgat was taken over by the Seljuk Turks in 1220 and the Ottoman Empire in 1472.
Tourism
With 64 kilometres (40 mi) of hot, sunny coastline, much of it sandy beaches, with a long river and the waterfall, well-protected countryside including mountain and forest, Manavgat has an important tourist industry. There is plenty of accommodation on the coast and many places to explore including historical sites, rivers, streams and caves. And there is the sea itself including the odd experience of swimming from fresh water into the salt sea at the rivermouth. Predictably the cuisine includes fish from the Mediterranean.
The huge influx of visitors every year is changing the shape of traditionally conservative Manavgat considerably; there are bars, discos, and all kinds of youth culture which 20 years ago would have been unthinkable. The villages of Kumköy and Ilıca on the coast are particularly lively.
The town of Manavgat has grown rapidly and chaotically, mainly with cheap apartment buildings, and the roads and other services are struggling to keep up. While keen to exploit the opportunity to the last cent, the people here are resisting the effect of foreign visitors on their traditional lifestyle as much as they can; the evening air is full of the sound of gangs of young men charging around in noisy Tofaş automobiles blasting Arabesque pop music at high volume.
Places of interest
* Köprülü Kanyon - in the middle of a forested national park; the canyon is popular for river-rafting.
* The antique cities of:
o Side, with its theatre and port.
o Seleucia (Pamphylia) - visited by Alexander the Great
o Selge
* Manavgat Waterfall, and another smaller waterfall on the river.
* Oymapinar Dam
Geography
Between the Taurus Mountains to the north, and the sandy beaches of the Mediterranean coast, much of the district is flat. This is good farmland and agriculture is well-developed in Manavgat, keeping livestock and growing crops including grains, sesame and many fruits and vegetables; in recent years olives have been planted. There is no industry except for food-processing, so apart from agriculture the local economy depends on tourism.
The mountains are covered in forest and typical Mediterranean shrubs, there are small plains higher in the mountains too, traditionally used for summer grazing by the yörük nomads. Manavgat has a Mediterranean climate of hot, dry summers and warm, wet winters; the temperature rarely drops to freezing. The district is watered by the Manavgat River, which is dammed for hydro-electric power in two places. In 2001 plans began to export water from these reservoirs to Israel and other Mediterranean countries including Malta and Cyprus; as of 2006 these plans are on hold.
History
The antique cities of Side and Selge date back to the 6th century BC. Manavgat was taken over by the Seljuk Turks in 1220 and the Ottoman Empire in 1472.
Tourism
With 64 kilometres (40 mi) of hot, sunny coastline, much of it sandy beaches, with a long river and the waterfall, well-protected countryside including mountain and forest, Manavgat has an important tourist industry. There is plenty of accommodation on the coast and many places to explore including historical sites, rivers, streams and caves. And there is the sea itself including the odd experience of swimming from fresh water into the salt sea at the rivermouth. Predictably the cuisine includes fish from the Mediterranean.
The huge influx of visitors every year is changing the shape of traditionally conservative Manavgat considerably; there are bars, discos, and all kinds of youth culture which 20 years ago would have been unthinkable. The villages of Kumköy and Ilıca on the coast are particularly lively.
The town of Manavgat has grown rapidly and chaotically, mainly with cheap apartment buildings, and the roads and other services are struggling to keep up. While keen to exploit the opportunity to the last cent, the people here are resisting the effect of foreign visitors on their traditional lifestyle as much as they can; the evening air is full of the sound of gangs of young men charging around in noisy Tofaş automobiles blasting Arabesque pop music at high volume.
Places of interest
* Köprülü Kanyon - in the middle of a forested national park; the canyon is popular for river-rafting.
* The antique cities of:
o Side, with its theatre and port.
o Seleucia (Pamphylia) - visited by Alexander the Great
o Selge
* Manavgat Waterfall, and another smaller waterfall on the river.
* Oymapinar Dam
Kumluca
Kumluca is a town and district of Antalya Province on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, part of the Turkish Riviera. Kumluca is located 90 km (56 mi) west of the city of Antalya, on the Teke Peninsula, (between the bays of Antalya and Fethiye).
The town of Kumluca, formerly the village of Sarıkavak, is named for its sandy soil (kum meaning sand in Turkish}, good for growing watermelons.
Geography
The centre of the district is a plain pointing north from the Mediterranean coast and surrounded by mountains on three sides. The north of the district is hills and mountain. Summers are hot and dry, winters cool and wet as you would expect in a Mediterranean district; it never snows on the coast but there is snow on the mountains. In this climate fruit and vegetables can be grown under glass all year round and this is the mainstay of the local economy, along with orange trees, and Kumluca is a wealthy district.
Tourism
There are a number of important historical sites in the district of Kumluca including Olympos, Korydalla, Rhodiapolis, Idebessos and Gagai; of these Olympos is the largest and attracts the most visitors.
There is 30 km (19 mi) of coast with many hotels and restaurants between the villages of Adrasan and Olympos, and holiday villages near the town of Mavikent. West of Mavikent there is less development but taken as a whole Kumluca is one of the fastest growing local economies in Turkey.
The town of Kumluca, formerly the village of Sarıkavak, is named for its sandy soil (kum meaning sand in Turkish}, good for growing watermelons.
Geography
The centre of the district is a plain pointing north from the Mediterranean coast and surrounded by mountains on three sides. The north of the district is hills and mountain. Summers are hot and dry, winters cool and wet as you would expect in a Mediterranean district; it never snows on the coast but there is snow on the mountains. In this climate fruit and vegetables can be grown under glass all year round and this is the mainstay of the local economy, along with orange trees, and Kumluca is a wealthy district.
Tourism
There are a number of important historical sites in the district of Kumluca including Olympos, Korydalla, Rhodiapolis, Idebessos and Gagai; of these Olympos is the largest and attracts the most visitors.
There is 30 km (19 mi) of coast with many hotels and restaurants between the villages of Adrasan and Olympos, and holiday villages near the town of Mavikent. West of Mavikent there is less development but taken as a whole Kumluca is one of the fastest growing local economies in Turkey.
Korkuteli
Korkuteli is a district of Antalya Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey, 56 km (35 mi) north-west of the city of Antalya.
Etymology
The town was the Pisidian Isinda, then the Ancient Roman Istanoz, then later named Korkuteli after Korkut, prince of the Ottoman Empire, who was murdered by his brother Selim I while trying to hide in a cave in the district.
Geography
Korkuteli is an area of small plains and hills in the Bey Dağları, the western range of the Taurus Mountains, overlooking the Mediterranean sea. There are two distinct geographical areas of Korkuteli, of equal size: the lowland area nearer the coast has a hot Mediterranean climate, while the larger area of lakes higher up is cooler and less humid. The high country is covered with pine forest, while the lowland is used for agriculture; crops include grains, pulses and vegetable oil-seeds. There are trout in Korkuteli reservoir and other small lakes.
Until recently economic activity in this district was basically herding sheep and goats on the hillsides, but since the 1960s investment in irrigation and machinery has generated a thriving fruit-growing industry, including many roadside stalls selling fruit to travellers en route to the Mediterranean coast. This is turn has led to better buildings and infrastructure in the town of Korkuteli and the villages in the district. There is no industry or large-scale trading. Korkuteli is a small town of 15,000 people providing high schools and other basic infrastructure to the district.
The countryside is attractive and Antalya's middle-classes are building holiday homes in Korkuteli, a place to escape the summer heat on the coast. The local delicacy is 'burnt ice-cream', made of goats-milk.
History
In antiquity this area was known as Isinda and was part of Pisidia, and coinage was made here. Like nearby Termessos, Isinda was a remote mountain stronghold, the people worshipped Zeus himself and even managed to resist the siege of Alexander the Great.
Pisidia later became a province of the Roman Empire, and subsequently the Eastern Roman Empire of the Byzantines. Roman/Byzantine buildings in Korkuteli include the priest's house (Keşiş evi) and Latin inscription in the walls of the building that later became the Hamidoglu Medrese.
The area was taken from the Byzantines by the Seljuk Turks of Gıyaseddin Keyhüsrev I in 1207, and was used as a summer residence by the local Seljuk rulers. Seljuk architecture in Korkuteli includes the mosque of Sultan Alaadin and some Turkish baths and tombs.
Upon the decline of the Seljuks in the early 14th century the area became a stronghold of the Beylik of Teke and then the Hamidoglu clan of nearby Isparta. Finally the district was brought within the Ottoman Empire by Bayezid I in 1392.
Etymology
The town was the Pisidian Isinda, then the Ancient Roman Istanoz, then later named Korkuteli after Korkut, prince of the Ottoman Empire, who was murdered by his brother Selim I while trying to hide in a cave in the district.
Geography
Korkuteli is an area of small plains and hills in the Bey Dağları, the western range of the Taurus Mountains, overlooking the Mediterranean sea. There are two distinct geographical areas of Korkuteli, of equal size: the lowland area nearer the coast has a hot Mediterranean climate, while the larger area of lakes higher up is cooler and less humid. The high country is covered with pine forest, while the lowland is used for agriculture; crops include grains, pulses and vegetable oil-seeds. There are trout in Korkuteli reservoir and other small lakes.
Until recently economic activity in this district was basically herding sheep and goats on the hillsides, but since the 1960s investment in irrigation and machinery has generated a thriving fruit-growing industry, including many roadside stalls selling fruit to travellers en route to the Mediterranean coast. This is turn has led to better buildings and infrastructure in the town of Korkuteli and the villages in the district. There is no industry or large-scale trading. Korkuteli is a small town of 15,000 people providing high schools and other basic infrastructure to the district.
The countryside is attractive and Antalya's middle-classes are building holiday homes in Korkuteli, a place to escape the summer heat on the coast. The local delicacy is 'burnt ice-cream', made of goats-milk.
History
In antiquity this area was known as Isinda and was part of Pisidia, and coinage was made here. Like nearby Termessos, Isinda was a remote mountain stronghold, the people worshipped Zeus himself and even managed to resist the siege of Alexander the Great.
Pisidia later became a province of the Roman Empire, and subsequently the Eastern Roman Empire of the Byzantines. Roman/Byzantine buildings in Korkuteli include the priest's house (Keşiş evi) and Latin inscription in the walls of the building that later became the Hamidoglu Medrese.
The area was taken from the Byzantines by the Seljuk Turks of Gıyaseddin Keyhüsrev I in 1207, and was used as a summer residence by the local Seljuk rulers. Seljuk architecture in Korkuteli includes the mosque of Sultan Alaadin and some Turkish baths and tombs.
Upon the decline of the Seljuks in the early 14th century the area became a stronghold of the Beylik of Teke and then the Hamidoglu clan of nearby Isparta. Finally the district was brought within the Ottoman Empire by Bayezid I in 1392.
Belbaşi
The Belbaşi culure and the succeeding Beldibi in southern Anatolia’s Antalya plain formed part of the Natufian culture complex which stretched from Helwan to Southern Anatolia (Clark 1977:48). It was mainly dependent on plants, and it is not clear if they developed agriculture – possibly under influence of the first farming sites in southern Turkey - or remained confined to gathering. Their lithic assemblage were based upon microliths. The Belbaşi culure shows early connection to the Kebaran industry assemblages of Palestine. Like Natufian culture, their settlements were stable, and many later evolved into agricultural villages, such as Jericho’s forerunner Tell es-Sultan, settled around 7800 BC. The Belbaşi culure is distinguished by its coloured paintings on the walls of caves.
Yanartaş
Yanartaş is the name of a geographical feature near Olympos valley and national park in Antalya Province in southwestern Turkey, at a distance of about forty kilometers to the southwest from the city of Antalya, between the district center of Kemer and the township of Beldibi, near present Tekirova.
It is characterized by a permanent fire caused by methane emissions and the area is located on a track popular with hikers and trekkers on the Lycian Way.
Some sources state that this geothermically active region was the inspiration for the myth Ctesias. This was the citation given by Pliny the Elder, who in his second book of Historia Naturalis identified the Chimaera with the permanent gas vents in Mount Chimera, in the country of the ancient Lycian city of Phaselis, which he described as being "on fire", adding "...indeed burned with a flame that does not die by day or night". Pliny was quoted by Photius and Agricola, although the exact location of the mountain described by Strabo is still open to debate.
Called in Turkish Yanartaş (flaming rock), the spot consists of some two dozen vents in the ground, grouped in two patches on the hillside above the Temple of Hephaistos about 3 km north of the village of Çıralı, near ancient Olympos, in Lycia. The vents emit methane thought to be of metamorphic origin, which can spontaneously ignite. In ancient times sailors could navigate by the flames, but today they are more often used to brew tea, the flames being of little use for navigation now.
Strabo and Pliny are the only surviving ancient sources who would be expected to discuss a Lycian toponym, but the placename is also attested by Isidore of Seville and Servius, the commentator on the Aeneid. Strabo held the Chimaera to be a ravine on a different mountain in Lycia, placing it unhesitatingly in the vicinity of the Cragus Mountains, southern part of the present Babadağ, some 75 km. due west as the crow flies, and Isidore quotes writers on natural history (see below) that Mount Chimaera was on fire here, had lions and goats there, and was full of snakes over there. Servius goes so far as to arrange these with the lions on the peak of the mountain, pastures full of goats in the middle, and serpents all about the base, thus imitating Homer's description of the monster.
The site was identified by Sir Francis Beaufort in 1811, and described by T.A.B.Spratt in his Travels in Lycia, Milyas, and the Cibyratis, in company with the late Rev. E. T. Daniell. The discussion on the connection between the myth and the exact location of Chimera was started by Forbiger in 1844, and the George E. Bean was of the opinion that the name was allochtonous and could have been transfered here from its original location further west, as cited by Strabo, owing to the presence of the same phenomenon and the fires.
The fires of Chimera at night.
The fires of Chimera at night.
Yanartaş is also the title of a 1970 novel by the Turkish novelist Mehmet Seyda, although not associated with the locality in question.
It is characterized by a permanent fire caused by methane emissions and the area is located on a track popular with hikers and trekkers on the Lycian Way.
Some sources state that this geothermically active region was the inspiration for the myth Ctesias. This was the citation given by Pliny the Elder, who in his second book of Historia Naturalis identified the Chimaera with the permanent gas vents in Mount Chimera, in the country of the ancient Lycian city of Phaselis, which he described as being "on fire", adding "...indeed burned with a flame that does not die by day or night". Pliny was quoted by Photius and Agricola, although the exact location of the mountain described by Strabo is still open to debate.
Called in Turkish Yanartaş (flaming rock), the spot consists of some two dozen vents in the ground, grouped in two patches on the hillside above the Temple of Hephaistos about 3 km north of the village of Çıralı, near ancient Olympos, in Lycia. The vents emit methane thought to be of metamorphic origin, which can spontaneously ignite. In ancient times sailors could navigate by the flames, but today they are more often used to brew tea, the flames being of little use for navigation now.
Strabo and Pliny are the only surviving ancient sources who would be expected to discuss a Lycian toponym, but the placename is also attested by Isidore of Seville and Servius, the commentator on the Aeneid. Strabo held the Chimaera to be a ravine on a different mountain in Lycia, placing it unhesitatingly in the vicinity of the Cragus Mountains, southern part of the present Babadağ, some 75 km. due west as the crow flies, and Isidore quotes writers on natural history (see below) that Mount Chimaera was on fire here, had lions and goats there, and was full of snakes over there. Servius goes so far as to arrange these with the lions on the peak of the mountain, pastures full of goats in the middle, and serpents all about the base, thus imitating Homer's description of the monster.
The site was identified by Sir Francis Beaufort in 1811, and described by T.A.B.Spratt in his Travels in Lycia, Milyas, and the Cibyratis, in company with the late Rev. E. T. Daniell. The discussion on the connection between the myth and the exact location of Chimera was started by Forbiger in 1844, and the George E. Bean was of the opinion that the name was allochtonous and could have been transfered here from its original location further west, as cited by Strabo, owing to the presence of the same phenomenon and the fires.
The fires of Chimera at night.
The fires of Chimera at night.
Yanartaş is also the title of a 1970 novel by the Turkish novelist Mehmet Seyda, although not associated with the locality in question.
Çıralı
Çıralı is an agricultural village in the southwest of Turkey in Antalya Province. It is close to ancient ruins of Olympos and Chimaera permanent gas vents.
It is a very small rural village located just over an hours drive southwest from Antalya and boasts a beautiful 3.5 km secluded beach, the ruins of Olympos, the flames of the Chimaera / Yanartaş, as well as being a protected area by the WWF for the nesting of the Caretta or also known as the Loggerhead Sea Turtles.
Also nearby to Çıralı is the Ulupınar region, which is rich in rivers and creeks. Cirali / Çıralı is one of the last unspoilt natural areas along the Antalya coastline.
For the intrepid trekkers highlights of the Lycian Way with hidden paths are also found in Çıralı. One from Çıralı to Tekirova ( 19 km ) and another travels from Çıralı to Ulupınar and then back down to the flames of the Chimaera which is around 12 km. All these trails and paths are clearly marked in Red and White.
Another wonderful section of the Lycian Way ( Likya Yolu ) near to Çıralı is to the summit of Tahtalı Dag or as also know as Mt. Olympos . Located in the National Park of Olympos or Olimpos Bey Dağları Parkı.
There are no large hotels but numerous small places with accommodation, e.g., family run pensions.
Although close to Olympos it is not possible to drive between the road of Çıralı and the road to Olympos since they are separated by the beach and the ruins of Olympos.
It is a very small rural village located just over an hours drive southwest from Antalya and boasts a beautiful 3.5 km secluded beach, the ruins of Olympos, the flames of the Chimaera / Yanartaş, as well as being a protected area by the WWF for the nesting of the Caretta or also known as the Loggerhead Sea Turtles.
Also nearby to Çıralı is the Ulupınar region, which is rich in rivers and creeks. Cirali / Çıralı is one of the last unspoilt natural areas along the Antalya coastline.
For the intrepid trekkers highlights of the Lycian Way with hidden paths are also found in Çıralı. One from Çıralı to Tekirova ( 19 km ) and another travels from Çıralı to Ulupınar and then back down to the flames of the Chimaera which is around 12 km. All these trails and paths are clearly marked in Red and White.
Another wonderful section of the Lycian Way ( Likya Yolu ) near to Çıralı is to the summit of Tahtalı Dag or as also know as Mt. Olympos . Located in the National Park of Olympos or Olimpos Bey Dağları Parkı.
There are no large hotels but numerous small places with accommodation, e.g., family run pensions.
Although close to Olympos it is not possible to drive between the road of Çıralı and the road to Olympos since they are separated by the beach and the ruins of Olympos.
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