Antalya ,

Alanya , Side , Belek , Kemer , Kalkan , Kas
 

     The Taurus mountain range of southern Anatolia runs parallel to the Mediterranean in an east-west direction, resulting in the formation of narrow coastal plains, which are surrounded by mountains on three sides and open to the south sea. On some parts of the coast, where the mountains plunge sharply into the sea, small natural bays and peninsulas are formed. Antalya is situated on a plain which consists of two flat areas formed of falez rock at a height of 35 m, where the mountains recede from the shore. On the first rocky plain on the coast is the town centre and on the plain behind it, named Kepezüstü, small settlement units have been established. The coast is 530 km in length and borders with Eşen in the west and Kaledran creek in the east. The province has an area of 20,820 km². The soil of the plain is made up of conglomerate, alluvium and travertine falez rocks. The Taurus mountains, formed of limestone and serpentine lands, with karst surface formations, have many deep valleys, caves, crevices and faults. In the marshy areas at a height of 300 m from the coast scrub trees, known as maquis, are found.  These include oleander, wild strawberries, sandalwood, strawberry trees, myrtle, chinaberry trees, bay, chaste trees, carob trees, broom and spurge.  Thyme, sage, saffron, burdock, asphodel, asparagus, blackberry, chrysanthemum and, sparsely, oak, Oriental plane, wild pear, olive and linden trees are also found. 300 metres further on in, the red pine and oak forests, and marshes with eucalyptus trees can be seen. 1200 m further on the forests with cedar, fir trees, Scotch pine, juniper and beech begin. As the alluvial soil on the plains is suitable for agriculture, vegetables, fruit and flowers are grown in greenhouses for export. Open orange, mandarin, lemon and grapefruit gardens can be seen in the vicinity, in the warm Mediterranean winds. On the east of the Antalya plain, banana and avocado are grown. Cotton is sown as an industrial plant and cotton production, along with cotton mills and textile factories, holds great potential for Turkey. Apples, pears, quince, grapes and sesame are grown on the mountainous plateaus. The regional fauna is very good for hunting tours. In Düzlerçamı on the Taurus mountains, covering an area of 10,000 hectares, fallow deer, wild goat and roe deer hunting is permitted on a controlled basis. Wolves, foxes, brown bears, martens, wild boar, wild cats and jackals are the wild species that are often found. The Taurus Leopard was known to exist until recently. Partridge, quail, turtle dove, wild pigeon, blackbird, woodcock, francolin and wild duck can be regarded as game birds. The region is well-known for its grida fish; in addition to this, sea bream, horse mackerel, black bream, gilt-head, grey mullet, gurnard, whiting, bonito, striped red mullet, needlefish, large bonito, red gurnard and red mullet are among the major sea fish, other sea produce includes hermit crab, lobster, shrimp, cuttle-fish and mussel. In addition, cage fishing is carried out in the sea at six points on the coast where sea-bass and grey mullet are bred. Fresh water line fishing is carried out in the Eşen, Dim, Köprüçay, Manavgat, Akçay and Alara rivers. The fish restaurants established within water in the Dim Creek are particularly famous. The main fresh water fish are fresh water chub, fresh water perch, carp, mirror-carp, eel, bleak and tench. There are numerous trout production farms and restaurants in those parts of the Taurus Mountains close to water and river beds. The province of Antalya is located between the north latitudes of 36,07° - 37,29° and east longitudes of 29,20° - 32,35°. Since the area is closed to the cold northerly winds, it is characterized by the typical Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and moderately warm and rainy winters. In the area with sunny weather for 10 months a year the temperature climbs up to 45°C in July and August. The sea breeze and the northeasterly winds blowing from inland relieve the area under this temperature.

The highest point of the Taurus mountains is Akdağ at an altitude of 3025 metres. Located to the northwest of the city centre and at a distance of 50 km is the Saklıkent ski and recreation centre on Beydağları. Here one can ski and then go down to the shore and into the sea during the months of January-April. Thanks to this characteristic the city is called the Turkish riviera. In Saklıkent there are two teleski and ski courses along with villas and accommodation facilities available in the area. Situated on Bakırlı Hill behind Saklıkent is the Antalya National Space Observatory with a reflecting telescope 40 m in diameter and a telescope 150 cm in diameter. It is possible to watch meteor showers and shooting stars on certain days of the year. In rivers rafting and canoeing sports and on the Taurus mountains jeep safari, hunting and trekking tours are organised. Alternatively, there is rock-climbing, bird watching tourism, photo-safari, mountain tourism, line fishing and health tourism at the thalasso and dialysis centres in Geyirbayır. Holy tourism activities are organized in Myra, St.Nicholas and Patara. There are underwater diving centres on the coast, primarily in Kemer, Çamyuva, Olympos, Adrasan, Kaş, Kalkan, Üçağız, Kekova, Side and Alanya. In addition, yacht tours are organized from the port of Antalya to Düden Waterfalls-Karpuzkaldıran and Kemer, from Side to Alanya, from Demre-Çayağzı to Kekova, from Kaş to Kekova, from Kemer to Çıralı-Olympos-Adrasan and Cape Gelidonya. There are also boat tours on Manavgat creek and canoe tours on Xanthos creek. In addition, blue voyage, which covers the southwestern Anatolian coast, ends in Antalya. There are ferryboat trips from Alanya to Cyprus and from Antalya to Italy. Antalya today is a world tourism centre with its unique touristic accommodation facilities, nature and historical beauties. The city of Antalya is managed by a governor and a city council, with one greater city and three district municipalities. The Antalya port is one of the most prominent export and import ports of Turkey. The Free Trade Zone existing within the port conveniently serves the export of all types of products, primarily being textile, mine and agricultural products.