TOURS

PERGE, ASPENDOS & SIDE TOUR (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)  

Perge Archaic City                                  Manavgat Waterfall

Perge, Aspendos, Side

· 08:00 Departure from the hotels
· Visiting Perge antique site in detail; Stadium, Roman Gate, Nymphaeum, Roman Bath,      Hellenistic gate, Colonnaded Main Street and the Agora
· Lunch on the Köprüpazari stream near the Aspendos Theater
· Visiting Aspendos Theater and the Historical Aqueducts
· Shopping Break where also the Turkish handcrafts are introduced
· Introduction of Side and an hour and a half free time
· 20:00 Returning to the hotel

What's Included:

- Professional and experienced licensed guide during the tours.
- Transportation by a comfortable AC non smoking Luxurious car / Van with professional driver.
- Lunch

Price: 50 EURO

PERGE

Perge was one of the important cities in antiquity. The founding of the city varies depending on the sources. The inscriptions found in the Hellenistic gate refer to Calchas and Mopsus (from the Trojan Wars) and M. Plancius Varus and C. Plancius Varus, father and brother of Plancia Magna, from the 2nd century AD as well. Hittite records mention the name along with the river Cestros as Parha, which means that the city was already large and must have been founded before. It has benefited from the navigable Cestros (modern Aksu) river even though it is some 12 km inland. Perge has two famous women benefactors. Plancia Magna of the 2nd century AD and Prof. Jale Inan. The previous one helped building the city and the latter one uncovered it for us to see it. The theater is the first building that meets us. Unfortunately it is under restoration. The stadium which is one of the best preserved in Turkey, is next. After the Roman gate we are in the grandeur 2nd century Roman city of Perge with its monumental nymphaeums, the Roman bath, and the Hellenistic gate (renovated in the Roman times as an honorary hall with the statues of the founders of the city). After the Hellenistic gate, you may walk the splendid colonnaded Cardo of Perge with artificial waterfalls all along the street to the foot of the acropolis. The Agora can be visited on the way back.

ASPENDOS-BELKIS

The city was originally built on the, then navigable river Eurymedon, on the mountain where the acropolis is today. The oldest name of the city we know; Asiawanda (the land of the horses) in the old local Anatolian languages is now very famous for its most intact 2nd C AD Roman Theater and the aqueducts which are a rare feat of engineering. The Theater was built by Zenon one of the most famous architects of the time in the 2nd century AD. It is known as the best preserved Roman Theater with very good acoustics with a capacity of 15,000 spectators. It is known to hold 20 000 people nowadays when there are concerts by nationally and internationally famous orchestras of classical music and singers. There are concerts, plays and other entertainments through out the tourist season. It was used as a church during the Byzantine times and as a palace during the Seljuk’s reign. Other than the lack of decorative statues, etc. of the stage building, it is in perfect condition. The water was brought to the city from the mountains through tunnels and over the aqueducts. The aqueducts that bring water to Aspendos are a great feat of engineering, very rare of its kind. The aqueducts cross a marsh of almost one kilometer by piping made of stone fittings on lower aqueducts. The towers of 30m height are used to change the direction of the piping and also for the siphoning system.

SIDE

She has existed at least since 1400 BC and has still kept her original name Side, which means pomegranate in the old anatolian Sidetan language. This is provided by the coins from the 6th C BC and three records from 3rd C BC. This language has not been deciphered yet two of the only three records found are bilingual. This language was in use until after the invasion of Alexander the Great around 333 BC, when ‘koione’ the common dialect of greek was used. Side is unique in many ways. It still offers the small sweet anatolian fisherman town atmosphere despite the flood of tourism. The long, fine, sandy beaches are also worth mentioning. The city was built on a flat peninsula instead of a mountain acropolis, for defense, like Perge, Sillyum and Aspendos. Instead the peninsula is walled on both the land and the sea all around. The first buildings that meets you are the aqueducts, bringing water from 32km from the mountains. The monumental nymphaeum is the next. The colonnaded main street with shops and houses on both sides take you to the inner city. The Roman bath which is restored as a museum is on the right near the monumental Roman gate.The theater, the largest in Pamphylia, is built on flat land instead of resting on a slope. It rests on a multi-story sloped arches, 17m high, and is a true wonder of Roman engineering. The stage building is higher, 21m. The adjacent buildings of the extensive agora and the temple of Tyke and fine public toilets within are closed to visitors for the time being. The Temple of Apollo and Athena have some columns that and have been restored on the beach near the harbour are the symbol of Side. The Byzantian Basilicas, the Temple of Man and the Bibliotect are a few of the other buildings.

ANTALYA SHOPPING-OLD CITY & MUSEUMS TOUR (EVERYDAY)

Antalya Kaleici Roma Kapısı           Antalya

Antalya City Tour 

· 09:00 Departure
· Visiting Tophane, Antique Port/Marina, and the Old City
· Hadrians Gate
· Karpuzkaldiran (Lower Düden) Waterfall
· Lunch
· Visiting a workshop for an introduction of traditional hand crafts
· (upper)Düden Waterfalls
· Public Market of the day of the week
· 16:30 Return and transfer to Hotel (s)

What's Included:

- Professional and experienced licensed guide during the tours.
- Transportation by a comfortable AC non smoking Luxurious car / Van with professional driver.
- Lunch

Price: 35 EURO

ANTALYA

Antalya; called the Turkish Riviera, the Touristic Capital of Turkey, the Paradise. It deserves these names by combining the Mediterranean Sea, the close range of the Taurus Mountains, the numerous rivers and waterfalls, the ski resort, long clean sandy beaches, numerous historical sites and many five star hotels lined up on approximately six hundred kilometers of coast line. The well taken care of city, of Antalya itself, is a site worthy to see. It reflects the ancient Anatolian cultures including the Hittite, Lycian, Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, and Ottoman and is one of the prominent provinces of the modern Republic of Turkey. The city was named after the founder King Attalus II, King of Pergamum as Attaleia and the present name of Antalya is derived from that through the ages. Antalya is also an agricultural center with suitable climate, plenty of water from numerous rivers and green houses. Citrus, bananas, a variety of vegetables and fruit, cotton, corn and grain are some of the crops. It is also a good base for visiting the sites around it. Starting from the east consecutively: Alanya, Side, Manavgat waterfall, Aspendos, Köprülü Kanyon (ideal rafting river of Köprü Çayi), Selge, Sillyum, Perge, Kursunlu waterfall, Düden waterfalls, Termessus, Karain Cave, Phaselis, Olympus, Myra, St. Nicholas’ (Santa Claus) Church, Kekova, Üçagiz, Antiphellos, Xantos and Sagalassos are some of the sites within close range of Antalya. The Karain Cave has been a dwelling for the human race since the Neanderthal man and with the other historical sites in the region, it gives us a continuous record of the culture of the human race from the beginning. Alexander the Great has come here on his long expedition and the Konya Seljuk’s have used the region for their resort palaces. The antique name of the region, Pamphylia (the land of various people), reflects it’s meaning today with its approximately ten thousand European citizens, other than the historical mixture of the people, from all races and religions.

KALEICI (THE OLD CITY)

According to old travelers, the old city of Antalya was surrounded by walls from both the land and the sea side (port side). It was also divided internally to four sections between races and religions by walls. Hidirlik Tower, Hadrian’s Gate and the Clock Tower are what remain of the ancient walls. What remains of the harbor a wall is quite impressive. They also report that it was surrounded by gardens and vineyards and that it was a busy trade center exporting goods to Egypt. The area that was within these city walls is now called the old city (Kale Içi). The old city still reflects the late Ottoman period quite well. The narrow streets show houses heavy with lattice work windows overhanging into the streets. They face one another as if reminding us of the heavy gossip of the old days that were exchanged across those narrow streets. These quaint streets lead down to the antique harbor which has been restored as a marina now. A good number of these houses have been restored and are serving various purposes, i.e. Pensions, hotels, bar restaurants, souvenir shops etc.