Antalya Eastern Circuit: Side Ancient City with Apollo Temple on the Beach, Manavgat Waterfall, Alanya Red Tower and Castle, Seljuk Pirates Den, and the Eastern Antalya Riviera Resort Strip
The Antalya eastern circuit covers the Side ancient city with the Temple of Apollo at the beach edge, the Manavgat waterfall and riverside restaurants, the Alanya Red Tower harbour fortification, the Alanya Seljuk castle on the promontory, and the eastern Antalya Riviera resort strip from Side to Alanya.
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Side: The Apollo Temple at the Beach
Side, the ancient Pamphylian city 75 kilometers east of Antalya with the Temple of Apollo standing at the very edge of the beach where the columns are reflected in the sea and the ruins occupy the same space as the sun loungers and the beach umbrellas, is the most atmospherically complete example of the overlap between the ancient and the resort in Turkey. The Side old town peninsula with the ancient city walls, the colonnaded streets, the theatre, and the Side Museum in the restored Roman baths, surrounded by the modern resort development, creates the most concentrated ancient-modern juxtaposition on the Turkish coast.
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Side Theatre and Museum: The Pamphylian Capital
The Side theatre with 15,000-seat capacity and the Side Museum in the Roman baths adjacent to the main excavation area provide the cultural content that the beach resort context of the Side visit tends to overwhelm. The museum collection of the Side sculptures includes the important 3 Graces relief, the Eros and Psyche sarcophagus, and the marble portrait heads from the Side agora that complement the Antalya Museum collection. The Side old town evening, with the souvenir shops, the carpet merchants, and the seafood restaurants on the Byzantine harbour, is the most commercially active old town in the Antalya region.
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Manavgat Waterfall and Riverside Restaurants
The Manavgat Waterfall on the Manavgat River 3 kilometers from the coastal town, the most visited single attraction in the eastern Antalya region with the wide cascade and the riverside park, is the most commercially developed natural attraction in Turkey with the boat trips from the river mouth, the riverside restaurants, and the souvenir market that serves the day-trip traffic from the Side and Alanya resorts. The Manavgat Sunday market in the town is the largest weekly market in the Antalya province and the most authentic shopping experience on the eastern Riviera.
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Alanya: The Red Tower and the Seljuk Harbour
Alanya 135 kilometers east of Antalya, the most complete Seljuk coastal fortification in Turkey with the Red Tower harbour defense, the arsenal on the harbour, the 6.5-kilometer city walls, and the castle on the promontory that Alaeddin Keykubad built after his 1221 conquest to protect the most important Seljuk Mediterranean port, is the most historically significant medieval city on the Turkish Mediterranean coast. The Red Tower is the symbol of Alanya and the most widely recognized single monument of the Anatolian Seljuk architectural achievement.
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Alanya Castle: The Promontory Fortress
The Alanya castle on the 250-meter rocky promontory that divides the Antalya Bay from the eastern Mediterranean provides the most dramatic coastal fortress setting in Turkey, with the Byzantine, Seljuk, and Ottoman layers of the fortification overlapping in the circuit walls, the interior palace ruins, the Byzantine church of Saint George, and the Ehmedek inner citadel. The cable car from the Alanya seafront to the castle entrance provides the most accessible approach to the summit and the view from the castle walls over the 12-kilometer beach and the eastern Mediterranean is the most complete panorama on the Turkish riviera.
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Eastern Antalya Riviera: The Resort Strip Assessment
The eastern Antalya Riviera from Side to Alanya, the most concentrated resort hotel strip on the Turkish coast with the 5-star all-inclusive properties that host the European package holiday market, is the most commercially mature beach resort destination in Turkey with the highest hotel bed capacity in the country and the most internationally diverse tourist population. The all-inclusive resort format that dominates the eastern Riviera provides the most cost-efficient beach holiday in the Mediterranean but the least engagement with the Turkish culture and the extraordinary archaeological heritage that surrounds the resort zone.