INTO THE OLD TOWN
Left : From Republic Square , the red roofs of the Old Town are framed by the ocean and mountains .
INTO THE OLD TOWN
By this point , we had yet to discover any of Antalya proper — which awaited us beneath a brilliant blue sky . If pressed to choose between ocean and mountains , I will always be a seaside girl — but Antalya forces no such choice . Exiting the bus at Republic Square , we saw the Mediterranean coastline spread before us , ringed by the snowcapped Taurus Mountains . Had I never even seen photos of this place ? Had I missed something ( for shame !) in O . A . T .’ s marketing materials ? The gorgeous setting took me completely by surprise .
After tearing my gaze from the mountains toward my right , I focused on the warren of red rooftops that spread beneath us to the left . This , our Trip Experience Leader
Mustafa explained , was Kaleici , the Old Town of Antalya . While Republic Square commemorates Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and the creation of the modern Republic of Turkey in the 1920s , the Old Town would reveal more than 2,000 years of history , dating back to the Hellenistic era before the region became part of the Roman Empire . We took in the panorama from one of the square ’ s viewing platforms before descending into the narrow , cobblestoned streets .
The architectural highlights of Kaleici span centuries , empires , and occupiers , from city wall remnants built by the Romans during the second century to the 13th-century Yivli Minare mosque and the 15th-century Venetian harbor . Throughout , souvenir shops , restaurants , and cafés beckoned me to lose myself during our upcoming free afternoon . And while I have been known to literally lose myself in my travels ( the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul remains fresh in my mind ), I found Kaleici to be wonderfully manageable for an Old Town — even for the directionally challenged .
It helped to realize that the magnificent triple arches of Hadrian ’ s Gate , which has served as the main entrance to Kaleici for nearly 2,000 years , was right down the street from our hotel . On our initial orientation walk , we took a
Left : Local women prepare gozleme pancakes with spinach and cheese at a roadside restaurant near Aspendos .
DISPATCHES • JUNE 2023 27