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We arrived in Antalya with very little idea of what was to be seen and were just very lucky to end up in the heart of the old city (Kalechi). We spent almost two weeks there except for the few days we spent on a car-jaunt to Alanya and points east. We'll give you a guided tour of our stay in Kalechi with visual aids courtesy of Gerry's digital camera.
 

This was our favorite restaurant. From Ani Pansiyon we would slip out to the main street (all streets in Kalechi are narrow, wide enough for one car to pass at most) and then head for the clifftop. There were several restaurants along the clifftop, just above a park with an old watchtower, but our favorite had tables set out along the roadside with the fabulous view you see at right. The picture gives you a closer look at the snow-capped mountains that dominate the bay.

Our most memorable meal here was at night only the day after our arrival.  It was memorable because of the cold temperatures. It was, after all, still only early April and even wearing all of our layers it was pretty chilly! But a glass of Turkish wine helped give us the illusion of warmth and we loved how the lights twinkled in the clear night air. But back at Ani Pansiyon Jan had to dig out her woolly hat to keep her warm in bed.

A little further along from our favorite restaurant was a very nice public park. There is no beach here, just a sheer drop from the cliffs to the water. The park takes advantage of its position on the edge of the bay to give breathtaking panoramic views of Antalya harbor, the blue water of the bay and the dramatic snow-capped mountains beyond.

Not surprisingly, the old city is a mecca for handicrafts stores.  This one did beautiful hand-painted pottery which we were sorely tempted to buy. But every time we thought about trying to either transport or ship it, we changed our minds.

Here we are in Antalya's little harbor..., 

As you can see from our dress it is still a little cold in spite of clear bright sunshine. We did have a modicum of rain, but never enough to cramp our style.

In the lower right of the bottom picture you can see a small tourist boat that takes tourists around the bay for half-hour jaunts. 

We wandered out to the end of one of the small piers you see to sit and enjoy a piece of fruit while watching the boats come and go. 

At the Old Harbor

Classical Harbor

Sorting the day's catch

...which still functions as a fishing port.

These pictures show the "old" part of kalechi. The gate is roman, the tower from the early muslim days. The most fun thing to do in the old city is to wander the streets, ogling recently restored old-style houses with overhanging second-floors bult of wood and lattice-screened windows facing the street.

We explored quite a bit finding a handful of nice-looking hotels that we might have chosen had our budget been a little less tight and another handlful of restuarants that we promised ourselves we would try someday. 

But our best find was the Owl bookshop. Run by a Turkish devotee of English literature, it was crammed with good books. We swapped some of the books we had read, including our favorite Trollope (The Way We Live Now), for novels and autobiographies by Doris Lessing

The Large Theater

This was one of the hotels that we found that we think we might one day come back to. Housed in a restored building right in the heart of the old city we think it is tons more interesting than the newer chain hotels that abound in the newere part of the city. We also loved the place for its name. Can you guess why?

This is Emine, the landlady of the Ani Pansiyon, who made us so welcome even though she had just got off a bus after a 12-hour journey from Istanbul and hadn't had time to really get organized.

In spite of that, she gave us our pick of the rooms, as many blankets as we desired (and we desired many — Jan slept at least one night in her woolly hat to stave off the cold!) and the best breakfasts we had in our two months in Turkey.

A lady of culture, Emine loved books, spoke good English and was learning French. She taught us much about Turkish culture.

This is Emine's good friend Hassan, who owns a carpet shop nearby and lives half of the year in Paris with his French wife.

We spent a pleasant evening in Hassan's shop looking for a rug for our friends Dinah and Mick's wedding present. We didn't find what we wanted here, but Hassan was unfailingly friendly and courteous throughout.

Note the glasses of tea that every merchant provides as soon as you walk through the door.

These pictures were taken in the Antalya Museum, which as you can see has a very nice collection of graeco-roman statuary. It also has a wonderful collection of sarcophagi which we found awesome.

We spent a very pleasant afternoon here.

Here we are in a street market outside of the old city itself.  Markets are an interesting and colorful way to get to know a country as well as, of course, to stock up on fresh fruit.

The dramatic cliffs here are below one of the modern-style hotels on the edge of the old city. We considered moving to such a place, but always ended up preferring the friendly hospitality of Emine's covered patio and her home-cooked breakfast with fresh spinach pie.