Monday, September 28, 2009

KALEIÇI, OLD ANTALYA

ANTALYA - SEPTEMBER 2008

It is said that the site of the current city of Antalya was first inhabited when Attalos II, King of Pergamon, founded Attalia there, around 150 BC. However, recent excavations have uncovered remains from the 3rd century BC, suggesting that the site was already occupied earlier. King Attalos III of Pergamum willed his kingdom to Rome at his death and the city prospered during the Roman period.



"HADRIAN'S GATE - The three arched triumphal gate was built to honour the Roman Emperor, who visited Antalya in 130 A.D. It is considered the most beautiful Gate in the region (Pamphylia). It seems that the original Gate had two storeys but there is no information on the top one"


"DECORATION - Entirely built of white marble, the Gate has a remarkable ornamentation"


"HALIHAN - Carpets in the old town"



"PASHA HOUSES"


"TOURISTS - Streets from the Ottoman era"



"KESIK MINARE (Broken Minaret) - Originally built as a Roman temple in the 2nd century AD, it was converted into a Byzantine church in honour of Virgin Mary, in the 600s. Heavily damaged in the 700s during the Arab invasions, it was repaired again in the 900s. Converted into a mosque, it saw the addition of the minaret. However, in 1361, it became a church again, only to be reconverted into a mosque some time later. It was finally destroyed in a fire in 1846, but the minaret survived, as the Kesik Minare"


"OLDEST HOUSES in Old Town"


"COCA COLA, CAMEL MARKET"


"KILIMS"


"FLOWER HOUSE"


"MEDITERRA ART HOTEL"





"HOUSES, HOTELS & STREETS OF KALEIÇI"


"TURKISH BATHS"


"CLOCK TOWER - From the Roman times"

46 comments:

Trotter said...

Hi Everybody! This post is dedicated to Kaleiçi, the historical centre of the city of Antalya, now restored as its touristic main attraction. Hope you enjoy and have a wonderful week!

Jen Laceda | Milk Guides said...

Wow, what a lovely place! Some of the houses actually look very "Oriental", almost like Chinese traditional homes with the terra cotta roof shingles.

S-V-H said...

Turkey was and is still fascinating and the Turkish bath houses are world famous. I was once in one in Budapest :)

Great post again, Gil!

Susanne

I have decided to visit all the blogs only once a week. There are to many of them I have to visit and comment, but your blog is on the top of my list. Because I can "travel" with you and your wife - in my mind. :)

We are settled down now in Melbourne Florida... if you ever are in the region let me know please, and David and I can make time for a coffee or two...

Susanne

Kcalpesh said...

A great set of cool architectures! Amazing experience even to see them here in form of pictures. Thanks for sharing!

- Pixellicious Photos

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Hi Gil

Antalya looks like a fascinating ancient city to visit! Wonderful detailed photos as always.

I hope you'll get a chance to scroll back through some of my recent blogs pots to see Yellowstone National Park -- what a amzing place to visit!

Olivier said...

magnifique et surtout surprenant toutes ces architectures différentes, j'aime beaucoup

SusuPetal said...

Beautiful old houses and fabulous ruins. Old towns are so much interesting than modern towns.

Daniel Chérouvrier said...

Encore un très bel endroit plein de surprises et de ressources.
Merci.

lyliane six said...

Curieuse architecture, cela me fait penser aux balcons de Cordoue.

magiceye said...

thank you for the lovely tour of Kaleiçi.

diane b said...

Such interesting buildings and a wealth of history. It looks so clean and tidy too. Thanks for the tour.

Rakesh Vanamali said...

Wow! Fascinating pictures! Very interesting architecture! I see an Indian touch in these! Wonderful pictures, as always!

alicesg said...

Very beautiful. The houses and hotel all looked so beautiful and the architectural designs are so amazing. I love the balcony where you could looked into the streets.

Thérèse said...

So many different construction materials... it's incredible. They must have a lot of stone mines around.
Turkish baths have such a cool look, did you have one?

Anonymous said...

thanks Gil, Turkey is now on my travel "wish list". I am in NYC enjoying all the great architectural. (and food) :)

Ash said...

Amazing pictures, brilliant architecture!

Cant get enough of these Turkey photographs. Thanks for sharing!

indicaspecies said...

Hi Gil,
It's a pleasure to catch up on your blog and to enjoy the posts on Antalya, and rest of Turkey. I'm looking forward to a trip to Turkey, including places like Konya and Cappudocia. Until then, your blog posts should keep me satiated. I was fascinted particularly by the picture of the whirling dervish in your previous post. Thanks for sharing these lovely images.

Mariposa said...

everything looks clean and new (even the old buildings!)
they are very beautiful!!

A Lady's Life said...

I agree with Jen Iacada. Looks almost oriental. Love old brick and the marble work is truly beautiful.
So sad when such things get destroyed.

PeterParis said...

Of course, you vacations could not only be beaches, swimming-pools, bars... Wonderful when you can combine like this! Looks like a beautiful place!

Cergie said...

Une magnifique bougainvillée, j'adore. Et un arbre où le soleil passe, peut-être un tamaris ?
Bien sûr toi tu habites un pays du soleil alors tu es blasé, tu n'as peut-être pas remarqué les volets qui s'ouvrent vers l'extérieur. J'aime les maisons dont le bois s'adosse à la pierre.
Tu as eu une touche avec une jolie touriste blonde... Mais ne l'ai-je pas déjà vue quelque part ?

Tinsie said...

What an amazing gate! I love the traditional houses too. They remind me a lot of northern Greece. Lovely photos, as usual :-)

Bhushavali said...

Amazing place it seems to be. I esp. love the third pic.. The work is so intricate...!!!
Lovely post dear... :)
My Travelogue

Ashira said...

Love the mixture of ancient and new!
Nomad is Moscow bound in 3 weeks!

Chuckeroon said...

Yet another sneaky little glimpse of Mrs T to liven up the procedings. But, with that wonderful carving on the white marble Roman Gate, even Mrs T has to work hard to win this week's prize. Tks for the fun again, this week.

JO said...

WOW!! Great pictures! Thanks for sharing.... Those Oldest houses in Old Town are absolutly fascinating!!! Did you get to go inside them?

lv2scpbk said...

Wow the flowers scrolled in the gate photo is wonderful. Love the street photos.

Rhonda Hartis Smith said...

Another great journey, thanks for sharing!

Pietro Brosio said...

Really a wonderful post, Gil! I enjoy it very much. Amazing the Hadrian's Gate with its fine ornamentation, interesting the turkish baths and the roman clock tower, I also like the photos of the houses.
Have a great week!

hpy said...

I like kilims. They are beautiful and easily handled. Not heavy as many carpets.

Anonymous said...

I REALLY ENJOY THIS TOUR. THANKS

Galaxy6139 said...

really nice historic architecture. Very interesting the turkish baths' shape, I haven't seen before ^^

leo said...

Sorry for the long absence. Enjoying my holiday and now suffer at work *sigh* Happy Belated Birthday!! Nice date 090909 no less :)) Buildings, old buildings I lurrvve them!!! Beautiful. Keep those photos coming in.

Urmi said...

Lovely place. You have taken beautiful pictures and its amazing to see the old historic buildings and its architecture which are absolutely marvellous. Wonderful post.

bindu said...

such a charming place! I love those carvings and the carpets in the windows.

eye in the sky said...

i love those "crumbling" places... kaleici looks like an intimate place...

Regina, Philippines said...

Nice hoses. Love the clock.
Fantastic shots. Thanks for the tour. Thanks also for coming by.
happy weekend.

Leena said...

Thank you for your remembering me!!
I can only "warn" you,DON`T get too many grandchildren, because after that your blogging time will be minimized ;)
We will get during next two - four weeks sixth grandchild, who wants to see this world much too early and I have been helping his mother to keep him in safe as long as possible by taking care his 2 years old big sister.
It has nowadays been my priority.
Even many of my photos on my blog have been old ones!

But I always enjoy your photos of those fine journeys and definitely I never forget you and your lovely wife!
Happy weekend to both of you!

Oman said...

another wonderful trip. i really like the way you sequenced each pic, i really felt like i was travelin' with you. great job.

Ron said...

Fabulous pictures. Love the Coca Cola sign.

Sorry I haven't been around lately, my computer crashed and needed to get a new one.

rochambeau said...

A rich history you share of this amazing country, Turkey. It is interesting to see the ancient buildings in contrast to the colorful flowers and textiles.

Sending you and Mrs Trottor my very best wishes. Thank you for sharing your colorful journey and for being good ambassadors of the US, with a passion for all cultures!!
Travel safe and Keep smiling~May the third eye follow you and bring you goodness, where ever you are.
Constance

Trotter said...

Hi Folks! It seems that the ratio of visitors/comments is low everywhere around the blogosphere; eve Abe Lincoln, who has more than forty seven clicks on his profile seems to be struggling to get the ten thousand comments on his fabulous blog! So, better than being disappointed with those who visit and don’t comment, we should be happy with those who let their lines drop here. That’s what I’m feeling! Thanks a lot to all of you who give me the chance to reply and keep the memories of these trips (sometimes a little bit less exciting than they may seem on the posted pictures) alive…

Jen,
Didn’t notice that until you draw the attention to the «oriental» touch; but it makes sense, since these are Ottoman type houses and the Ottomans inherited a mixture of traditions from vastly disparate ethnic groups: Turks, Persians, Mongols, Mesopotamian, etc… So, the oriental character has its roots!

Sue,
You were probably either at the Széchenyi or at the Gellert Baths, the two most famous spas in the city! But they were built in 1913 and 1918 and have nothing to do with the presence of the Turks…
That’s what I’m actually doing, visiting blog friends once a week… But that’s because it’s not easy to find time left to surf the blogosphere more often. Anyhow, I have this rule of always dropping a line at my blog friends posts and always replying to the comments. That’s a huge task, believe me… ;))
Thanks for the invitation; we’ll surely make a detour to Melbourne, should we have the chance to get to Florida one of these days!!

Kcalpesh,
The architecture of the old Ottoman style houses is actually cool! Better to see them in pictures than not at all… ;)). My pleasure to share them with the people who appreciate the beauty!!

Pat,
Antalya has more from the recent years than from the old ones, but the Old City is actually an amazing place to visit!!
I’ve checked your Yellowstone pictures; much better than my old lousy photos taken in 1982, but as you mentioned it’s great fun to see them again… ;))

Olivier,
Ça me plait que tu aimes les différents styles que j’ai eu la chance de mettre dans les photos! Antalya et la Riviera Turque ont été vraiment très surprenantes et la surprise n’est que le moins important des sentiments… ;)

Susu,
Where did you find the ruins? It seems there are people still living there… ;)) (just kidding; I’m not sure someone lives there…).
I wouldn’t generalize the option between old and new towns; there are nice towns and ugly towns, but most of them have always something interesting on them; at least the people that live there and are usually absent from the pictures to protect their privacy… ;). Hopefully no rain today… xoxo

Daniel,
Plutôt de surprises que de ressources, je crois… ;). De rien !!

Lyliane,
Les balcons de Cordoue ; ça je ne m’avais pas rappelé avant que tu ne le mentionnes ! Mais c’est vrai qu’il y a aussi quelque chose d’andalou dans ces balcons. Pas «Le Chien Andalou» toutefois… ;))

Magic,
You’re welcome! My pleasure to make it public for you to enjoy… Furthermore, Kaleiçi, Old Antalya, whatever they name it deserves the attention of the visitor. The renewal of the Old Town was impressive!!

Diane,
A wealth of history and probably not only history, I suspect… ;) I don’t think they have any obsession with cleanness and tidiness, but it is true that, at 9:00 a.m., streets look pretty neat… ;))

Rakesh,
There must be a touch of everything around the corner; actually our culture is definitely a mix and we bring together many influences… You see the Indian touch, Jen saw the «oriental» and Lyliane observed the taste of Andalucía in it; most probably all of you are right!!

Alice SG,
«Voyeuse»! ;)) So, you loved the balcony to watch the streets… Not exactly the Palace of Winds in Jaipur, but something similar… ;)). I agree that the design is amazing and that most of the houses look beautiful…

Trotter said...

Part Two, for the glory of Blogger's restrictions!!

Thérèse,
With all those Taurus Mountains around I won’t be surprised to see many stone mines in the area… But I’m not so sure there is such a broad range of construction materials: just wood and stone… ;)). No Turkish bath; not this time, at least on that Bath we see in the picture… ;)

Lynn,
I was just green of envy when I read you were in New York… ;) And my daughter was there too by that time… At least you could have packed an Eileen’s cheesecake and send it to Lisbon… ;)). Turkey surely deserves a visit, but you have better try Lisbon first… ;)

Ash,
Welcome back!! It’s always great to read you here after a such long time out…
One week in Turkey, more than a thousand pictures, some nine hundred after deletion of the truly awful… That’s a lot, but Blogger doesn’t allow so much space to post them all… ;))

Celine,
I think we have to get back there at least once again (speaking in October 2009, after a short break we made July this year; not yet posted due the traditional delay I’m incurring on…) to see Cappadocia and Istanbul without a snow storm… Maybe we’ll manage to achieve that sooner than later, as now it’s becoming much more difficult to make long haul trips… ;)

Mariposa,
The renewal was superb! They managed to make the old buildings look quite new, though not modern… ;) As for the cleanness, it’s just amazing; you wouldn’t expect, neither did I before seeing it…

Lady,
The marble work comes from the Romans; great artists then… ;). I agree that it’s sad to see destruction, but can you imagine living in the 21st century like the Romans did two thousand years ago? It wouldn’t probably match the standard for quality of life you now have… ;)

Peter,
You knew there had to be something else... besides bars, sun and beaches! ;))
The trick is to chose carefully a spot with that «plus» that makes the big difference; Antalya has some interesting spots to see and also some radiant surroundings…

Lucie,
Regarde, il me fallait ton commentaire pour attirer l’attention sur le vert qu’on a dans toutes ces photos ; la bougainvillée je connais ; le tamaris (arbuste, pas les souliers… ;)), je ne sais pas de quoi il s’agit… ;)). C’est vrai que vivre au Portugal nous rends tous un peu blasés en ce qui concerne le soleil ; hier et avant hier on a eu les premières pluies d’automne et tout le monde se plaignait déjà. Heureusement que le soleil est maintenant de retour… ;)
La touriste blonde, je crois que c’est la même qui envahisse mes photos depuis le 25 avril 1970… ;))

Tinsie,
The gate, though Roman, is quite similar to some monuments you have in Greece; as for the similarity of the houses with Northern Greece I’ve to go there and check out «in loco»… ;))

Mitr-Friend,
Kaleiçi is quite interesting as an Old Town… The work of the artists on that Roman marble gate is absolutely stunning! Thanks for the compliment; just love to read you here. xoxo!

Ashira,
Mix is usually always great! The new part of town will come on the next post, and doesn’t seem so interesting as the old one... ;)
I’m looking forward to seeing your posts as soon as you arrive in Moscow...

Stuart,
Good eye, you don’t let anything important pass unknown... ;)
The work on the white marble of Hadrian’s Gate is absolutely stunning, I agree!!

Jo,
Great to see you back to the blogosphere and William growing up!
I didn’t manage to get inside, except in those houses that were shops, namely carpet shops; these were quite nice.

Barb,
There are some wonderful flowers in some of the houses of the old city; and it seems that the residents keep them quite well... I’m glad you keep loving the street photos!

Rhonda,
Great to see you back here! Sorry to know about your father...
Happy to have your company in these blog journeys!!

Trotter said...

Part Three:

Pietro,
Glad that you liked; the Gate is absolutely stunning and the ornamentation is fabulous. Great heritage we got from the Roman times! These Turkish Baths are particularly amazing; and the clock tower, surely a sundial originally, is also an interesting feature of the Old Town Antalya!

Hélène,
Kilims! Great choice and an arsenal for you to chose from... Anyhow, I must confess that after a massacre I survived on a carpet shop in Istanbul, I’m not keen on going back through the experience. Furthermore, with the discounts they make on the original price, one has tha feeling that he/she has been cheated anyway... ;))

Vaggelis,
My pleasure!!

Galaxy,
Thanks for your return visit and comment here! The Turkish Baths have different shapes all over Turkey and this building had actually an amazing form; the picture made it probably more exciting...

Leo,
You’re always forgiven! Love to read you here whenever you wish to come by and drop a line!! Born 09.09, married 08.08., that’s life...
I’ll try to make the posts coming, but just eliminating almost one thousand pictures to select, let’s say, one hundred fifty or two hundred, after getting rid of the «unforgivable», is no piece of cake... ;))

Babli,
That’s too kind of you! The buildings are beautiful, the architecture sometimes brilliant, the pictures fair enough to be posted here... Nothing compared with the true photographers we see around the blogosphere, some of which are kind enough to follow this blog. Actually the aim is not the pictures in themselves, but the places shown...

Bindu,
The carvings in the Hadrian’s Gate are outstanding and the carpets quite nice; except when by any chance you’re taken inside one shop and are massacred with hundreds of wonderful rugs to buy as well as lots of cups of tea or coffee to digest... ;))

Eye,
«Crumbling» is certainly an adequate expression to name the intriguing aspect of some of the spots in Kaleiçi... Usually old towns have this particular way to generate intimacy... ;)

Regina,
Thanks for your visit and firs time comment here! Discovering your blog was a wonderful surprise! The houses are charming and the clock tower a Roman heritage...

Leena,
With only one daughter, workaholic and impenitent traveller, I’m not running a huge risk, I think, but one never knows... ;)) Anyhow, there are many other reasons minimise blogging time and I’m facing some of them...
You’re photos maybe old, but they are always lovely!!
Thanks for remembering these journeys of us shown on my posts at Blogtrotter!
xoxo

Norman,
My pleasure to bring you along on these journeys!! It takes time to put all these pictures together and further to make the site interesting for the visitor; but that’s part of the joy in making...

Ron,
Hope your new computer works smoothly and doesn’t create problems... a mystery is what computers are... ;)). It had to be you to notice the anachronism of the Coca Cola sign in the Old Town Antalya... ;))

Constance,
Glad that you liked!
I’m honoured to have been crowned as good ambassadors of the US, but truly see no reason why... ;). The passion for all cultures comes probably from the fact that, being Portuguese, we started the globalization and the search for other cultures in the early fifteenth century... ;))
Thanks for your good wishes; I’ll try to keep travelling and smiling... ;))

Neelima Vallangi said...

this old city is for sure very charming! The ruins and the remains look lovely. And the church-mosque conversion is a very interesting story. Nice work. :)

trotter said...

Neelima,
Also like that charming old town Antalya! The story of the church is actually an interesting one...