Antalya is located on the Mediterranean coast of south-west Turkey, between the Taurus Mountains and the Mediterranean sea.
Antalya is the centre of Turkey’s tourism industry, attracting 30% of foreign tourists visiting Turkey.
The province of Antalya corresponds to the lands of ancient Pamphylia to the east and Lycia to the west. It features a shoreline of 657 km (408 mi) with beaches, ports, and ancient cities scattered throughout, including the World Heritage Site Xanthos. The provincial capital is Antalya city with a population of 714,000.
The highest point of the Taurus mountains is Akdag at an altitude of 3025 metres. Located to the northwest of the city centre and at a distance of 50 km (31 mi) is the Saklikent ski and recreation centre on Beydaglari.
Here one can ski and then go down to the shore and into the sea during the months of January-April. In Saklikent there are two teleski and ski courses along with villas and accommodation facilities available in the area. Situated on Bakirli Hill behind Saklikent is the Antalya National Space Observatory.
It is possible to watch meteor showers and shooting stars on certain days of the year. In rivers rafting and canoeing sports and on the Taurus mountains jeep safari, hunting and trekking tours are organised. Alternatively, there is rock-climbing, bird watching tourism, photo-safari, mountain tourism, line fishing and health tourism at the thalasso and dialysis centres in Geyikbayiri.
Holy tourism activities are organized in Myra and Patara where St Nicholas was born and lived. The eternal flames of Chimaera that was the inspiration for the Chimera myth is also located in Antalya. In the area of Belek, 30 km (19 mi). east of Antalya, there is a big potential for golf tourism with the bonus of the cultural, historical and natural sightseeing of the region.
There are five golf facilities already operating in Belek. There are underwater diving centres on the coast, primarily in Kemer, Camyuva, Olympos, Adrasan, Kas, Kalkan, Ucagiz, Kekova, Side and Alanya. In addition, yacht tours are organized from the port of Antalya to Duden Waterfall-Karpuzkaldiran and Kemer, from Side to Alanya, from Demre-Cayagzi to Kekova, from Kas to Kekova, from Kemer to Cirali-Olympos-Adrasan and Cape Gelidonya.
There are also boat tours on Manavgat creek and canoe tours on Xanthos creek. In addition, Blue Cruise, which covers the southwestern Anatolian coast, ends in Antalya. There are ferryboat trips from Alanya to Cyprus and from Antalya to Italy. Antalya today is a world tourism centre with its unique touristic accommodation facilities, nature and historical beauties
