From a Roman Gate to a Seljuk Minaret in Kaleiçi
Sign in to like and rate
The old town of Antalya packs four superimposed periods into two kilometres, and this route crosses them in order. You enter through a Roman marble gate, look up at a Seljuk fluted minaret, walk down to the harbour between Ottoman and last century timber houses, then see the finds from all those layers in the museum. Four stops, about four hours. Leaving the museum until last is deliberate; the sculpture belonging to the stones you have just walked past is kept there.
Route Stops
Hadrian's Gate.
A three arched marble gate built in AD 130 for the emperor Hadrian's visit. Ancient wheel ruts remain in the paving beneath it. Entering Kaleiçi here is the right way to begin.
The Mosque with the Fluted Minaret.
A few hundred metres in stands the forty metre Seljuk minaret that defines the skyline. The eight flutes on its shaft and the turquoise tiles are 13th century work; Antalya's Seljuk layer reads in this single point.
Kaleiçi (literally "Inner Castle") is a historic district.
After the minaret, give yourself over to the lanes. Timber houses with overhanging bays, walls raised on Roman foundations and narrow streets that take you down to the old harbour by themselves. Getting lost here is part of the route.
Antalya Museum.
Three tram stops west of the harbour. The sculpture from Perge, the sarcophagus room and the region's line from prehistory to the Ottomans are here. The story of the stones you saw this morning is completed in these halls.
