Antalya (formerly known as Adalia or Attalia; from Pamphylian Greek: Αττάλεια Attáleia) is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. It is the capital city of Antalya Province. The population of the city was 775,157 in the 2007 census. Antalya has a Mediterranean climate. Situated on a cliff over the Mediterranean, Antalya is surrounded by mountains. Developments in tourism, starting in the 1970s, transformed the city into an international resort.
See History of Antalya Province for the history of this area in antiquity It is not known when the site of the current city was first inhabited. Attalos II, king of Pergamon, was believed to have founded the city around 150 B.C., naming it Attalia and selecting it as a naval base for his powerful fleet. However, excavations in 2008 in the Doğu Garajı district of Antalya have uncovered remains dating to the third century, B.C, suggesting that the city was founded earlier than previously supposed. Antalya became part of the Roman Republic in 133 BC when King Attalos III of Pergamum willed his kingdom to Rome at his death. The city grew and prospered during the Ancient Roman period. Christianity started to spread in the region after 2nd century. Antalya was visited by Paul of Tarsus, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles: "From Perga, Paul and Barnabas went down to Attalia and sailed from there to Antioch after preaching in Pisidia and Pamphylia" (Acts 14:25-26). Antalya was a major city in the Byzantine Empire. It was the capital of the Byzantine Theme of Carabisiani (Θέμα Kαραβησιάνων, Thema Karavēsianōn), which occupied the southern coasts of Asia Minor and the Aegean Islands. At the time of the accession of John II Comnenus (1118) it was an isolated outpost against the Turks, accessible only by sea. The following year, with the aid of his commander-in-chief John Axuch, John II drove the Turks from the land routes to Antalya and reconnected the city with the rest of the empire. The city, along with the surrounding region, was conquered by the Seljuk Turks in the early 13th century. Antalya was again the capital of the Turkish beylik of Teke between 1321-1423 until its conquest by the Ottomans. The Arabic traveler Ibn Battuta who came to the city in between 1335-1340 noted.
More
