Antalya
Antalya is one of the largest cities in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province, the fifth-most populous province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Taurus Mountains.
Typical weather
1981–presentCity Rhythm
measuredOpening hours, by kind of place
median across mapped venuesVital absurdities
measured · the Anti-AwardsSame time system
by rhythmWhat to do each season
2winter
mild, often rainy; mean 7.3-19.4 °C across the range; January precip 5.0 mm/day; frost occasional at night, snow very rare (record depth 5 cm, 1993); sea 16 °C
- the Kaleiçi (Old Town) — Hadrian's Gate (130 AD), the Yivli Minare (fluted minaret, the city's symbol), the Hıdırlık Tower
- Antalya's role as Turkey's biggest international sea resort; 13.4M foreign tourists in 2022 by air; the high season begins in spring and ends in late autumn
- the Aspendos ancient theatre (30 km east, best-preserved Roman theatre in Asia Minor) and the Termessos site (a Pisidian city Alexander the Great couldn't take)
summer
very hot and almost rainless; mean 24.5-28.7 °C, July mean max 35.3 °C, August 35.8 °C — among the warmest summer daytime maxima in the Mediterranean; Jul-Aug precip 0.2 mm/day; sea reaches 27 °C; record air temp 45 °C
- the Konyaaltı and Lara beaches (the two main urban beaches) and the Belek golf-and-resort strip (40 km east) at full capacity
- the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival (September-October) — Turkey's oldest film festival
- the Old Harbour (Kaleiçi marina) and the cliff-top terrace cafés at peak
- humidity rises from the Mediterranean evaporation; the apparent temperature feels higher
What it is known for
Important moments in a year
Antalya Golden Orange
- Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival — Turkey's oldest national film festival
Kaleiçi Old Town Festival
- Kaleiçi Old Town Festival — Muratpaşa municipality
Sandland
- Sandland — international sand-sculpture festival at Lara Beach
On the record
source-trackedAntalya is one of the largest cities in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province, the fifth-most populous province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Taurus Mountains.
The city was formerly known as Attaleia, founded around 200 BC by King Attalus II of Pergamon. Attaleia was soon conquered by the Romans. Roman rule saw the city thrive, including the construction of several new monuments, such as Hadrian's Gate.
These [nearby ancient] cities were already significant centers before Roman influence. Antalya has changed hands in history several times, including the Seljuk Empire in 1207 and the Ottoman Empire in 1391.
The city is Turkey's biggest international sea resort on the Turkish Riviera.
Antalya has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa) or a dry-summer humid subtropical climate (Trewartha: Cf or 'wet Cs'). It experiences hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters.
While rain is common and often heavy in winter, Antalya is very sunny, with nearly 3,000 hours of sunlight per year. Frost does occasionally occur at night almost every winter, but snow is a very rare phenomenon.
The highest recorded air temperature was 45.4 °C (113.7 °F) on 1 July 2017.
The mean sea temperature ranges between 16 °C (61 °F) in winter and 27 °C (81 °F) in summer.
Antalya is one of the Mediterranean's leading tourism destinations, the city being home to an array of famous attractions. In 2012, it was reported it attracted 30% of foreign tourists visiting Turkey.
In 2022, Antalya received 13.4 million foreign tourists by air.
Corendon Airlines, Mavi Gök Airlines, Southwind Airlines and SunExpress are headquartered in Antalya.
Since 2000, shipyards have been opened in Antalya Free Zone, specialized in building pleasure yachts.
The method behind this atlas — 196 pp. Not published yet.