The city of Antalya is one of he most important tourist centers in Turkey. During the excavations, artifacts dating far back to the Paleolithic Age were found in the Karain cave to the northwest of the town. The area was ruled by the Hittites between 1900 and 1200 B.C. The independent city states of Pamphilla, Lycia and Cilicia were sovereign till the Phrygians. Dominated by the Lydians for a while the province was invaded by the Persians in the 6th century B.C.
The Persian domination came to an end with the arrival of Alexander the Great and after his death, his generals ruled the area. Antalya, named after the Pergamum King Attalos II. became a district of the Roman Empire in 67 B.C. The city was conqered by the Seldjuk Turks in 1805. After a short interval of Byzantine rule, Antalya became an Ottoman province in 1426. Between 1919 and 1921, the city was under Italian occupation. During the crusades the knights set sail from Antalya on their way to Palestine. As the new city of Antalya extends over the ancient site, there is not much left of the ancient Attaleia. The Kocaali Park, Yivli Minare, Hadrian’s Gate and the outstanding Museum of Archeology as well as Kaleici or the inner citadel are the greater attractions in the town.
A fine example of the Seldjuk architecture, Yivli Minare is the symbol of Antalya. The brick minaret sits on a square base and is decorated with mosaic shaped blue stones and tiles. The 45 meter high minaret was built as an additional part of the structure next to it, an old Byzantine church that was converted into a mosque by the Seldjuk Sultan Alaeddin Keykubat. The Seldjuk mosque seen today was built in the 14th century over the ruins of the church.
The Museum of Archeology
One of the best museum in Turkey; several Prehistoric objects and a large variety Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine artifacts ( as well as Seldjuk and Ottoman relics) are on display in the chronological order.
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