The 7 Sights You Absolutely Must See in Antalya

Myra is an ancient Lycian City sitting in ruins that can be found in the town of Demre. Once the capital of Lycia during Byzantine times, Myra is now well known as a place where St Nicholas lived and carried out many of his good deeds. The ruins that are left are quite impressive and consist of a huge Greco-Roman amphitheater and incredible rock-cut tombs carved into the cliffs. If you do visit, keep an eye out for the Lion's Tomb, also known as the Painted Tomb as it still has 11 life-size figures and gives you a hint of how grand the tomb once was.

Arriving by car to the Akçapınar Neighborhood of Serik, 65 kilometers from Antalya, visitors encounter a hidden paradise at the end of a 1.5-kilometer narrow path. Upper Uçansu which is poured from 70 meters between pine trees and Lower Uçansu waterfalls poured from a height of 51 meters and the natural pool with a depth between 1.5 and 4 meters above the waterfalls are beautiful enough to admire the viewers.

The theatre in Aspendos is considered to be the best-preserved theatre of antiquity. The Roman builders of this structure managed to express the state of ideal balance between the auditorium and the skene building and, what's more, the whole theatre matches perfectly into the landscape.

According to a legend, the construction of this theatre resulted from the competition organised by the ruler of Aspendos. The aim of this competition was to build a structure that will contribute most to the city's prosperity, and the winner was to be awarded the daughter of the ruler. Two competitors qualified to the final round. The first of them constructed the system of canals and aqueducts that supplied Aspendos with running water. The ruler was almost convinced to give him the hand of his daughter but decided to visit the theatre, built by the second competitor, for the last time. When he stood on the highest point of the theatre, suddenly a clear voice whispered directly into his ear: 'Your daughter must be mine!' When he looked around in surprise, he saw the builder of the theatre standing on the scene. The theatre's acoustics impressed the ruler so much that he immediately decided in favour of its builder. The wedding took place, naturally, in the theatre itself.

The theatre was actually built in the 2nd century AD, during the reign of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180 AD), on the basis of the project created by Zeno - a Greek architect born in Aspendos. The Greek and Latin inscriptions which are placed above the entrances to the skene building state that two brothers - Curtius Crispinus and Curtius Auspicatus - dedicated this theatre "to the gods of this country and to the Imperial house".

Archaeological Museum in Antalya is one of the best venues of its kind in Turkey. The exhibits shown here come from the archaeological sites from Antalya Province and make a great addition after visiting these places. The most important sites represented in this museum are: Karain cave, ancient city of Perge and the cities of Lykian civilization.

Both the wealth of museum collections and their presentation in spacious, modern interiors encourage the visitors to can spend many hours in this place. The uniqueness of this institution has also been recognized internationally - in 1988 the Council of Europe awarded it with the Museum of the Year Award.

Göynük Canyon is one of the most beautiful natural wonders from trees, waterfalls and pools for those loving nature sports. Goynuk canyon is 4km away from Goynuk district. Having approximately 4, 5 km track, you can enjoy and go on a hiking and canyoning with daily trips. An important part of Lycian wall passes through Goynuk canyon.Goynuk canyon is also the most suitable camp site available and the place to meet the needs. Through Goynuk canyon, there are natural pools and lagoons. At the end of the track, you can swim in ice cold water or you can climb up the rocks to see the waterfalls.

Natural beauty and history are intertwined here in Delik Deniz and Kral Bay. It is located on the left side of the castle located in the Nohut Yeri locality of Güneyköy Village. The coves are reached by passing through the Ancient City of Antiochia Ad Cragum. The coves are among the ruins of the same city on the coastal part.

Altinbesik Cave National Park is located within Antalya province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. Altinbesik Cave and its surroundings have been declared as a national park in 1994.
There are cedar, juniper, red-headed tree species and many kinds of flower spreading in and around the national park. Also, there are no remarkable animal communities in the area. However, you can find the wild animals such as wild boar, fox, wolf and wild goats.
The water system of the Altinbesik Cave is one of the world's longest and biggest carstic system. The first 200 m from the entrance of the cave forms a sub level cave and this level always is under the water. At the last 40 m of the lower level there is a steep exit covered with white travertine. This part forms the most beautiful section of the cave.