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Before Antalya became one of Turkey’s top summer resort towns, it was the ancient city of Attalia, founded during the Hellenistic period.
Until the 1950s, the word Antalya was understood as only one part of today’s city, Kaleiçi.
The city was confined within its walls and used to be an important harbor. Kaleiçi is the old town harbor and historic city center of Antalya, The name ‘Kaleiçi’ literally means “inside of a castle” which gives a hint about how the city is confined within its walls.
The region has hosted Pergamon Kingdom, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman periods respectively. Kaleiçi was conquered at the beginning of the 13th century by Seljuk Sultan Gıyaseddin Keyhüsrev.
The region came under the domination of the Ottoman Empire after the 14th century. At the beginning of the 16th century, especially following the conquest of Egypt in 1517, the Ottomans gained dominance within the Eastern Mediterranean and the old town and harbor lost
part of their significance.
Apart from the Italian invasion followed by a short period of occupation between the years 1919 and 1921, Antalya remained under Turkish rule.
Kaleici has narrow cobblestoned streets to admire the Ottoman-era houses, many of which have been restored and turned into small hotels. Lately, the mayor had carried out works for Kaleici to enter the World Heritage List. In the last 4 years, Kaleici festival began to be organized.
The greatest human-caused damage at the site occurred with the demolition of most of the fortifications in a process that started at the end of the 19th century and continued until the 1940s.
Modern urbanization starting in the second half of the 20th century caused Kaleiçi to rapidly lost its historical character.
Kaleiçi had a very cosmopolitan structure where people live din harmony, even if they have different beliefs.
Back then people had lived in big families in Old Town. Some of the houses are slowly failing into ruins because in order for the restoration to be carried out, signatures from all heirs of the house was needed and it is a bit complicated.
hadrianus
gate
Also known as “The 3 Gates” which you may see from
our terrace, is one of the well-preserved monuments in
Antalya. It was originally built to commemorate Roman
Emperor Hadrian’s visit to Attaleia way back to 130 AD
and has become a major gateway to the city.
In 133 BC, Attalus III, the last king of Pergamum,
bequeathed all his possessions, including Attaleia, to the
Romans. It is known that the city reached the peak of its
prosperity as an important trade centre in the 2nd
century and enhanced with new monuments.
The only remaining entrance gate in the walls that surround the city and harbor
The southern tower is from the Roman Era and the northern tower was rebuilt during the Seljuk Period.
The gate had a higher level, but it must have been destroyed in the 19th century. It is believed to have held statues of the emperor and his family.
The monument was built of white marble, with the exception of granite columns. There is a fancy cornice with lion heads and a frieze decorated with floral motifs which, back then, was a showcase of the flower varieties grown in the Pamphylia region.