A purr(fect) guide to finding joy & losing stress in the cobbled streets of Kaleiçi, Antalya

About three weeks prior to our trip to Antalya, Turkey, my husband and I caught Covid. For the first time ever. While we recovered and tested negative, we still felt drained. What would we do in Antalya, I wondered. Would we just eat and sleep in our hotel room?

Turns out that I couldn’t be further from the truth. We clocked up 100,000 plus steps during our one week stay in Antalya. We explored the Old Town (also known as Kaleiçi), went on a day trip to take in the ancient Roman sites at Perge, Aspendos and Side, took a cable car ride atop the Tunektepe mountain, walked to the Roman Harbour and Keçili Park numerous times to catch sunsets.

What was it about Antalya that gave us this boost of energy? Did we owe it to the fresh juices (orange, pomegranate, apple, watermelon and many more) available at every nook and corner of the city and which were relished gratefully for each day of our trip? Or was it about the vibrant streets that reminded me so much of India? Think simit sellers with their neat piles of sesame-coated Turkish bagels, vendors with trays full of fresh mussels stuffed with rice, served with a dash of olive oil and a slice of juicy lime, as well as carts filled with aromatic roasted chestnuts, kebabs, breads and savoury pastries. You could also attribute it to Antalya’s dessert parlours that stayed open till late in the night with locals and tourists lining up for hot pistachio and chocolate flavoured helwa, or a serving of firin sütlac, which is a Turkish rice pudding served in a clay dish. Perhaps our rejuvenation was in large part because of the Turkish food. It was so reasonable, plentiful and flavoursome that I was constantly reminded of India and my heart was filled with joy. In fact, it could be all of the above and the fact that two friends from Reading, United Kingdom joined us on our trip, and their plans were kept as a closely guarded secret between them and my husband, so as to give me a delightful surprise!

This was our second trip to Turkey. In 2019, our trip to Turkey focussed on Istanbul and Cappadocia. We loved our time there and what influenced our decision to make a second trip was the fact that Turkey is a large and diverse country, and you cannot ‘do Turkey’ in one trip. The other deciding factor was that Turkey has a very easy online visa application process – a boon to people like us, who retain their Indian passports. Talking of things Indian, I have to be honest here – similar to what you encounter in India, you will come across many regions in Turkey, including Antalya where public spaces, historical monuments, and places of natural beauty are strewn with rubbish. It really hurts to see this apathy and I wonder if as tourists, we are adding to that problem.

Keeping that feeling aside, this second trip acted like a balm and a tonic to us, reinforcing our belief that we made the right choice in choosing Turkey. We landed in the evening, and my first squeal of delight came from the golden orbs of sunshine dangling from numerous trees – our hotel’s garden was full of orange trees! That was something that would continue to delight me, not just the orange trees that I found in the hotel garden, but also those that I found lining the streets, courtyards and market squares.

Over the next few days, several things continued to delight us, and while I may do separate pieces on some of them, including must-do day trips from Antalya and more, here is a quick little round-up on places, people, and experiences that brought us much joy.

1: The cats of Antalya, and a dog named Shiela

Antalya, and for that matter, Turkey, is full of gorgeous cats and kittens. You will find them waiting at döner joints, eager for a scrap of meat. You will also find them at shops, offices, hotels, mosques, historical monuments and just about everywhere. Our hotel had both cats and dogs and was in fact, a foster home to a very gentle dog called Shiela. We never walked past her without giving her a hug and a pat and so did most guests. Some of the cats were very friendly, as you can see in the photographs below. They have a method. They look you up and down, make a quick judgement call and promptly hop on to your laps for a cuddle and a pamper! Sometimes, even a hour-long nap!

2: Exploring the old town of Kaleiçi

You can wander about Kaleiçi as many times as you want and never get bored. Our hotel was right next to the grand ruin of Hadrian’s Gate, built in 130CE to commemorate the visit of Roman emperor Hadrian and we would walk past it every day. We took leisurely strolls to take in the cobble-stoned pathways, distinctive windows, Ottoman era houses, a small museum, shops overflowing with Turkish pottery, tiles, ornaments and souvenirs as also the landmarks in the vicinity. The landmarks included a 19th Century clock tower – which, unfortunately was undergoing renovations but a glimpse of the heritage/vintage tram ferrying passengers made up for it. We often took these strolls without any agenda, like two school children who had escaped school and had nothing more to do than enjoy the sights and sounds of the city and its people. For some reason, we felt carefree, as if the past year and what we had been through sort of melted away in those moments.

3: A cable car ride to a dreamy abode in the mountains

There are two cable car rides that you can take – one, is the Tunektepe Teleferik, or Antalya Cable Car ride which offers some spectacular panoramas of Antalya and the Mediterranean Sea. The ride, lasting about 10 or so minutes takes you over 5,000 feet up to the top of Tunektepe mountain. The other cable car ride is the Olympus one. We took the former and it turned out to be one of my best moments – I found a nice chair under a tree, and spent close to half an hour, very contently soaking in the serenity and the views. The sight of the mountains, with some of their tips covered in snow, appeared like ice cream cones dipped in vanilla frosting. I didn’t want to head back down at all, but my husband was hungry for a proper meal, and while I love to sit and soak in the views, he cannot sit still, hungry or not. Well…

4: A day trip to Perge, Aspendos and Side

We haven’t been to Rome, so taking in one of the best preserved Roman theatres in the region, which is at Aspendos was a dream come true. I may have seen photographs of the Roman amphitheatres but being there was a feeling that I can’t quite articulate. I was left speechless as I took it all in. Exploring the 2000-year-old streets and the largest city of Pamphylia in Perge was something right out of dreams. The regal beauty and splendour of Apollo temple at Side, which has been reconstructed, as well as all the ruins and ongoing excavations at Side were also a part of the day trip and I couldn’t have asked for more. It does feel like a lot to take in a day, which it perhaps was, but doing a tour is the best way to cover all these places, unless you are renting a car and doing the driving yourself.

5: Being on the waters, chasing waterfalls with friends

Imagine the sun shining in its full glory, a gentle and benevolent breeze, a silhouette of mountains and having two lovely friends to share it all with. You can catch a 45-minute or a two-hour boat ride from the Roman Harbour at Antalya, and we chose the latter. During those two hours, we took in lovely views, chatted to our heart’s content, and were pleasantly surprised when a rainbow made its presence felt when our boat approached the lower Düden Waterfall.

6: Indulging ourselves in Antalya’s varied and amazing cuisine

If you ever find yourself in Antalya, you should make it a point to try the region’s unique cuisine and it differs from what one finds in Istanbul and Cappadocia. We made certain to find places that were frequented by locals and tried so many different dishes – from mantı (Turkish dumplings), piyaz (a refreshing bean, parsley and egg salad), börek (puff pastry with different fillings – potato, cheese or meat), simit, lavash bread and gözleme.

We would try street food and vendors as well as cafes and restaurants that had some history to them; often family-run establishments that were a part of Antalya’s landscape since several decades and more. We loved tavuk çorba (chicken soup), and the different drinks like raki, ayran, salep (a Turkish winter delicacy). We also loved trying various types of kebabs – tavuk şiş, doner kebab, kofta kebab and veal doner. For dessert, we would go to a dessert shop every night, and sometimes had dessert during lunch – for instance the lovely kabak tatlısı (a pumpkin dessert with loads of tahini). Confession time. At times, something sweet made it to our breakfast as well! A point in case was the kaymak and honey, which is a lovely little dish served for breakfast in Antalya.

But there’s so much more and the list can go on and on. You would need several trips just to sample and enjoy the lovely spread of food found in the region. We had done some research prior to the trip and we tried to visit different cafes, local joints and restaurants for each meal of the day, making certain that we tried at least three different places for each day of our vacation.

7: Lining up for spectacular sunsets, late-night desserts and leisurely walks

We took in a lot of sunsets, walks, leisurely strolls to the harbour and never failed to show up for desserts at the shops that stayed open almost till midnight!

But with the skies crimson, the mountains in seven shades of blue, the air gentle and kind, and the desserts so sweet and cooling, who would have done anything else?

A few things to note/FAQs

What is Antalya like in winter: We travelled in December – the temperatures were in the range of 18 to 22/23 degree Celsius. Most attractions and day trips were easily accessible with a wide range of tour operators offering them at competitive prices. Antalya in winter has the perfect weather to pursue almost anything you want, and is condusive for all kinds of activities. Bonus point – you will have the orange and lemon trees laden with fruits at this time of the year!

What flight can I take to Antalya: Sun Express Airlines operates direct flights from Dublin to Antalya once a week – on Sunday. We took this flight because though it is a budget airline, the flight was a direct one. Really helps in saving flight time though there are also other airlines you could explore, including Air Lingus. But hardly any airlines offer a direct flight to Antalya.

Accommodation and stay: We stayed at a boutique hotel (Casa Sur) in the heart of the Old Town/Kaleiçi, right next to Hadrian’s Gate. I would definitely recommend this hotel. Its courtyard opens up to a beautiful garden – laden with orange, banana, guava and banyan trees. The ancient city walls line the garden, which was also home to two cats and the staff is friendly, welcoming and always up for a chat. They bring you hot cups of Turkish tea without you needing to ask for it, extend this hospitality when your friends come visiting at your hotel, also offer fresh orange juice (from the oranges in the garden) when you are lounging about at the swings. What’s more, the food at their restaurant is artisan, delicious and fresh. I learned so much about Turkish food, culture and much more just by chatting with the staff who also give you great tips about frequenting local cafes and joints. This boutique hotel has so much going on for it, it’s certainly a place where we would stay again.

Public transport: We made good use of Antalya’s public transport, especially its bus network. Easiest way is to buy Antalya Card/AntalyaKart, an access card which allows you to take the network of public buses as well as the trams just about everywhere – we took the bus to head to the Cable Car ride, to waterfalls and parks and it was very cost-effective.

Cash or Card? We would suggest that you withdraw some Turkish Lira as many street vendors and those selling wares on their carts would request cash. A credit or debit card is fine in restaurants, cafes, museums and other larger establishments.

To sum it all up, if you are thinking of visiting Antalya in 2024 – do not hesitate at all. Like us, you will lose your worries, and end up with great memories, and a slightly generous waistline!

Find our experience of Istanbul and Cappadocia captured here. And a love note to Turkey here.