+90 242 725 40 01 SPECIAL OFFER RESERVATION HOTEL+FLIGHT ACCOMMODATION FOOD BEVERAGE ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN SERVICES GALLERY VIDEO AWARDS CONTACT BELEK History Belek is a holiday paradise the shores of the Mediterranean surrounded by unique pine forests. Belek’s natural beauty and tourism potential was first recognised in 1984 and was designated ‘Belek Tourism Centre’. Collaboration between the Belek Tourism Investors Association and the Ministry of Tourism has resulted in Belek becoming the tourism paradise it is today. Belek is located on the Mediterranean coast 30 km east of Antalya. The region has been chosen by the Ministry of Tourism to be used to create a model to cater to the needs of tourists not only for now but for the next thousand years. The region has a total of 32 four and five star hotels, first class holiday villages and 5 golf clubs. All are first class establishments and are perfect for family holidays. The services and facilities are provided to the highest possible standard to meet the needs of even the most demanding guests. All offer floodlit tennis courts, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, fully equipped health and fitness centres, play areas and much more. Historical Sites & Cities ASPENDOS Aspendos or Belkis, which is famous for its amphitheatre, is located near Serik, a town in the province of Antalya. Aspendos which is situated 8 km east of Serik on a plain of the River Eurymedon’s mountainous region was founded in the 10th century BC by the Achaeans and was one of the most prosperous cities of ancient times. The theatre was built in the 2nd century AD by the Romans. The city was built on two hills one large and one small. The geographer Strabon and Pamponrus Mela both wrote that the city was founded by the Argives. The name Aspendos predates the Greek migration to southern Anatolia in about 1200 BC and is Anatolian in origin. As it was on an important trade route and linked to the sea by the River Eurymedon, many attempts were made to conquer Aspendos throughout the ages. The theatre is the most important building in Aspendos. It is the best preserved open-air ancient amphitheatre in Anatolia. It is the best and oldest example of Roman theatres in Anatolia that is still in use today. It was designed by Zenon the son of Theodorus of Aspendos. Building began in the reign of Antonius Piu and completed in the reign of Marcus Aurelius (138-164 AD). The theatre was dedicated to local gods and the Emperor’s family. The theatre is visited by thousands of tourists every year and until recently was used for concerts and other productions until a few years ago. Here is a little story about Aspendos theatre. The king of Aspendos at the time had a beautiful daughter and who had many suitors. The king couldn’t decide between them so he made a public announcement: I will give my daughter’s hand in marriage to the man who builds the most useful and most beautiful edifice for our city. Two twin brothers who both wanted to marry the princess built the most impressive edifices. One was an aqueduct, kilometres long and built using very complex geometric calculations. The other built a theatre with excellent acoustics. From the highest seats you could hear a penny drop in the orchestra. The architect of the theatre was Zenon. The king first visited the aqueduct and decided to give his daughter’s hand to its builder. Then he visited the theatre and was so impressed by the acoustics that he decided to give his daughter’s hand to the brother who built it. He could not decide between the brothers so he took a sword and cut his daughter in two and gave half to each brother. DÜDEN WATERFALL Düden Waterfall is about 10 km from Antalya city centre. The waterfall is on the river Düden and the Kepez Hydroelectric power plant is built on it. The river divides in two. The Upper Düden Waterfall which is more impressive is near Varsak. It is also known as the Alexander Waterfall as Alexander the Great is said to have watered his horses here when he conquered Anatolia in 334-333 BC.The Lower Düden Waterfall or Karpuzkaldıran Waterfall as it’s also called is in Lara about 8 km from the city centre. Here the water falls 40 m into the Mediterranean Sea. Gençlik Park and the Karpuzkaldıran Military Base are nearby. KURŞUNLU WATERFALL Kurşunlu Waterfall is reached by turning left after 24 km on the Antalya Isparta road and continuing for a further 7 km. In the main waterfall the water falls from a height of 18 m and there are other little waterfalls and 7 small lakes all linked together. Kurşunlu Waterfall is situated in a 2 km long canyon. In 1986 it was turned into a park and opened to the public. The waterfall and picnic area cover a 33 hectare site. The picnic area has a viewing terrace, a playground, a restaurant, a car park, footpaths, drinking water and toilets. Transport is provided by municipal busses (number 79) and minibuses (numbers 230 & 231). Busses leave the city centre every hour on the hour. Kurşunlu Waterfall is within the Antalya city limits and is 22km from the city centre. Turn north at the Soğucaksu Bridge on the Antalya Aksu road and continue for 7 km. Features: In 1991, a 394 hectare site was designated a Nature Park because of the importance and beauty of natural landscape with its healthy forest, rich plant life, the naturally occurring water and interesting stone formations. Most of the forest is composed of red pine with small groups of eastern plane, laurel, carob, wild olive, mastic, willow and fig trees. Lower down the ground is covered in myrtle, hawthorn, oleander, blackberry, wild rose, Japanese cactus, tamarisk, spruce, kermes oak, thyme, wild mint, beech trees, bracken and ivy. The plants living on the water include buckthorn, water mint and bamboo with a rich flora in the water including blue green algae and water lilies and lotus. The fauna include wild boar, fox, rabbit squirrels, bats, hoopoe, woodpecker, stock dove, carp, water turtles, dogs, snakes, and lizards. The best months to visit the park are April to December. It is a perfect spot for picnics and nature walks. There are restaurants to meet the needs of visitors who don’t bring a picnic. PERGE Perge is an ancient city located 18km east of Antalya within the boundaries of present day Aksu. In the 12th century BC there was a large wave of Greeks migration from northern to southern Anatolia. These Greek migrants settled in an area to the east of modern day Antalya and called their new home Pamphylia which means ‘the land of all tribes’ in Greek. Perge, which played a major role in the trade route between Cilicia and Pisidia became an important Pamphylian city. The city was built inland to protect it from pirate raids which were very prevalent at the time. The city was founded in the 7th century BC the same time as most other Pamphylian cities. Artemis was the main God worshipped in Perge but it was also an important city for early Christians and was visited by St. Paul and St. Barnabas. Many great monuments in Perge were sponsored by the rich people like Magna Plancia. It was first excavated in 1946 by Istanbul University and its important ruins are listed below. Theatre: The theatre is made up of three main parts the orchestra, the stage and the gallery and can seat an audience of 12,000. There are 19 tiers of seats in the lower and 23 tiers in the upper gallery. Stadium: It is 34 metres squared and is built on a series of vaults with thirteen tiers of seating. There are thirty vaults each on the east and west sides, with ten vaults on the north. One vault in three was used as an entrance and the others were shops. Agora: The agora was the commercial and political centre of the city. The central courtyard is surrounded by shop, some of which still have mosaic floors. There is a circular edifice 13.4 m in diameter in the centre of the agora and its total area is 76 metres squared. Colonnaded Street: It stretches from the Acropolis to the nympheum, divided in two by a 2 m wide water canal. Other important remains include the necropolis, walls, gymnasium, baths, fountains and gates. TERMESSOS Termessos is Turkey’s best preserved ancient city. It is located 30 km to the north-west of Antalya on the Korkuteli road. It was founded on a natural platform on top of Güllük Mountain at a soaring to a height of 1,665 m above sea-level. The surrounding travertine mountains reach an average height of only 200 m. Termessos is surrounded by a multitude of wild plants and dense pine forests and the peacefulness and untouched appearance makes it much more impressive and enchanting than other ancient sites. The natural and historical riches of the area are protected as the Termessos National Park. The double ‘s’ in the name is grammatical proof that the city was founded by people from Anatolia. According to Strabo the inhabitants of Termessos were Pisidian and called themselves Slymi. They gave their mountain the same name which was derived from the Anatolian God Solymeus who later became indentified with Zeus, giving rise to the cult of Zeus Solymeus. This God was usually depicted on coins minted in Termessos and the coins were called after him. There are restaurants at the historical sites and museums at the dates given above. However if you require a lunch box please ask at reception before 18.00 on the day before your trip. For further details please contact our guest relations or front desk staff. SPECIAL OFFER BELEK NEWS HUMAN RESOURCES AGENCY 360 ° TOUR FACT SHEET PARTNERS