Ephesus Tours
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Private Day Tours
    • Istanbul Tours
      • Full Day Bosphorus Tours
      • Istanbul by Night: Turkish Dinner and Show
      • Half Day Classical Istanbul Tours
      • Full Day Private Istanbul Tours
      • Half Day Topkapi Palace Tours
      • Half Day Dolmabahce Palace Tours
      • Half Day Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace Tours
      • Istanbul Tours for Disabled
      • Half Day Istanbul Archeology Tours
      • Jewish Heritage Tours in Istanbul
      • Istanbul Shopping Tours
    • Ephesus Tours
      • Ephesus Tours From Izmir Port
      • Half Day Ephesus Tours
      • Full Day Ephesus Tours
      • Deluxe Half Day Ephesus Tours
      • Deluxe Full Day Ephesus Tours
      • Ephesus Tours From Istanbul
      • Ephesus and House of Virgin Mary Tours
      • Ephesus Tours for Disabled
      • Ephesus and Terrace Houses Tours
      • Ephesus and Kirazli Village Tours
      • Ephesus Tours From Cappadocia
      • Ephesus Tours From Antalya
      • Tandem Sky Diving at Ephesus
      • Microflight Tour Over Ephesus
      • Ephesus and Sirince Village Tours
      • Ephesus Tours From Kusadasi
      • Taxi from Kusadasi port to Ephesus
      • We Guarantee the Lowest Price on Private Ephesus Tours!
    • Cappadocia Tours
      • Cappadocia Hot Air Balloon Tours
      • North Cappadocia Tours and Goreme Museum
      • South Cappadocia and Kaymakli Underground City Tours
      • Whirling Dervishes Ceremony in Cappadocia
      • Turkish Night Entertainment Show in Cappadocia
      • Cappadocia Tours From Istanbul
      • Cappadocia Turkish Bath (Hammam)
      • Cappadocia Horse Riding Tours
      • Cappadocia Trekking Tours
      • Nemrut Tours From Cappadocia
      • Cappadocia Mountain Biking Tours
      • Ihlara Canyon and Derinkuyu Underground City tours
    • Biblical Tours in Turkey
      • In The Footsteps of St Paul
      • Seven Churches of Revelation Tours
      • Jewish Heritage Tour in Turkey
      • Seven Churches and St. Nicholas
      • Early Churches of St. Paul and St. John
      • Seven Churches and Cave of Abraham
  • Private DMC
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Sitemap
Ephesus Tours Istanbul Tours Cappadocia Tours Biblical Tours Kusadasi Transfers

Attalia (Antalya)

Home → Ancient Cities of Turkey → Attalia (Antalya)

VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
please wait...
Rating: 5.0/5 (1058 votes cast)

The area of Attalia (modern Antalya) is one of the most beautiful in all Turkey. It sits on sheer cliffs above the blue Mediterranean with a green plateau stretching behind the city to magnificent pine forests. To the west great mountains rise straight out of the sea.

The city was founded in the second century B.C. by Attalus II, the king of Pergamon, and was named for him. It replaced Side as the main port for the area. Side has always been exposed to all the storms on the Mediterranean; safe entrance to it was the occasion for great rejoicing both by those on board ship and those on land. Thus Attalia quickly became the commercial center of the Gulf as it had the better natural harbor.

Plutarch, in telling about Pompey’s campaign against the Cilician pirates in the first century B.C., reports that the pirates observed certain secret rites including those of Mithras in Olympus just west of Attalia on the Gulf. This fire worship may well have been in connection with the natural fire known as the Chimera that has burned on a hillside there for centuries and is still visible at night from the sea.

Attalia is not named when Paul and Barnabas and Barnabas’s cousin, John Mark, went from Paphos to Perga on their first journey (Acts 13:13), but either Side or Attalia would have been possible ports. Or they may have sailed straight to the Perga wharf on the Cestrus (Aksu River). On their way back from Iconium they came through Perga and sailed from Attalia to Antioch. No other mention is made of Attalia in the Bible, nor is there any comment about Paul’s missionary work there.

Some evidences of early Christianity are still to be seen in Antalya. The archeological museum in the city formerly was in the ruins of the thirteenth century Sel-cuk mosque of Ala-ud-din Kaikubad I. (It now has moved to a new building.) In common with many other buildings around the Mediterranean the mosque was previously a Byzantine basilica built in the seventh century A.D. using second century B.C. materials. The museum houses some sarcophagi from Perga and a casket of bones reputed to be those of St. Nicholas (see the comments under Myra). Both the Great Mosque (Ulu Cami) and Kesik Minare Mosque were Byzantine basilicas also. The latter was the fifth century Church of the Panaghia and was decorated with finely carved marble.

VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: +1113 (from 1113 votes)
Attalia (Antalya), 100% based on 1113 ratings
By LETO on July 5, 1999   /   Ancient Cities of Turkey, Biblical Sites in Turkey, Cities in Turkey, Must-See Places in Turkey   /   Leave a comment
Tags: antalya, attalia turkey
Add New Reviews
Click here to cancel reply.

Travel Turkey / Blog

  • Ancient Cities of Turkey
  • Biblical Sites in Turkey
  • Biblical Turkey
  • Byzantine & Ottoman Relics
  • Cappadocia
  • Churches in Turkey
  • Cities in Turkey
  • Gallipoli
  • Istanbul
  • Map of Turkey
  • Mosques in Turkey
  • Must-See Places in Turkey
  • Turkey Travel Blogs
ephesus tours

The big tip is to try and go completely private. Many of the large tour companies offer private tour and they are going to charge a significant amount of money for the tour guide. However, many locations offer self-guided tours and therefore you have the ability to supply your own tour guide. Easily Book your guided private Ephesus tours, to see all the treasures of Ephesus Turkey. It's often said that Turkey has more ancient cities and classical ruins than does Greece. Well, it's true, and the Aegean coast holds a great number of sites, including Ephesus, the grandest and best-preserved of them all.

ephesustoursguide.com © 2013-2017 All Rights Reserved
Back to Top