Driving from the airport to my hotel in Antalya went through the worst kind of suburban sprawl such as you see in the USA. It was hard to distinguish this as a Turkish city. Strip mall after strip mall, car dealerships, IKEA, outlet malls, etc.
When we got close to the hotel, it became more of a typical seaside resort city: hotels, touristy shops, banks, retaurants, etc.
And then when I walked inside the city walls and got to explore the Old Town, Antalya became something completely different: quaint narrow winding streets, lots of restaurants and bars, shops, and buildings that seemed to belong to a completely different world from the one on the other side of the wall.
That’s the two sides of Antalya: the ridiculous and the sublime.
I’m too tired after the early start to catch my flight from Izmir this morning, so I’m not going to describe my day in any detail. Here’s what I did:
- Had breakfast at the hotel
- Did some walking
- Got a haircut and shave from a traditional Turkish barber
- Sat by the hotel pool for a bit and tried to go in for a swim, but found the water too cold
- Did some more walking
- Had lunch
- Had an ice cream
- Went for a Turkish bath
- Relaxed for a bit
- Went on a walking tour of the Old Town
- Ate dinner
That’s pretty much the day. Enjoy the photos.
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