Home / Antalya / Routes
İlber Ortaylı's Antalya week, from Termessos to Alanya
Photo: Ingo Mehling / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Historian's route

İlber Ortaylı's Antalya week, from Termessos to Alanya

A week-long trip that starts at the Antalya Museum and runs to Termessos in the mountains, Pisidian Sagalassos, the forgotten towns of Korkuteli and Elmalı, the rock tombs of Myra, the theatre of Aspendos, Side and the Alanya shipyard. We compiled it from the route Prof. Dr. İlber Ortaylı suggested for Antalya in Hürriyet in 2025; we added the timings, breaks and practical notes.

Duration5–7 days (by car)
Walk≈ 850 km by road
Stop8
Tickets0
PD

Kaynak: Prof. Dr. İlber Ortaylı (1947–2026)Hürriyet’teki “Antalya müzesi” yazısında önerdiği bir haftalık geziden derlendi · son kontrol 26 October 2026

This route was compiled by AnatoliaPass editors from the published recommendations of the person named; the timings, breaks and practical notes are ours. It does not mean that the person recommends or endorses AnatoliaPass.

Prof. Dr. İlber Ortaylı (1947–2026)His life, his contribution to Turkish historiography and his worksRead →
The story in 4 parts

A week, staying over and looking closely

Part 1Antalya Museum

On 10 August 2025, Prof. Dr. İlber Ortaylı (1947–2026) devoted his Hürriyet column to the Antalya Museum. Most of the article was about the museum's earthquake safety and its possible renewal. He also asked for the state of the Side Museum to be reconsidered, and for the half-finished restoration of Side's great theatre to be tied to a plan for its use.

Part 2A week-long trip

At the end of the article Ortaylı suggests that his readers tour the region over a week, staying over and looking closely. He counts Myra, Termessos and Sagalassos as parts of the same cultural whole, and adds the Seljuk buildings and surviving caravanserais, and Alanya's shipyard and castle. He praises Aspendos as an extraordinary Roman theatre that is still in use today.

Part 3The forgotten towns

What Ortaylı underlines most is not the coast but the uplands: in his view the buildings and settlements of Korkuteli and Elmalı, going back to the Seljuk period, are always left out of Antalya's cultural tourism, and these towns should be considered together. That's why we gave Elmalı half a day on the route.

Part 4How we built the route

Ortaylı doesn't give an order; he lists places. We arranged them into a loop you can follow by car: from Antalya up into the mountains and Pisidia, from the Teke plateau to the Lycian coast, and from there to Pamphylia and Alanya. We squeezed a week into five days; if you have time, slow down, as Ortaylı said. The timings, driving times and warnings are ours.

1 / 4
Respect guidelines
  • At ancient sites, don't climb on walls, columns, sarcophagi or rock tombs, and don't leave the marked paths.
  • Don't pick up coins, potsherds or worked stone; leave what you find where it is. Don't enter excavation areas or fenced-off places.
  • Termessos and Sagalassos are in the mountains; don't leave the marked paths, bring water and don't walk in the midday heat.
  • At Aspendos on concert and festival days, don't go onto the stage area of the theatre, and follow the staff's instructions on the seating tiers.
  • In villages and bazaars, ask before photographing people, the inside of homes or children.
Make your own version

  1. Day 1 Antalya: the museum and Termessos

  2. 1

    Antalya Museum

    Start: Konyaaltı Caddesi · stay 150 min

    Ortaylı's article is about this museum's earthquake safety and possible renewal; starting your tour of the region here means getting to know, in advance, the finds from the cities you will see later. The statues of emperors and gods from Perge and the sarcophagi of Lycia and Pamphylia show all the layers of the region together; the Weary Herakles statue, whose upper half came back from abroad in 2011, is here too.

    Antalya Museum
    Photo: Dat doris / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

    Renovation and strengthening work may be under way at the museum. Check which galleries are open and the opening hours before you go.

  3. 2

    Termessos

    ≈ 45 min from the museum via the Korkuteli road; ≈ 30 min uphill from the car park to the theatre · stay 150 min

    Ortaylı counts Termessos, along with Myra and Sagalassos, among the important parts of the same cultural whole. The city, on the slopes of Güllük Dağı at more than 1,000 metres, is where Alexander passed by in 333 BC rather than risk a siege; from the theatre on the cliff edge you look out over the Pamphylian plain.

    Termessos
    Photo: Ingo Mehling / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

    The path is rocky and steep; wear sturdy shoes, bring water and don't climb in the midday heat. Check the national park's opening hours before you go.

  4. Day 2 Pisidia: Sagalassos

  5. 3

    Sagalassos

    ≈ 2 hours from Antalya towards Burdur, to Ağlasun · stay 180 min

    The Pisidian city north of the Taurus that Ortaylı counts as part of the same cultural whole. It is built on terraces in front of the mountain at more than 1,500 metres; the Antonine Fountain has been rebuilt and its water flows again. Excavated by Belgian and Turkish archaeologists since 1990, the city is also one of the places Ortaylı suggested in 2017 for the road down from Konya to the Mediterranean.

    Sagalassos
    Photo: Dosseman / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

    Because of the altitude, it can be cool and windy. Check opening hours before you go.

  6. Day 3 The Teke plateau and Lycia: Korkuteli, Elmalı and Myra

  7. 4

    Korkuteli and Elmalı

    Spend the night in Burdur; ≈ 2.5 hours to Elmalı via Korkuteli · stay 150 min

    The gap Ortaylı dwells on most: the Seljuk-era buildings and old settlements of Korkuteli and Elmalı are always left out of Antalya's cultural tourism, and in his view they need to be thought of together. Call in at Korkuteli on the way; in Elmalı, walk the streets of old houses and see the Ömer Paşa Mosque, built at the start of the 17th century. Sit down in town for lunch.

    Korkuteli and Elmalı
    Photo: Elmalili / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5

    Elmalı is on the plateau, a few degrees cooler than the coast; it snows in winter. Check road conditions before you go.

  8. 5

    Myra

    ≈ 1.5 hours from Elmalı to Demre · stay 90 min

    Myra, the Lycian city Ortaylı mentions together with Termessos and Sagalassos. Tombs carved into the sheer rock face in the form of house façades, and the Roman theatre just below; the church in Demre of St Nicholas, better known as Father Christmas, is also just a few minutes away.

    Myra
    Photo: Saffron Blaze / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

    In the midday heat the area in front of the rock tombs gets very hot; bring a hat and water. Check opening hours before you go.

  9. Day 4 Pamphylia: Aspendos and Side

  10. 6

    Aspendos

    From Demre along the coast road to Antalya; the next morning, ≈ 45 min to Serik · stay 90 min

    Ortaylı praises Aspendos as an extraordinary Roman theatre that is still in use today. Built in the 2nd century by the architect Zenon, it is one of the best-preserved ancient theatres, with its stage building still standing; an opera and ballet festival is held here in summer. In the city on the hill, see the remains of the aqueducts too.

    Aspendos
    Photo: Lee Vilenski / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

    Summer middays are very hot; go early in the morning. Check opening hours and the festival programme before you go.

  11. 7

    Side Museum and the ancient theatre

    ≈ 40 min from Aspendos · stay 120 min

    In Side, Ortaylı asks for two things: that the state of the museum, which holds great works of the Hellenistic and Roman periods, be reconsidered, and that the still unfinished restoration of the great theatre be tied to a plan. Visit the museum, housed in a Roman bath, then walk to the theatre beside it and the Temple of Apollo at the tip of the harbour; head down to the harbour for lunch.

    Side Museum and the ancient theatre
    Photo: Dosseman / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

    The road through the ancient city gets very crowded in the summer months. Check whether the museum and the theatre are open before you go.

  12. Day 5 Alanya: the shipyard and the castle

  13. 8

    Alanya Shipyard and the Red Tower

    ≈ 1 hour from Side to Alanya · stay 150 min

    The last stop Ortaylı adds to this trip is Alanya's shipyard and castle. The five-bay shipyard Alaeddin Keykubad had built in 1228 is one of the few shipyards to survive from the Middle Ages; you walk along the shore from the Red Tower to the shipyard, then climb up to the castle.

    Alanya Shipyard and the Red Tower
    Photo: David Bolton / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

    The shipyard is reached along a rocky shore path or by boat. Check the Red Tower and shipyard opening hours before you go.

One more day? Bursa.

Outside Istanbul

≈ 2 h 15 min · fast ferry + bus · Day trip

Why here: The first Ottoman capital. The Green Mosque, the Grand Mosque and Koza Han make an easy day trip; we suggest it if you are staying in Istanbul for more than four days. Not part of this route.

See on the map

What walkers say

Travellers who check in on this route can rate it. No one else can.

Ask the community

No ratings yet

Be one of the first travellers to walk this route. If you have a question or a tip, share it with the community.

After walking the route you can rate it using the check-in in the app. Reviews go live after a short check.

Other routes

The next day

All routes
On sale soon

We will let you know when sales open

We are finishing our payment setup. Leave your email and we will send you a single message on the day ticket sales open.