Antalya Kaleiçi

Kaleiçi is the old core of Antalya, enclosed by Hellenistic, Roman and Ottoman walls and built around a horseshoe harbour that was the city's port from antiquity until the modern one was built west of town. Inside is a dense grid of narrow lanes with restored Ottoman houses - timber upper storeys jettied over stone ground floors, courtyards with orange trees - now largely converted into boutique hotels, restaurants and shops. The landmarks are the Yivli Minare, a thirteenth-century Seljuk minaret in fluted brick that is the city's emblem, the Kesik Minare or broken minaret, a building that has been a Roman temple, a Byzantine church and a mosque in turn, the Hıdırlık Tower on the cliff edge, and Hadrian's Gate on the landward side. The harbour below is now a marina with boat trips, and the cliffs east and west give views along the Beydağları coast.

What you actually see

• The Yivli Minare - the fluted Seljuk minaret over the old town.
• The Roman harbour - the horseshoe port below the walls.
• The Ottoman lanes - restored houses and courtyards.
• Hıdırlık Tower - the cliff-edge tower and the coast view.

When to go

April to June and September to November. Mornings and evenings; the lanes are hot and crowded at midday in season, and Antalya summers are severe.

Honest expectations

Almost everything inside the walls is now a hotel, restaurant or shop - it is a preserved district serving tourism rather than a lived-in quarter. Lanes are steep cobbles and confusing. Harbour prices are high.

Nearby

Hadrian's Gate is on the landward wall; Konyaaltı beach is west and the Antalya Museum beyond it.