Still some way off the beaten tourist track, these two attractions, featuring some of Turkey’s finest landscapes and a huge slice of ancient history, make a worthy day trip from the west of the famous Antalya region.
There are few restaurants on your route so this trip provides the perfect chance to enjoy a picnic in the hills. There is lots of fresh fruit and vegetables plus delicious roast chicken and fresh bread in the local markets, or you can head to the huge hypermarket in the Migros Shopping Centre in Antalya
You need to head inland towards Burdur before turning left towards Korkuteli after about 10 km (6 miles). The entrance to the Termessos site is on the left after about 15 km (9 miles). It is also signposted Gulluk Dagi Milli Parki (Gulluk Mountain National Park). From the ticket office the approach road leads another 9 km (5 miles) through some wonderful Mediterranean scenery to the small car park at the base of the site.
34 km (21 miles) northwest of Antalya; there are a few picnic tables close to the Termessos ticket office, which also has a small museum with a few finds and botanical information about the park. It can be worth having lunch before moving on.
TERMESSOS
The most dramatically sited ancient city along the Turkish coast, the ruins of ancient Termessos sit 1,000 m (3,281 ft) high in Gulluk Dagi (Gu11uk Mountain Range), among granite crags and dense pine forest with magnificent views down to the coast in the south. Even in ancient times, Termessos was hard to reach, and so well sited for defensive purposes that even Alexander the Great could not conquer it. Termessos was built and populated by the Pisidians, who came from the central Anatolian plains. The remote location and impressive defences were two of the reasons why Alexander could not take the city during his campaign in 333 bc; another was the population, who spent the next couple of hundred years attacking the cities of the Lycian coast. Later they made a living extracting customs money from traders who had to take this route through the mountains from the coast to central Turkey. They also signed an accord with the Romans that allowed them to keep their independence within the empire. The city was abandoned after an earthquake in the 3rd century ad and never resettled. Termessos has never been excavated, and its remains are only kept clear of vegetation by the constant stream of visitors, but do take care because there are no fences or other safety precautions at the site.
