Our first stop from Antalya to Cappadocia was a charming town at the foot of the Taurus Mountains with a lovely beach and cozy marina. Being there for a few days, we didn’t just want to lie on the beach but preferred to stroll along the coast.
Antalya to Cappadocia
A mound could be seen from Antalya’s marina, while the beach was on the opposite side. I read somewhere that the famous Ataturk Park stretches in the middle.
The park is located on the hill’s rocky outcrops, and the view from there is amazing. Because of the height, expect a steady breeze. Look up, and you’ll see a few paragliders soaring above. There are nice alleys along the way, green areas, flowers of all kinds, even a few improvised springs, and wooden bridges.
If you are just passing through from Antalya to Cappadocia, take a walk through here. You can find benches to sit on and enjoy the view. But if it’s too appealing—and believe me, it is—there is a wide range of restaurants and cafes where you can take a break.
Enjoying the view from one of the cafes in Antalya, we got a table, ordered lunch, and waited… and waited… and waited. Turkish families with numerous members were pouring in, moving tables around, being noisy and cheerful (obviously on holiday), and the waiter couldn’t manage to be everywhere at the same time.
Antalya to Cappadocia :: A Busy Lunch
The weather was great, warm, with that breeze—and the tables were laid out in the shade of a pine tree. It wasn’t quiet because of those group lunches, but we didn’t mind. It was interesting to see how they were all drinking hot tea in this warm weather, while we were craving cold water.
Then, at last, the waiter got to our table. He brought bread while we were waiting for the meal to be ready. The basket was full, as the whole loaf had been sliced and placed in it.
“We’re not expecting any more company,” I smiled, looking at that laden basket.
“Oh no, that’s just for you. You can never have enough bread!” he said.
I glanced around at the other tables—he was right, all the baskets were loaded. Don’t even get me started on the amount of bread included in Turkish families’ lunches… It will happen every time you have lunch when traveling from Antalya to Cappadocia.
Next: THINGS TO DO IN ANTALYA
The full Cappadocia SERIES
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It looks delightful. Surely no hardship to wait in such a place!
Oh sure, too pleasant and too interesting to even bother with that lunch being late for 20 or 30 minutes. 🙂
Antalya is magic! I visited it in a very hot summer more than 5 years ago but really enoyed every minute of it. Thank you for bringing such nice memories with this super fresh post! 🙂
Enjoyed my time in Antalya too, even though didn’t spend more than two or three days there. It was just “on the way”. 🙂
I’ve been planning to go to Turkey for several years and for one thing or another we did never go. Now with the political situation of the country I’m a little renitent of traveling there. But it really looks great!
Oh, I know the feeling. I’ve “rushed” to Syria once and was lucky enough to see the country before all this insanity happened. Will post it in couple of months. 🙂 As for Turkey, vast country with a lot of things to see!
You described the scenery so nicely! Now I am craving some bread!
Hehehe, that’s a real compliment, thanks! 😀
I haven’t been there, but i want it so much 🙂 Antalya seems to be an amazing place
It is, you can swim and relax, and than go site-seeing, that’s why I’ve enjoyed it. 🙂
I really wish we had visited a few years ago when the political climate was kinder
Hope there’ll be another chance, “a next time”, fingers crossed
Good morning. I was reading the comments and got upset because there are some people who want to see my country but hesitate due to the political situation. Yes, the situation in my beautiful and lonely country is saddening for many of us, the citizens, but I don’t think it has something to do with visitors. And because there are very few tourists, people working in tourism are suffering economically and so many shops and hotels are closed one by one, so I am afraid there might not be a next time to visit the country. OK, I don’t want to sound too hopeless, sorry for that, but I am a traveller myself too, and have been to many other places around the world and have been living in Antalya for three years just because I think it’s the most beautiful place on earth (as Ataturk said), and live this city to full, and has never experienced any danger for tourists other than bad traffic and stuff where you can see anywhere in the world. Fear of terror and economic situations are different issues, but politics shouldn’t stop one I guess. Gotten too long, sorry. I am writing this only because I felt sad for those who want to see Antalya, not another reason. I don’t like crowd, especially places full of families with numerous number of families, so always find places where I can enjoy the silence and beauty.
I am sorry, I wrote too much I guess, but I have just come across your blog and this is the first post I have read. I love talking to locals when I visit a country, so thought you might like to hear some of the stuff from a local too. I haven’t seen the rest of your blog yet, but I hope you had a chance to see some real beautiful places in and around Antalya. Have a great day.
It is a bit long, but don’t worry. I would be upset if I were you, it’s understandable! Love your country, I’ve traveled to different regions and towns there, and can only recommend it to other travelers. Guess that people are not concerned about politics, but about their own safety. Thank you for sharing this! Hope most people would begin to see it differently, best of luck to you and Turkey! 🙂
Thanks 🙂
I actually live in Istanbul now and I haven’t yet gotten to Antalya, but you’ve convinced me that I need to get this spring!
Very nice town, you’ll see. And do share your impressions when you get there! 😉