Antalya Local Customs

I traveled to antalya in august 2007.I was lucky because the celebrating of victory of turkey against Greece (zafar bairami) was in days that I was there .I watch fire game in the city park near Lara beach. The young girl singer (Hande yener) was singing alone: Romeo, Romeo!
peoples are dancing and singing with her. Some of neighbors was bringing plastic chairs from homes and sitting around park. I spend happy times about 3 hour's.
In the beach park I found Latin dance festivals with some youth and teens dances: salsa and tango and some other kinds. Some of dancers were from Russia. I saw Russians and eastern Europeans are in large amounts in turkey. In the aqua park I saw some the dancer girls that are master stroking in the stage!

Goods are still carried on camels in this environment."Yorük" clans(large moving families with blood-connection according to the climate or migratory groups in the south of Turkey) move up the mountain tops in summer,and to the seaside in winter and for this migration they use camels.

Antalya is a province of festivals.The three most important being the Aspendos Opera and Ballet Festival and the new highly successful jazz festival which takes place each year in June.
The Golden Orange short Film Festival and International Film Festival is held throughout October.
Aspendos is unique in Turkey,combining as it does a feast of music with the natural beauty of the immediate sorroundings and man-made magnificence of the Aspendos Theatre.This best preserved Roman amphitheatre in Turkey was used in the 13th century as a Seljuk palace.
Organised by Turkish State Opera and Ballet,this festival is now in its 7-8 years and ttracts large numbers of Turks and holidaymakers from all over the world.
I had been 2 times there for some concerts- I listened to JOSE CARRERAS AND MONTSERRAT CABELLE..lucky me:-)

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Turkish crafts include;the world renowned hand made carpets,kilims also brilliant hand painted ceramics,copper,brassware and ornate Meerschaum pipes make charming souvenirs and ifts.
Gold,leather and suede goods of excellent quality make a relatively inexpensive purchase.
At busy street markets you can find an astonishing assortment of goods mingling with the enticing aromas of herbs and spices like cinnamon,saffron,mint,thyme and many others.
Sophisticated shops at Konyaalti,Atatürk caddesi,and MMM Migros(near Konyaalti-7Mehmet restaurant) sell elegang fashions made from Turkey's high quality textiles,finely designed handbags and shoes.

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It'll take a life time to taste the finest foods of Turkey.Based on the heritage of the vast Ottoman Empire,which extended from the gates of Vienna in the northwest to the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula.Turkish cuisine is extremely rich.
The use of fresh materials in the preparition of all these dishes,is the main characteristic of unique taste.Turkey is a country surrounded on three side by sea and is famous for its seafood.While it also has a yearly abudance of fresh fruiý and vegetables.Possibly some you have never tasted before:-)
What you eat in Antalya...
Doner kebap(lamb grilled on a revolving spit)
sish kofte(grilled meatballs)
dolma(stuffed vegetables)
sarma(dish made of rice and meat,wrapped in grape leaves)
imamBAYILDI(dish prepared with eggplant and olive oil)
icli kofte(made of ground meat and pounded wheat)
borek(flaky pastry with thin layers of cheese or other filling)
helva(a sweet prepared in many varieties with sesame oil,various cereals,sugar,syrup or honey
Lokum(turkish delight-a soft,chewy and sweetish confection)
ayran(made of water and yogurt)
and finally RAKI(the indispensable alcoholic drink of pleasant dinners)
after the meal,TURKISH COFFEE...

Locals tend to invite visitors or just strangers from the street for a cup of tea or coffee. Been told that it's not polite to refuse. It was quite a challange to drink 20 (and after 20 I lost count) cups of tea in 2 hours. Though apple tea tastes really good.

When walking down the street you may be approached by shop owners offering you items and inviting you in to their shops.

If you want to say no, don't say 'no' or 'hayir' (Turkish). The Turkish make a clicking noise with their tongue to say 'no' in this situation.

Try this and they will probably leave you alone.

Baklava is one of the oldest known Turkish desserts. No meal would be complete without baklava for dessert. It is made of baklava - flaky layers of whisper-thin pastry bursting with pistachios, touched with golden butter, gently enveloped in a honey syrup. No holiday, wedding or dinner party could be considered without it.