A luxurious journey to Antalya with Corendon

“The inhabitants of Antalya was 600,000 9 or ten years in the past. Immediately it’s 3 million,” our licensed tour information Ihsan advised us on a latest journey to southern Turkey. I blinked – not as a result of I used to be being blinded by the solar, however due to the sheer scale of that progress. A five-fold enhance in only a decade.

On our return dwelling, I did what all good journey journalists do and Googled it – and that’s once I additionally found Antalya at present ranks sixth place globally for the very best variety of worldwide arrivals, forward of cities similar to Dubai and Paris.

I suppose it ought to come as no shock. Antalya’s obtained the ocean, the solar, the spellbinding mixture of outdated and new — and, as we discovered, a tempo of life that fits each wanderers and the wildly lively.

Antalya’s Previous City

Our Antalya expertise had begun with a journey again in time. Ihsan was introducing us to the town’s Previous City — Kaleiçi — which interprets actually to imply ‘contained in the citadel’. It’s the guts and soul of outdated Antalya, the place cobbled lanes meander previous Ottoman homes and Bougainvillaea spills over rooftops, all throughout the historic metropolis’s defensive partitions.

We began with the Monument to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the daddy of recent Turkey, standing in opposition to a skyline of minarets and pink roofs earlier than taking in a sweeping view over the traditional metropolis and its marina. Down under, fishing boats bobbed gently as they’ve for hundreds of years, and the ocean shimmered within the sort of blue that painters dream of however hardly ever match.

From there, we took within the Yivliminare Mosque which has an fascinating historical past. Thought to have been transformed from a pre-existing Byzantine church however destroyed within the fourteenth century, the prayer corridor was reconstructed in 1373 and is notable for its six domes, making it one of many oldest surviving examples of a multi-domed mosque in Anatolia.

Our tour additionally took us to the Antalya Ethnographic Museum, housed in two restored Ottoman-era mansions. It showcases every day life and affords insights into Antalya’s conventional tradition, notably throughout the Ottoman interval.

Maybe most putting architecturally was the Shehzade Korkut Mosque slightly additional on; it originated as a Roman temple and was later transformed right into a Byzantine church earlier than changing into a mosque. Traits from every period can nonetheless be seen – reminders that earlier cultures haven’t been erased, however simply re-written.

And let’s not overlook Hadrian’s Gate, constructed to honour the Roman Emperor’s historical Antalya in 130 AD. Constructed largely of white marble, it stands as a strong reminder of Antalya’s wealthy Roman previous, although it commemorates solely a fleeting go to.

This triumphal triple-arched gate, as soon as a part of the town partitions, now shows the worn stone beneath – testomony to the passage of numerous historical carts.

Past the Clock Tower, we stopped on the statue of King Attalus II, who based Antalya as Attaleia within the 2nd century BC. Right here, we had free time to wander the markets and cafés, and revel in perusing the wares of spice sellers, a sensory ultimate be aware earlier than re-emerging into fashionable Antalya.

Corendon Playa Kemer Lodge

We stayed at Corendon Playa Kemer Lodge, an all-inclusive five-star resort about 40 minutes’ drive south alongside the coast from Antalya.

Our Normal Sea View Room was fashionable, ethereal and spacious, with a small balcony overlooking the resort pool and seashore, and the Gulf of Antalya past.

There’s a mini-bar, replenished every day, that you may assist your self to and, to greet our arrival, there was a small bottle of wine, some snacks and contemporary fruit.

For meals on the resort, you’re spoiled. There’s the primary eating space – Zephyrantes – serving a buffet at breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus a meals courtroom open exterior common hours — supreme for late arrivals like ours, the place the employees are generally aided by a robotic waiter. The variability at Zephyrantes was so intensive, it may please everybody — from adventurous foodies to the pickiest of eaters.

There’s additionally a separate à la carte restaurant – Bona Fides – past the meals courtroom, for a extra intimate eating expertise.

We dined right here twice, and the second go to was particularly memorable — a pleasant, fish-themed night that includes meze — a cherished staple of Turkish delicacies and social eating, supreme for households trying to get pleasure from high quality time collectively.

Along with the intensive meals providing, services embody varied bars, indoor and out of doors swimming pools, a spa (see our Turkish bathtub expertise under), a fitness center, and watersports services throughout the primary season.

We even had use of our personal cabanas overlooking the seashore, full with butler service and a well-stocked fridge, plus there’s even a small amphitheatre tucked away at one finish of the advanced that hosts a assorted occasions programme.

Though the resort has its personal leisure, there are a selection of music and cultural occasions that will also be loved in Antalya too. Subsequent month alone, for instance, the town will host the Antalya Music Competition, Antalya Akra Jazz Competition and Antalya Style Week, while later within the yr the Kaleiçi Previous City Competition goals to protect and develop the town’s cultural and historic heritage.

Runtalya

The timing of our journey coincided with Runtalya — the town’s flagship working occasion. Now in its twentieth yr, it has developed fairly a following, each in Turkey and internationally.

The occasion sometimes hosts round 10,000 runners yearly, from greater than 50 international locations around the globe. A wall of names near the beginning line confirmed this yr’s contributors collaborating in all occasions from the 5K enjoyable run by way of to the total marathon.

Our youngest son Tom and I took on the half marathon while my spouse Becky and our older son James – and our real hope of a podium place – had registered for the 10K. Sadly, James needed to withdraw because of an ongoing damage, however his youthful brother knocked over 10 minutes off his half marathon PB, to complete in 1h28m, and land fiftieth place out of greater than 900 runners. I trailed fortunately behind, ending in just below two hours (sixteenth out of 57 finishers in my age class), while Becky accomplished her 10K in below the hour mark.

It was a well-choreographed occasion, with loads of help stations alongside the route, to not point out loads of assist, a communal ambiance, with leisure alongside the best way to distract from the aches and pains we have been feeling en route.

If, like me, you get pleasure from combining sporting occasions along with your travels, chances are you’ll have an interest to study that the X-WATERS Antalya Open Water Swimming Race and Corendon Tahtalı Run to Sky each happen within the area subsequent month.

Corendon Tennis Membership Kemer

The morning after Runtalaya, we headed to Corendon Tennis Membership Kemer, only a few minutes drive from the Corendon Playa Kemer Lodge. None of us are what you’d name tennis gamers, however we didn’t let that – or our achy legs – cease us.

Catering for all skills, the membership is dwelling to 14 clay courts, surrounded by hills and inexperienced forests of the Taurus Mountains.

Right here we have been warmly welcomed with rackets, balls and the affected person optimism of two pleasant coaches. We began with coordination drills, discovered to strike the ball with out sending it wildly out of the courtroom, and completed with a enjoyable sport that noticed Workforce Corendon tackle Workforce Asics.

They could have fared higher than us at the day prior to this’s working occasion – certainly one of them earned a really spectacular second place within the males’s half marathon – however I’m happy to report that we beat them at tennis!

The membership additionally affords spacious and cozy spectator seating, state-of-the-art floodlights for night tennis, an irrigation system to maintain the clay moist, and the on-site Corendon Membership Café for meals and refreshments.

Turkish bathtub expertise

Again on the spa at Corendon Playa Kemer Lodge, we ended our journey with a neighborhood ritual: a Turkish bathtub – the proper antidote to our latest bodily exertions.

First got here a delicate poaching within the sauna, earlier than we have been referred to as to the hammam. With us mendacity on the heated stone slabs, our therapists labored up clouds of bubbles that have been seemingly the scale of small sheep. We have been lathered from head to toe in delicate foam earlier than being taken to a remedy room for the primary therapeutic massage.

From there, we headed for the comfort lounge, the place a cooling face masks was delicately utilized, and the expertise culminated with us sipping on a glass of Turkish tea.

The remedy felt each indulgent and cleaning. It was additionally nice for loosening off my legs after the half marathon – I’m usually feeling fairly stiff after longer runs these days however unusually I wasn’t so unhealthy this time round, and I’m positive that’s thanks – no less than, partially – to our Turkish bathtub expertise.

Corendon Airways

We flew Premium with Corendon Airways, a Turkish-registered operation which may not spark on the spot recognition for UK or US travellers — but. However, like Runtalya, Corendon is celebrating its twentieth anniversary and is shortly gaining altitude.

We flew from Manchester to Antalya aboard a Boeing 737-800, with front-row seats affording us slightly extra leg room than the already cheap 30-32 inch pitch provided by most seats on the aircraft, making the four-hour hop that little bit extra snug.

Boarding was clean and I even managed to piggy-back on a teen’s request to see the cockpit previous to take-off, to take a fast shot of my very own.

Though we travelled gentle — hand baggage solely (one 8kg cabin bag and one 3kg underseat bag every) — our Premium ticket entitled us to 2 extra 20kg maintain baggage per particular person. So, while we may have introduced the kitchen sink, we settled for the necessities – and our working gear, in fact – to facilitate faster passage by way of the airports.

Corendon transports roughly 6 million passengers yearly with a fleet that’s largely comprised of Boeing 737-800 and Boeing 737-800 Max mannequin plane, offering direct flights to an intensive community of 165 airports throughout 65 international locations. Within the UK, flights to Antalya can be found from London Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and Newcastle-upon-Tyne. UK travellers also can fly on to different Turkish locations, together with Dalaman, Izmir and Istanbul.

Disclosure: Our journey was sponsored by Corendon Airways.

Paul Johnson

Paul Johnson is Editor of A Luxurious Journey Weblog and has labored within the journey trade for greater than 30 years. He’s Winner of the Improvements in Journey ‘Greatest Journey Influencer’ Award from WIRED journal. Along with different awards, the weblog has additionally been voted “one of many world’s finest journey blogs” and “finest for luxurious” by The Telegraph.