Antalya province

Antalya Province Antalya ili
Province of Turkey
Location of Antalya Province in Turkey
Country	Turkey
Region	Mediterranean
Subregion	Antalya
Government
• Electoral district	Antalya
Area
• Total	20,723 km² (8,001 sq mi)
Population (2014)
• Total	1,978,333
• Density	95/km² (250/sq mi)
Area code(s)	0242
Vehicle registration	07

Antalya Province (Turkish: Antalya ili) is located on the Mediterranean coast of south-west Turkey, between the Taurus Mountains and the Mediterranean sea.

Antalya Province is the centre of Turkey's tourism industry, attracting 30% of foreign tourists visiting Turkey. It was the world's third most visited city by number of international arrivals in 2011, displacing New York. Antalya is Turkey's biggest international sea resort. The province of Antalya corresponds to the lands of ancient Pamphylia to the east and Lycia to the west. It features a shoreline of 657 km (408 mi) with beaches, ports, and ancient cities scattered throughout, including the World Heritage Site Xanthos. The provincial capital is Antalya city with a population of 1,001,318.

Antalya is the fastest-growing province in Turkey; with a 4.17% yearly population growth rate between years 1990–2000, compared with the national rate of 1.83%. This growth is due to a fast rate of urbanization, particularly driven by tourism and other service sectors on the coast.

The city and thus the province are named after Attalos II, king of Pergamon, who founded the city in the 2nd century BC.

Antalya has been settled since pre-historic times. Evidence of human habitation dating back to the early Paleolithic age (150,000-200,000) years has been discovered in the Karain cave, 30 km (19 mi) of the north of Antalya city. Other finds dating back to the Mesolithic (Beldibi Cave), Neolithic (Bademağacı Höyüğü) and more recent periods show that the area has been populated by various civilizations throughout the ages.

There are long periods shrouded in mystery until records from the Hittite period refer to the area as part of the "Lukka Lands" (from which "Lycia" is derived) and document the lively interaction going on between provinces in the second millennium BC. Like their descendants, the Lukkans or Lycians were known for their seamanship (especially their piracy) and demonstrated a fiery independent spirit. Neither the Hittites, nor the Kingdom of Arzawa on the west coast, could ever keep them at peace for long. Legends of Ancient Greece tell us that these communities grew into independent cities, the area as a whole came to be called Pamphylia. A federation of these cities was set up. There are also tales of the migration of the Akha clan to the area after the Trojan war and eventually Greek settlements were built along the coast and inland.

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Wikipedia