First known as Attalia, founded by Attalos II, king of Pergamon, it eventually replaced the nearby city of Phaselis, the ruins of which now remain south of the city, between Kemer and Olympos, as the main harbour in the region during the Seljuks rule in the early 1200s.
However, Antalya lacked good connections to its mountainous hinterland, so it remained a relatively small, multicultural coastal town composed of Muslims, Christians, and Jews.
In the 1970s, the city’s destiny changed when tourism investments made it the central hub of the so-called Turkish Riviera – boasting stunning beaches, lush mountains, and an overwhelming amount of historical sites.