Tag: Antalya

  • Turkey: Enjoying a sunny break that hit the right note

    Eamonn O’Neal and wife Sheila found great weather, top service, super food and drink – and a daily song from Olivia Newton John …

    If you hear the word Xanadu, you may think of  the elaborate city built for the Mongolian Emperor Kublai Khan. Or perhaps it conjures up images of Olivia Newton John in the 1980s film of the same name.

    Every morning, around 10am, in a lush part of southern Turkey,  Olivia Newton John’s famous title song echoes round the faux pillars and themed artefacts which represent extravagant 13th century architecture.

    We are staying in The Xanadu Resort Hotel  in Belek, part of the Thomas Cook Ultimate Style range which offers a high quality, all-inclusive experience.

    Using the  original Kublai Khan legend as the inspiration for its exterior design, the Xanadu is set in an established pine forest, less than 20 miles from Antalya on the beautiful Mediterranean coast. It is one of many luxury hotels purpose-built to cater for sun worshippers, lovers of adventure sports, tennis players and keen golfers.

     

    Xanada resort, Belek, Turkey
    Xanada resort, Belek, Turkey

     

    Travelling with Thomas Cook direct from Manchester, you fly into recently-renovated Antalya airport. The transfer from the airport to the hotel is an easy drive and takes around 40 minutes.

    It was my first visit to Turkey and I found the stereotype of Turkish people being extremely friendly to be accurate. The Xanadu staff are helpful and eager to please.

    This modern, five-star hotel sits on the edge of a private  beach, opposite the Noblis golf course. It has excellent facilities including a buffet restaurant, a couple of a la carte restaurants,  four pools, one of them indoor, a spa, a ten-pin bowling alley and a secret garden bar.  What more could you want?

    My previous experiences of all-inclusive holidays, whilst not unpleasant, have been a bit of a let down in terms of the quality of the food and drink. At The Xanadu, however, both the alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are top, named brands and the food is of the highest quality, whether dining a la carte or in the buffet. Very impressive.

    The 420 rooms have up to three beds, and come with everything you would expect, including a balcony or  terrace. Sheila and I stayed in a junior suite with a fairly large lounge area which led on to the balcony, offering a view of the pool and the sea.

     

    Xanadu%20Belek %20bedroo 5962376

     

    As well as rooms of all sizes, the Xanadu has bungalows. These are set in the beautifully kept gardens close to the hotel’s tennis courts and offer perfect accommodation for families or small groups wanting a little more privacy.

    This is clearly a destination loved by golfers, with shuttles taking them to the numerous courses close by. Neither Sheila nor I play golf so we were happy spending our time by one of the pools or on the beach, less than a two-minute walk away.

    We did venture out to do a bit of shopping, once to Antalya  and once to the more local shopping centre in Belek.

    The city of Antalya was occupied by the Italians from the end of the First World War until the founding of the Turkish Republic in 1923 and is one of Turkey’s largest metropolitan areas. As with many places in this country,  there are echoes of Christian, Jewish and Muslim cultures. We made our way to the old town and enjoyed the hawkers, traders and street entertainers.

    I was seduced into buying a big bag of fragrant pomegranate powder, which, at the time I wondered how I had ever managed without but which is now stuck in the back of a kitchen cupboard .

    Closer to the hotel, Belek’s shopping centre is compact, clean and tidy with a wide range of shops. Sheila bought handbags and jewellery whilst I opted for a compulsory souvenir red fez. Strangely, that has also found its way into the back of a cupboard.

    As Belek has been developed for tourists, the planners have laid the town centre out symmetrically and with flowered verges running down the middle of the streets, you could almost be wandering around a film set.

    One of the out-sourced activities offered to guests at the Xanadu is white water rafting, an adventure sport which is incredibly popular in this part of Turkey. The rivers are amazingly beautiful as they gush and glisten through spectacular, ancient valleys.

    In the spirit of gathering unique experiences, Sheila and I sat in a  ramshackle restaurant and, rather than actually getting our feet wet, enjoyed a traditional artisan lunch whilst watching the rafting from dry land.

    The Xanadu has a full-size, outdoor amphitheatre in which  extravagant shows are produced nightly. The standards of production and performance are impressive, with professional performers giving their all.

    If you take a stroll from the hotel, all you really come across are golf courses and other hotels, so it can’t be said that the Xanadu is situated at the hub of a town’s activities. However there is a bus  which runs  into Belek every half  hour. The journey takes under 15 minutes and costs about £1.

    There is also a taxi rank right outside the hotel and journey prices are quoted or haggled over before the journey starts. Be careful, though, because three currencies are used regularly: Turkish Lire, Euros and US Dollars. Make sure you’re on the same wavelength as taxi drivers and shopkeepers.

    It is hard to find fault with a holiday at the Xanadu and we had a great week. There was an unfortunate delay on the return flight which we could have done without, but for sunshine, service and super food and drink, a stay here is worth the money – particularly if you like the sound of Olivia Newton John’s voice.

    FACTFILE :

    Thomas Cook Holidays with Style offers 7 nights on all-inclusive at the 5 star Xanadu Resort Hotel in Belek, from £558 per person, departing from Manchester on 15th April 2013. Price based on 2 adults sharing and includes direct transfers, 20kg luggage allowance and in-flight meals by TV celebrity chef James Martin.  10 and 11 night holidays and room upgrades are available.  Correct at time of issue and subject to change, optional extras may be applicable at the time of booking.

    thomascook. com, 0844 412 5970, or visit the nearest Thomas Cook or Co-operative Travel.

  • Russian ex-spy Anna Chapman takes a turn on catwalk in Turkey

    By Associated Press

    Posted: 06/13/2012 10:41:05 AM PDT
    Updated: 06/13/2012 10:52:31 AM PDT

    ANKARA, Turkey — Russian ex-spy Anna Chapman has walked a Turkish catwalk in a long red dress at a fashion show, flanked by two men posing as secret service agents in black suit and sunglasses.

    Hikmet Eraslan said Wednesday his Dosso Dossi clothing company donated to Chapman’s charity foundation for children with poor eyesight in Volgograd in return for her appearance last Friday.

    The 30-year-old Chapman was deported from the United States in 2010 along with nine other Russian sleeper agents. She appeared on the runway in the Mediterranean city of Antalya, a top Turkish vacation destination.

    Chapman has been keeping a high profile since her deportation to Russia, modeling, editing a magazine, giving lectures and running the foundation.

     

    via Russian ex-spy Anna Chapman takes a turn on catwalk in Turkey – San Jose Mercury News.

  • Turkey’s tourist hotspot hopes to harness sun for power

    Turkey’s tourist hotspot hopes to harness sun for power

    By Diana Magnay and Teo Kermeliotis, CNN
    October 21, 2011 — Updated 1315 GMT (2115 HKT)
    111020095210 solar house antalya horizontal gallery
    Antalya Solar House was built to educate the local population about the benefits of renewable energy.

    STORY HIGHLIGHTS
    • Antalya has launched a long-term initiative to become a climate-friendly city
    • Turkey’s tourist hotspot wants to use solar power to generate electricity
    • The country has been slow in developing a sound solar industry

    Anatalya, Turkey (CNN) — Lapped by the pristine waters of the Mediterranean Sea, the Turkish coastal city of Antalya attracts millions of sun-seeking tourists each year, beguiling them with its sweeping scenery, picture-perfect beaches and blazing sunshine.

    It is this abundance of sunlight — Turkey receives greater annual solar radiation energy than Spain and Germany according to estimates by the Joint Research Center of the European Commission — that has prompted Antalya’s local authorities to push ahead with plans to harness the city’s solar potential.

    “We aim to make Antalya the leader of solar power generation of Turkey and to promote it to the world as ‘The Solar City,’” says Antalya’s mayor Mustafa Akaydin.

    The declaration comes as the sun-soaked city, located some 700 kilometers south of Istanbul, starts rolling out its ambitious plans to use solar power to generate electricity, emulating the successful example of cities like Barcelona, Spain, which has put in place regulations requiring solar panels to be fitted to all large new buildings.

    In April, the city opened the “Antalya Solar House,” an ecological research and educational center designed by architectural firm Temiz Dunya to raise awareness about the benefits of renewable energy and promote eco-tourism.

    The zero-emission structure, which was built with ecological materials, generates most of its energy using photovoltaic panels (22kW in total) as well as a windmill and heat pumps.

    ‘Living’ buildings could inhale city carbon emissions

    These systems are supplemented with gray-water recycling — re-use of used water from bathtubs, showers and so on. — and passive solar heating features such as a greenhouse to collect heat during the winter months. It also has a green roof that facilitates rainwater harvesting and acts as heat insulation.

    “The building is also very significant because it is Turkey’s first energy positive building,” says architect Mehmet Bengu Uluengin, the designer behind the Solar House. “It actually produces more energy than it consumes.”

    The architect says the structure has fascinated the local population while helping to change perceptions that buildings can only be big energy consumers.

    We aim to make Antalya the leader of solar power generation of Turkey and to promote it to the world as ‘The Solar City.
    Antalya mayor Mustafa Akaydin

    “The idea that having a building that not only provides its own energy but actually gives some back is a totally new phenomenon for Turkish people,” says Uluengin, who is also a professor at Istanbul’s Bahcesehir University. “They like it, they find it very intriguing.”

    Local authorities expect around a thousand people to visit Solar House each month, including students, green investors and hotel owners. They say the project is just the first part of a long-term initiative to turn Antalya into a climate-friendly city — other initiatives include a waste management facility that will convert the city’s sewage into biogas.

    “Antalya has already been the pioneering city of green energy (in Turkey),” says Akaydin. “We are trying to make Antalya the leader of agriculture, tourism, park and garden lighting, energy generating and (solar) panel producing.”

    While educating the local population about achieving energy efficiency, Uluengin says the technology used in the Solar House can also help Antalya — Turkey’s biggest coastal resort and home to several five-star hotels — to become an ideal destination for eco-conscious tourists.

    “There are several hotels which are considering green energy to attract customers,” he says.

    “A hotel which can say that … if you’re staying here your carbon footprint is zero for the duration of your stay — this is becoming very interesting for people worldwide,” he adds.

    The way we are going through it in Turkey is more painful but is also healthier because it is growing out of real demand.
    Mehmet Bengü Uluengin, architect

    For the moment, however, sunny Antalya is still far from being branded a green resort — local authorities estimate that eco-visitors account for just 1% of the city’s tourism.

    Mayor Akaydin says that Turkey is missing a trick by failing to exploit its clean energy capabilities.

    “Turkey has a very big potential in solar and wind energy. Unfortunately, the insufficient and wrong policies of the government prevent the promotion of them,” he says.

    Turkey’s geothermal potential

    Despite receiving plenty of sun, Turkey has been remarkably sluggish in developing a sound solar industry. The country still depends heavily on oil and natural gas, most of which is imported from abroad.

    In 2008, oil provided 37% of Turkey’s total final consumption of energy, natural gas and electricity 18% each, coal 17%, biomass and waste 7% and other sources 3%, according to figures by the International Energy Agency.

    At the same time, limited government subsidies, coupled with high costs for green energy equipment, have further impeded the market’s growth, leaving little incentives for households to go solar.

    Yet, Uluengin is optimistic that green initiatives like the one in Antalya can help Turkey’s green energy sector to take off in the coming years.

    He notes that the lack of government incentives has bolstered Turkey’s fledgling renewable energy industry by creating a solid and growing grassroots movement — that, he says, is in contrast to the top-down approach that was implemented in other European countries, where the sector grew after governments started offering subsidies and incentives for green energy usage.

    “The way we are going through it in Turkey is more painful but is also healthier because it is growing out of real demand,” says Uluengin.

  • Talking Turkey: Belek is bulging with golf courses but needs even more

    Talking Turkey: Belek is bulging with golf courses but needs even more

    By Clive Agran,
    Contributor

    belek
    Sensuous shaping is a feature of Turkey’s LykiaLinks Antalya. (Courtesy of Alternative Travel)

    BELEK, Turkey — Ancient ruins, sandy beaches, spectacular waterfalls, historic towns, majestic mountains, interesting cuisine and an extraordinarily benign climate evidently aren’t enough to attract today’s demanding tourist.

    To compete effectively with other appealing destinations, it’s absolutely essential, even for the very cradle of civilization, to offer golf as well; not least because we golfers, with our high disposable incomes and frightfully good manners, make attractive tourists who are happy to holiday in what would otherwise be regarded as low season.

    And so it was that golf began in Belek in 1994 when two Davids from the Emerald Isle, Messers Feherty and Jones, created the National Golf Club.

    Related Articles
    • Golf courses in Turkey
    • Readers review Carya Golf Club in Turkey
    • Readers review Sueno Golf Club’s Pines Course
    • Readers review Sueno Golf Club’s Dunes Course

    The formerly sleepy fishing village, principally famous for the Caretta turtles laying eggs on its beaches, subsequently morphed into a magnificent golf and holiday destination.

    Although still primarily a seaside resort, today it contains no fewer than 14 courses, which is pretty well Turkey’s entire complement. Insiders say at least another half-a-dozen new ones are needed to cope with demand.

    Belek also boasts dozens of five-star hotels. Returning turtles must marvel at the changes and wonder where it will all end.

    Belek, Turkey boast ideal land for golf

    One of the principal attractions of this delightful destination — to golfers perhaps more than the turtles — is that it’s only 45 minutes from Antalya airport.

    Bordering on the Mediterranean and blessed with sandy beaches, there is a sizeable strip of real estate just inland from the beach that is absolutely ideal for golf and is leased out by the government for 50 years at a time.

    Originally swampy, pine trees have been planted on the sandy soil to create what is now perfect-golfing terrain not unlike the Surrey heathland belt southwest of London or the forests around Pinehurst, N.C.

    It also has the considerable benefit of a water table a little more than a deep divot below the surface. So attractive water features are sprinkled everywhere. What land hasn’t already been converted is almost certainly earmarked for golf.

    Almost as impressive as the courses themselves are the attached clubhouses, which are huge, glass-plated, marble-floored, no-expense-spared, mini palaces. But even they are eclipsed on the Las Vegas Scale of Sumptuousness by the spectacular, way-over-the-top, five-star, leviathan hotels.

    Built of biblical proportions, these gargantuan establishments are principally populated by Eastern European families for whom the Turkish Riviera appears irresistibly appealing. For the moment they seem content to play chess and ping-pong, but the worry for the rest of us is that one day they’ll discover golf and clog up the courses.

    All inclusive is the Turkish way

    I stayed in a spectacular hotel that, nominally at least, appeared to cater specifically for golfers.

    Although Leetonia Golf Resort has no course of its own, it’s ideally located and contains a driving range, mini golf and putting green. Like its many neighbors, it offers a bewildering range of recreational activities that could keep you occupied all day before the in-house entertainment takes over at night.

    The “all-inclusive” concept means you don’t have to pay for any of it, and all drinks and meals are also included. Although you’ll have to shell out to play golf, the hotel is happy to book tee times for you and can secure a worthwhile discount at most, if not all, of the courses.

    Having played most of them, I can honestly say that I’ve yet to find a less-than-impressive one. They are all terrific, but here are my three favorites.

    Must-play golf courses in Belek, Turkey

    Because the topography and trees are pretty much the same, it’s difficult to create anything dramatically distinctive. That, however, is precisely what Peter Thomson has achieved at Carya Golf Club.

    By deploying thousands of heather plants he has, in effect, produced a little bit of Scotland near the shores of the Mediterranean; a feat that bears comparison with winning the British Open five times.

    The heather appears to be flourishing on the sandy soil, especially on top of the 75 or so bunkers. Measuring a challenging 7,168 yards from the back, Carya weaves its peaceful way through a pine forest and is surely destined to become recognized as one of Belek’s best, while the 150-yard long putting green must surely be a strong candidate should anyone be interested in staging a Long Putting World Championship.

    A half-hour drive away from Belek is lovely LykiaLinks Antalya. Like an art expert peering at a suspect Rembrandt, I honestly couldn’t tell whether the “dunes” were genuine. What baffled me was they weren’t “igloos” but were shaped exactly like, er, well — dunes.

    The bunkers have distinctive wooden sleepers behind them, and the overall effect is totally and utterly convincing. If it weren’t for the fact that the sun was shining and it was delightfully warm, once again you could easily have imagined you were in Scotland!

    Finally, there are the two golf courses at the mightily impressive Sueno resort. Here, guests can gaze down from their lofty bedrooms onto both 18th greens, which occupy neighboring islands.

    Sueno’s Pines Course is the tougher of the two and a potential European Tour venue. Long and pretty tight in places, it’s a serious challenge and, as its name suggests, heavily wooded.

    Meanwhile the atmospheric Sueno Dunes Course, which has an appealing and slightly wild feel, meanders through the forest and offers a mix of scenic views, island greens and impressive waste bunkers.

    Blessed Belek

    Belek is blessed with pretty well everything you want in a golf destination and is mercifully inexpensive, so why not try a slice of Turkey some time soon?

  • Will beach explosions make Turkey less popular?

    Will beach explosions make Turkey less popular?

    15 people, including 7 Russians, were injured during an explosion at a beach in the Turkish city of Kemer on Sunday.

    Photo: RIA Novosti
    Photo: RIA Novosti

    Mostly, these are slight injuries, which were caused by pebble-stones scatted by the explosion.

    Out of these 7 Russians, 3 are already back from hospital, and 4 are still in hospital.

    A similar incident took place in another Antalya resort, Konyaaltı,on August 26, when a grenade exploded at a beach. Nobody was killed or wounded. Some people faded, but immediately received medical help.

    It still cannot be said for sure was caused the explosion at the Kemer beach. At first, it was supposed that a gas balloon exploded in a nearby restaurant. Then, another version appeared, that it was also a grenade which had been dug by someone in the sand.

    Kemer has always been a calm resort, and it used to be very popular with Russians. But now, experts are afraid that Russians may start to refrain from going there – though the Russian Foreign Ministry hasn’t made any official warnings against visiting the resort.

    Press secretary of the Russian association of tourist agencies Irina Tyurina says:

    “I don’t think that there will be a massive return of money to tourists by tourist agencies. Of course, agencies have no right just not to return money to clients without any compensation. They would either suggest them to postpone the trip or to choose another resort.”

    It looks like for some time past, Russian tourists in Turkey are becoming victims of bad luck. Recently, several Russian tourists were poisoned to death by adulterated whiskey which they drank during a yacht trip. Police have already arrested the yacht’s owner and the whiskey’s suppliers. Some other Russian tourists in Antalya have been poisoned – fortunately, not to death – by something they had eaten. However, this didn’t make Turkey’s resorts less popular with Russians – probably because these resorts are rather cheap and comparatively close to Russia.

    via Will beach explosions make Turkey less popular?: Voice of Russia.

  • WWII-era war “British bomber” found in sea off Turkey

    WWII-era war “British bomber” found in sea off Turkey

    WWII-era war “British bomber” found in sea off Turkey

    w2 bomberBy the help of a fisherman, Turkish scientists discovered the plane as they dived 1.5 miles off Finike town of Antalya.

    A World War II war plane, believed to be a British bomber, has been found at the bottom of the sea off the Mediterranean coast of Turkey.

    By the help of a fisherman, Turkish scientists discovered the plane as they dived 1.5 miles off Finike town of Antalya. The plane was lying off 35 meters below the sea.

    Professor Mehmet Gokoglu, one of the scientists working on marine life, said he was told by a fisherman that there was a sunken war plane at the bottom of the sea in Finike Bay.

    “The fisherman showed us where exactly the plane was and we found the wreck at our first dive,” Gokoglu said. “The fuselage is almost intact.”

    Gokoglu and other divers also found 20mm unexploded anti-aircraft shells near the sunken plane and a part which reads “British Manufacture”.

    “It was probably an aircraft of the British Royal Air Force,” Gokoglu said.

    A 80-year-old local man said he saw the plane crash when he was a child. Huseyin Taskin said there were German, Italian and British war planes and warships in the bay during the World War II.

    “I was 12 or 13 when I saw the tragedy. The plane was burning in the air, it lost altitude and after a while it hit the sea surface. I do not know if anyone survived,” Taskin said.

    Turkish officials informed the Coast Guard and Naval Forces about the sunken wreck.

    AA