Actor Ekin Koç called seaside Antalya home before conquering the world of Turkish film. Here are his picks, from hiking the Lycian Road to catching a concert at the Aspendos Theatre.
Founded by the Ancient Greeks as Attalia in the 2nd Century BCE, Antalya has since been occupied by the Romans, the Seljuk Sultanate and the Ottomans; even withstanding a brief Italian occupation after World War One before Turkey claimed independence. Today, Antalya – the crowning jewel of the Turkish Riviera and, along with Istanbul, one of the world's most visited cities in 2023 – attracts both families and A-list celebrities with its 2,000-year-old Old Town and stunning turquoise waters.We caught up with Antalya-born film star Ekin Koç (best known to English-speaking audiences as Turkish business advisor Kadir in HBO's Succession) to get his take on his beautiful hometown, studded by the Taurus mountains and cradled by the Mediterranean sea.Whenever Koç is in town, he immediately notes the regional differences in traditional Turkish dishes, such as piyaz, a Turkish white bean salad typically made with tahini, eggs, parsley and onions. "[But] in Antalya, it's not a salad," explains Koç.Apart from shops and bars, Kaleiçi's labyrinthine streets are home to picturesque red-roofed homes and numerous historical sites from Antalya's Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, Ottoman and modern Turkish eras, like Hadrian's Gate and Kesik Minare Cami, a 2nd-Century Roman temple converted first into a Byzantine church and, later, a mosque.