Golf in Antalya Golf in Belek Belek, one of Antalya’s most popular holiday centres, has become not only a brand name in Turkey, but one of the most popular holiday destinations in the world thanks to its unsurpassed natural beauty and perfect climate. Located 30 kilometers from Antalya, Belek has a seventeen-kilometer coastline lined with numerous five star hotels. Since the early 1990s, Belek has offered its guests the most comfortable holiday opportunity in the Mediterranean. Among the features that make Belek such an attractive location in the region is its ease of access and the ancient cities situated nearby. The region hosted numerous civilisations throughout its thousands of years of history, and with its fertile lands has been a centre of attention in every period. Though Belek has a typical Mediterranean climate, the freshwater streams which flow from the slopes of the Taurus Mountains give it different characteristics than other Mediterranean locations. Thanks to its large sand dunes, its beaches are sheltered from the harsh effects of the sea and wind. With all these features in place, Belek offers a magnificent atmosphere, not only as a tourism centre, but as an area that contains all the distinctive Mediterranean characteristics. For many years now, Belek has been one of the foremost holiday destinations for sports tourism in our country. It owes its preeminent position in this regard to its climate, geographical location and undeniably to its committed implementation of sustainable tourism policies. Belek and its hotels are highly popular with sports clubs and cater to their needs across all sports year-round. Belek has also become an indispensable destination for golf tourism in Europe. Belek’s superb climate is conducive to playing golf almost twelve months of the year. Belek has golf clubs of world standard, luxurious accommodation facilities and one of the best golfing infrastructures, which makes the area so attractive to golf enthusiasts. Belek has ten golf clubs and fourteen golf courses offering high-quality, professional service to Turkish sports tourism. Belek is also one of the biggest sources of income in this field. In 2012, a decision of the Council of Ministers decreed that particular new tourism hubs would focus exclusively on golf. These include the districts of Emişbeleni, Mahmutlar, Kargıcak, Okurcalar and Türkler in the region of Alanya, 50 kilometers from Belek. With this decision the volume of golf tourism in the region will significantly increase and Antalya will continue as an indispensable location for the sport of golf. Belek has 47 five star hotels and holiday villages, 10 golf clubs, 14 golf courses, 50 football fields and more than 200 tennis courts that serve professional and amateur athletes. Page 4 • Golf in Antalya Çavuşçu Dam Antiocheia Yalvaç Lake Işıklı Beyond Antalya Adıgüzel Barajı Ertokuş Han Gelendost The Gulf of Antalya, located in southwest Anatolia, was known Uluborlu Mount Gelincik Senirkent Nature Park D330 Şarkikaraağaç in ancient days as the Gulf of Pamphylia. The mountain Dinar ranges encircling the Gulf run parallel to each other along the Barla Lake coast, but later intersect each other at the Lakes Region to the Eğirdir north. Gönen Atabey Travelogues, especially those written in the 19th century Keçiborlu D695 by Western archaeologists, historians, artists, architects, D330 sailors and geographers, refer to the nature around Antalya Konya Eğirdir as “extraordinary.” The depiction of Antalya’s natural D330 Acıgöl th environment by the 19 century traveller Karl Lanckoronski is D650 Aksu Denizli Lake especially noteworthy: Isparta Beyşehir Gölcük Davraz Ski Lake Nature Park Center D695 “Anyone who wants to witness the beauty of the mountains Burdur Yenişarbademli Lake Gölcük should come here. Mountains overlap each other as if in a hurry Burdur Akdağ Beyşehir Akgöl Sagalassos D715 to reach the sea. The harmony of every shade of green and blue D650 Lake Ağlasun Kovada Dedegöl dazzles the spectator and constantly changes with the daily path D695 Kovada D695 National Park of the sun. Waterfalls, rivers, date trees, minarets... In short, the Hacılar D685 imaginary depictions of magnificent landscapes by European Lake Lake Yarışlı authors can be found here for real.” E87 Salda Lake Salda Pisidia Adada Salda Nature Park Çeltikçi Yeşilova D330 Kremna The famed Ottoman navigator Piri Reis outlines the ports Sütçüler Karacaören he explored around the Gulf according to the geographic İncirhan Dam Yazılı Canyon Nature Park Niyazlar Bucak D715 Village location of the rivers and mountains rising behind them, just Seydişehir D650 as he did in other areas of the Mediterranean. Lake Karamanlı Karataş Susuzhan In ancient times, the most familiar places located around the Kemer Ürkütlü bay, such as Pamphylia, Lycia, Pisidia and Isauria, enabled Köprüçay Tefenni D685 River visitors to enjoy the pristine environment and experience E87 traditional ways of life. In light of the accounts of explorers Selge D330 throughout the centuries, those sightseeing trips provided Hasanpaşa Cevizli Bademağacı Village Köprülü Canyon plenty of opportunities for those interested in nature and National Park Kibyra history to make their own observations. Gölhisar D695 Çavdır D650 D685 İbradı E87 Korkuteli Karain Lake Dipsiz Akseki E87 E87 Lake Pamphylia Çimi Village Altınbeşik Kırkgöz Kurşunlu Waterfall Döşemealtı National Park Altınyayla Termessos Termessos Nature Park National Park Sillyum Perge Aspendos Güver Canyon D400 Contents Nature Park Aksu D350 Oymapınar Lake Eğri Dam Geyikbayırı Serik Antalya Seleucia D695 Kundu D635 Saklıkent Gündoğdu Çolaklı Belek Manavgat Flora and Fauna of Belek (Page 8) Boğazkent Evrenseki Alara Düden Dam Gündoğmuş Waterfall (Çündüre) Ilıca Waterfall Belek and Natural Habitat (Page 8) Manavgat D400 Side Semahöyük D400 Regional Highlights (Page 10) Kızılağaç Alara Beldibi Stream Elmalı Golf Courses in Belek (Page 22) D350 D400 Kızlar Sivrisi İncekum Fethiye Lake Yeşil Göynük Antalya Golf Tournament Calendar (Page 46) Tekke Okurcalar Nature Park D400 Village Lake Avlan İncekum Yeşilbarak Village Avsallar Payallar Climate Table (Page 47) Beydağları Kemer Turkler Korakesion D400 Akçay National Park Konaklı Alanya Akdağ Çığlıkara Oba Nature Park Lycia Dim Çamyuva Gömbe D635 Oba Stream Stream Relevant Contacts (Page 47) Arykanda Mount Çayboğazı Phaselis Kestel Pond Tahtalı Tekirova Pinara Mahmutlar D400 Event Calendar of Antalya and Saklıkent Sütleğen Gökbük National Park Village Village Syedra D635 the Western Mediterranean (Page 48) Tlos Olympos Rhodiapolis Kumluca Limyra D400 Xanthos Letoon D400 Gulf of Antalya D400 Mavikent Adrasan Beymelek Ision Nature Park Kalkan Kiddle Finike Karaöz Patara Bezirgan Myra Gazipaşa Village D400 Kaş Demre D400 Andriake Theimiussa D400 Kekova Cape Gelidonya Page 6 • Golf in Antalya Belek Flora and Fauna of Belek In spite of covering a relatively limited area, the natural diversity of Belek’s flora and fauna is quiet varied. The forests in the region are situated on sand dunes and form the most extensive vegetation. The dense Mediterranean stone pine forests are known to be local to the area. Under the dense pine forests are Mediterranean shrubs, and a thick cover of maquis runs towards the beach. These forests are highly rich in the variety of flowers and fauna they possess. Visually, the most beautiful and abundant scenes are also here. Belek’s natural habitat diversity is based on the wealth of its flowers. 58 families, 118 species, and16 subspecies of flowers have been classified. The most abundant flower species are found in the coastal dune vegetation (27 families, 51 species) and in stone pine forests (31 families, 51 species). In 1995, 40 unclassified plant species were identified. The classification of 48 exotic species from 28 botanical families was also made. • While there are around 12,000 plant species found throughout Europe, this figure is around 10,000 in Turkey alone. • Among the 600 endemic plant species that are found in the Mediterranean region, 500 are found in and around Antalya. • There are more than 118 plant species in Belek and more than 40 are endemic to the area. Belek and Natural Habitat Since Belek had a dense population throughout the years, the number of species that live there is limited to those animals that could adapt to human habitation and small areas. Close to 200 species of vertebrates are known to inhabit this region. Among these species are 38 mammals, 88 birds, 31 reptiles and 5 amphibians. There are also 51 invertebrate species worthy of note. In the coastal areas of Belek, animal species such as foxes, weasels, squirrels and hedgehogs are often seen. Belek is one of the best areas for bird watching and many bird species use this area as their wintering or nesting location. In addition, rare reptiles such as chameleons, sea turtles, land turtles, and freshwater turtles live undisturbed in these natural habitats. The World Wildlife Foundation has always emphasised the importance of the coast of Belek to the preservation of the threatened loggerhead sea turtle (caretta caretta). This is because loggerhead sea turtles have very few breeding grounds in the world, Belek being one of them. Page 8 • Golf in Antalya Pamphylia The alluvial plain that stretches more than 100 kilometers along and 40 kilometers inside the eastern shores of the Gulf of Antalya was known Antalya as Pamphylia in ancient times. The Taurus Mountains rise to the north It is the most recently established city of Pamphylia. In 190 BC, the Romans won the Battle of Magnesia of the plain, watering it via numerous rivers and streams stemming -a battle between the Hellenistic Seleucid Kingdom and Rome and its ally Pergamon. The Roman from the steady rainwater throughout fall and winter. This area was commander Manlius Vulso and the King of Pergamon Eumenes II came to the region at that time to always known as place of migration, hence the name Pamphylia, “The discuss the terms of surrender of the cities, even though Eumenes’ brother Attalos, who would later place of mingled tribes and races.” become king, was also in the region.