The Kaleiçi of Antalya, i.e. the fortified old city, covers an area of approximately 80 hectares. Considering the other ancient cities with magnificent ruins in Asia Minor, Antalya Kaleiçi does not have much to present. Apart from the necropoleis (ancient cemeteries) and part of the agora (marketplace) many of the ancient monuments such as temples, theatre, stadium and baths cannot be even localized. Cities under continuous settlement suffer a common fate of disappearance, disintegration and covering up by new constructions. Strolling in Kaleiçi one will notice many ancient fragments reused in the walls or, if they have some decoration on them, displayed at the entrance or gardens of pensions and restaurants.

The best surviving parts constitute the impressive fortifications which, perhaps, hide the Hellenistic period of the city. The latest constructions on the walls date to the Ottoman period. The walls served intact until the twentieth century. In the illustrations from 1880s the Clock Tower is flanked with seven gates and there were more than 50 towers. The most attractive part of the fortifications is the Hadrian’s Gate. Not meant for defensive purposes, this monumental marble gate has three gateways and can be precisely dated to after AD 129. It once had an inscription with gilded bronze letters, saluting the emperor.

At the southwest end of the fortifications is a round tower-like monumental tomb, locally known as Hıdırlık Tower, rising 14 m. It dates to the Roman period and the reliefs flanking its doorway probably points to a tomb-owner at the level of a consul. On the axis joining this tower with the Hadrian’s Gate, in the southern half of the city is a five-aisled basilica, in ruins today. It was built with reused materials as a church dedicated to the Virgin in the fifth century AD. This church was converted to a mosque in the Seljuq period. The Fluted Minaret rising grandly in Kaleiçi is the symbol of the city today. The minaret was partly built with glazed bricks and dates to the Seljuq period.