The Mediterranean Region - Turkey with Your Family: From Bustling Bazaars to Historic Sites - page 169

sweets, including Turkish
Delight in all manner of flavours
which your children will love
without doubt, and carpets and
antiques if you have a deep
pocket and want something
unique to send back home.
Your children will love find-
ing handmade trinkets and toys
in the side streets off the
Damlatas Caddesi in Alanya,
and your teenagers will find
jeans and T-shirts in, what seems,
every design and colour. Alanya
is known for its silk and many of
the little specialist shops around
this area sell it as clothing or by
the metre. In nearby Ehmediye
Village , you can buy handmade
lace and linens.
In Antalya , you'll find craft
shops and specialists selling more
unusual souvenirs such as sculp-
tures and paintings in the old
quarter around Kaleiçi, while in
Side everything from handmade
jewellery to ceramics can be
found in the little shops and stalls
that line the streets. In Perge's
Colonnaded Street local women
kneel on the pavement with their
handmade lace and trinkets set
out in front of them.

be lost on very young children.
Much better perhaps is to take
one or two shorter trips, broken
up with beach and water park
experiences. One of the best
ways to sample the rural area of
the Mediterranean region and
one that your children are likely
to enjoy, however, is to take a
jeep safari. You'll see lovely little
villages, mountain views and
wildlife and you'll also find lots
of areas where you can pull in
and enjoy a picnic. All major
towns along the coast have com-
panies offering jeep safaris, so
wherever you are staying simply
head down to the seafront or
visit the local tourist information
office.
Karain Cave

★
On the eastern side of Çan Mountain,
well signposted and around a half-
hour drive from Antalya.

Your children will love the
chance to explore the intercon-
necting chambers of the Karain
Cave. On the eastern side of
Çan Mountain, well signposted
and around a half-hour drive
from Antalya, the cave revealed a
vast collection of priceless arte-
facts when it was discovered a
few years ago. Some were dated
to 160,000 BC, making them
some of the oldest finds in the
Med. The more valuable pieces
are displayed in major museums
across the country, but you do
get a taste by visiting the little
museum at the entrance to the
cave where some are on display.
Open hours vary. Admission free.

Child-friendly Tours &
Excursions
Most of the tours offered around
this part of Turkey are based on
historic sites and, realistically,
taking children of any age on
many of these will be hard
going. The whole area has some
undoubtedly wonderful sites,
but their significance is likely to

169