Kaleici is Antalya's old town, the walled quarter where Ottoman houses line narrow streets that descend to the harbor where yachts now moor. The Hadrian's Gate that Romans built, the mosques that Ottomans added, the boutique hotels that restoration has created - Kaleici is what Antalya preserves from what preceded tourism.

The old town is where visitors who want more than beach gather, the restaurants and bars and shops that pedestrian streets hold. The old town is charming and crowded and what makes Antalya more than resort.

The beaches that line the coast from Antalya are why most visitors come, the sand and pebble strips where Mediterranean sun warms water that deserves the name turquoise. The Konyaalti beach that the city provides, the Lara beach that resorts claim, the coves that exploration reaches - the beaches are Turkey's contribution to Mediterranean tourism.

The beaches serve the tourism that has made Antalya what it is - the all-inclusive resorts, the package tours, the millions who come from Russia and Germany and Britain and everywhere else. The beaches are product that Turkey sells; the sales have been spectacularly successful.

The ruins that surround Antalya provide the excursions that beach tourists take - Aspendos whose theater is Rome's best-preserved, Perge whose columns still stand, Termessos whose mountain location deterred Alexander. The ruins that demonstrate the civilizations that preceded tourism, that provide the culture that resort holidays need.

The ruins are what make Turkey's coast different from Spain's or Greece's, the depth that history provides. The ruins justify calling this region 'Turkish Riviera' rather than merely beach destination.

Tourism dominates Antalya's economy in ways that no other Turkish city matches, the 15 million visitors annually that make it Turkey's most visited city after Istanbul. The hotels that line the coast, the services that tourism requires, the employment that the industry provides - tourism is what Antalya does.

The tourism economy creates the Antalya that exists - the prosperity that visitors bring, the development that their money funds, the character that serving tourists creates. The tourism economy is what Antalya depends on; the dependence creates vulnerability that empty seasons reveal.

Antalya's climate is what tourism sells - the 300 sunny days annually, the Mediterranean warmth that extends swimming season from April to November, the winters that remain mild. The climate that made this coast desirable when resorts didn't exist, that makes it profitable now that they do.

The climate is Antalya's permanent asset, the geography that competitors cannot replicate. The climate is why Antalya grew and why it will continue growing.