Finike (), the ancient Phoenix or Phoinix (), also formerly Phineka, is a municipality and

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Antalya Province Antalya Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality of Turkey. It is located on the Mediterranean Region, Turkey, Mediterranean coast of south-west Turkey, between the Taur ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Its area is 768 km², and its population is 49,720 (2022). It lies on the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

coast of

, to the west of the city of

Antalya Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...

, along the

Turkish Riviera The Turkish Riviera (), also known popularly as the Turquoise Coast, is an area of southwest Turkey encompassing the provinces of Antalya and Muğla, and to a lesser extent Aydın, southern İzmir and western Mersin. The combination of a ...

. It is located on the southern shore of the Teke peninsula, and the coast here is a popular tourist destination. However, Finike is best known for its oranges, the symbol of the town.

History

For centuries Finike, then named Phoenix or Phoinix () was a port town of

ancient Lycia Lycia (; Lycian language, Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; , ; ) was a historical region in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka lands, Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is today the Prov ...

, near the mountain of the same name. It was a trading port and the main port of

Limyra Limyra () ( was a small city in ancient Lycia on the southern coast of Asia Minor, on the Limyrus River (). History Already flourishing in the second millennium BCE, the city was one of the oldest and most prosperous in Lycia; it gradually ...

, the capital city of

Lycia Lycia (; Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; , ; ) was a historical region in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is today the provinces of Antalya and Muğ ...

. Phoenix was said to have been founded by

Phoenicians Phoenicians were an ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syrian coast. They developed a maritime civi ...

in the 5th century BC, and thus named after its founders. The area has been inhabited for much longer than that; archaeologists have found evidence near the town of

Elmalı Elmalı is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Antalya Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,433 km2, and its population is 40,774 (2022). It lies about inland, near the town of Korkuteli and west of the city of Antalya. Formerl ...

showing that the Teke peninsula has been settled since 3000 BC (although on the coast nothing has been uncovered dating before 2000 BC). Trade along the coast was established first by the

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

ns, who relinquished Lycia to the armies of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

. However, the coast was always vulnerable to forces from

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

until it was brought within the empire of the

Ancient Romans The Roman people was the ethnicity and the body of Roman citizenship, Roman citizens (; ) during the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire. This concept underwent considerable changes throughout the long history of the Roman ...

and the succeeding Byzantines. Even then the Byzantines were threatened by the Arabian armies coming from the Arabian Peninsula. The

Battle of the Masts The Battle of the Masts () was a naval battle fought in 655 between the Rashidun Caliphate under the command of Abu al-A'war and the Byzantine Empire led by emperor Constans II (). The battle was part of the earliest campaign by Mu'awiya, the go ...

between the Arab and Byzantine fleet took place near Finike in 654. Eventually the area was conquered by the

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turks, Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate society, Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persi ...

in the 13th century. These were succeeded by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

from 1426. The town was inhabited by Greeks prior to the 1923

population exchange between Greece and Turkey The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey stemmed from the "Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations" signed at Lausanne, Switzerland, on 30 January 1923, by the governments of Greece and Turkey. It involv ...

Composition

There are 26

neighbourhoods A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

in Finike District: * Akçaalan * Alacadağ * Arif * Asarönü * Boldağ * Çamlıbel * Dağbağ * Ernez * Eski * Gökbük * Gökçeyaka * Hasyurt * İskele * Kale * Karşıyaka * Kızılca * Kum * Sahilkent * Saklısu * Salur *

Turunçova Turunçova is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Finike, Antalya Province, Turkey. Its population is 7,690 (2022). Before the 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (''belde''). The village is inhabited by Tahtacı. Turunçova is si ...

* Yalnız * Yazır * Yeni *

Yeşilköy (; meaning "Green Village"; prior to 1926, San Stefano or Santo Stefano , ) is an affluent neighbourhood () in the municipality and district of Bakırköy, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its population is 25,039 (2022). on the Marmara Sea about ...

* Yeşilyurt * Yuvalı

Climate

Finike has a

hot-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Csa''), with very hot, muggy, virtually rainless summers, and mild winters with heavy rain.

Demographics

Cape Adrasan and the Riviera of Finike by Piri Reis

The district has a population of 49,720 (2022). The town itself has 21,765 inhabitants.

Finike today

The local economy depends on agriculture, particularly oranges and other citrus fruits. This is supplemented by income from tourism in the summertime, although because of the lucrative orange production and the distance from Antalya, Finike has not seen the large-scale tourism boom that has so radically changed the other coastal districts of Antalya. Finike is a quiet district where people buzz around on mopeds going about their daily lives. Indeed, many of the visitors that Finike does attract are retired people in search of relaxation. That's mostly because of the construction policy of 1980. That policy made the land more suitable for investment in agriculture rather than in hotels, luxury apartments and other tourist attractions. A type of pale limestone is quarried at Limyra, and sold as a decorative building material. It is cream colored with a homogeneous structure. Moreover, it is extremely light and that makes it ideal for building walking alleys and streets where only light vehicles pass by. The geologist classify the Limura limestone as with medium density.Turkey Guide
The port of Finike is now a yacht marina, and has a small fishing fleet. The coast is rich in marine life, including sea turtles, and fish, including local specialities

red porgy The red porgy (''Pagrus pagrus''), also known as the common seabream or Couch's bream, is a species of marine ray-finned fish in the family Sparidae. It is found in shallow waters on either side of the Atlantic Ocean, being present on the western ...

(

Sparidae Sparidae is a family of ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Spariformes, the seabreams and porgies, although they were traditionally classified in the order Perciformes. The over 150 species are found in shallow and deep marine waters in t ...

) and

grouper Groupers are a diverse group of marine ray-finned fish in the family Epinephelidae, in the order Perciformes. Groupers were long considered a subfamily of the seabasses in Serranidae, but are now treated as distinct. Not all members of this f ...

(

Epinephelus ''Epinephelus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, groupers from the subfamily Epinephelinae, part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. They are predatory fish, largely associated with reefs and are fo ...

); other fish found along the coast include

leerfish The leerfish or garrick (''Lichia amia'') is a species of marine fish in the family Carangidae. It is the only extant member of the genus ''Lichia''. It is native to much of the eastern Atlantic Ocean, from the Mediterranean and western Black Se ...

(

Carangidae The Carangidae are a family of ray-finned fish that includes the jacks, pompanos, jack mackerels, runners, trevallies, and scads. It is the largest of the six families included within the order Carangiformes. Some authorities classify it as the ...

) and the more widespread Mediterranean varieties such as

bluefish The bluefish (''Pomatomus saltatrix'') is the only extant species of the family Pomatomidae. It is a marine pelagic fish found around the world in temperate and subtropical waters, except for the northern Pacific Ocean. Bluefish are known as ta ...

sea bream Sparidae is a family of ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Spariformes, the seabreams and porgies, although they were traditionally classified in the order Perciformes. The over 150 species are found in shallow and deep marine waters in te ...

sea bass Sea bass is a common name for a variety of species of marine fish. Many fish species of various families have been called sea bass. In Ireland and the United Kingdom, the fish sold and consumed as sea bass is exclusively the European bass, ''Dic ...

, with

swordfish The swordfish (''Xiphias gladius''), also known as the broadbill in some countries, are large, highly migratory predatory fish characterized by a long, flat, pointed bill. They are the sole member of the Family (biology), family Xiphiidae. They ...

sardines Sardine and pilchard are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring suborder Clupeoidei. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century; a somewhat dubious etymology says it come ...

and others found further out to sea. However, the coast suffers from overfishing, and many varieties, including the porgy, are in decline. The beaches of Finike are an important nesting ground for ''

Caretta caretta The loggerhead sea turtle (''Caretta caretta'') is a species of oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around in carapace length when fully ...

'' sea turtles, and the rocky parts of the coast are used by the rare

Mediterranean monk seal The Mediterranean monk seal (''Monachus monachus'') is a monk seal belonging to the family Phocidae. , it is estimated that fewer than 700 individuals survive in three or four isolated subpopulations in the Mediterranean, (especially) in the A ...

Places of interest

*The ruins of Limyra are to be seen three miles east of the Finike, they consist of a theatre, tombs, Sarcophagi, bas-reliefs, Greek and Lycian inscriptions, etc. * The ancient city of

Arycanda Arycanda or Arykanda () is an Ancient Lycian city, former bishopric and present Catholic titular see in Antalya Province in the Mediterranean Region, Turkey, Mediterranean Region of Turkey. Arykanda was a rich but remote city built upon ...

, in a narrow valley off the road to Elmalı. * The ruins of Trysa with a carved frieze depicting

Theseus Theseus (, ; ) was a divine hero in Greek mythology, famous for slaying the Minotaur. The myths surrounding Theseus, his journeys, exploits, and friends, have provided material for storytelling throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes desc ...

, on the road to

Kaş Kaş () is a small fishing, diving, yachting and tourist town, and a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Antalya Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,750 km2, and its population is 62,866 (2022). It is 168 km west of the city ...

. * The small village of Turuncova, hidden in a small valley of

Taurus Mountains The Taurus Mountains (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar,'' Greek language, Greek'':'' Ταύρος) are a mountain range, mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coastal reg ...

, has preserved its traditional lifestyle and culture. * The cave of Suluin. * Wreck of a Phoenician merchant ship from about 1200 BC in

Cape Gelidonya Cape Gelidonya (, from , ''Chelidonia''; ), formerly Kilidonia or Killidonia is a cape or headland on the Teke Peninsula in the chain of Taurus Mountains, located on the southern coast of Anatolia between the Gulf of Antalya and the Bay of Finike ...

There are doubtless many more places of antiquity that need to be restored.

References

External links

Finike CPLInformation On FinikeSetur Finike Yacht Marinaa local information websiteFinike MEMFinike HEM
{{Authority control Turkish Riviera Antalya Populated places in Antalya Province Tourist attractions in Antalya Province Fishing communities in Turkey Populated coastal places in Turkey Districts of Antalya Province Former Greek towns in Turkey Lycia Phoenician colonies in Turkey Metropolitan district municipalities in Turkey Cittaslow