Alhamdulillah my family and I went to Antalya, Turkiye in October 2022.
THE RESORT
We stayed at the Adenya Hotel and Resort which provides
halal food, segregated pools and beach, a Masjid etc.
It's a beautiful place. There are 6 swimming pools,
segregated for Male, Female and families. There's also a separate beach for
females (pools and beach doesn't allow camera phones too to preserve privacy).
The resort has their own Masjid, fully carpeted, with wudu
and toilet facilities for both men and women. Jumuah also takes place here. There's
a nice green area which overlooks the sea. Families get together here
especially at night for tea, drinks etc which are all free too. We had people
playing football here too.
They do have shows on, and often encourage children to join
in. Unfortunately, a downside was the music being played often.
FOOD & DRINKS
We had an all-inclusive package, which included buffet
breakfast, lunch, dinner and regular drinks, tea, coffee 24/7. A huge variety
of food, fruits etc.
Everyday there was some slight changes to the food menu. The
waiters and waitresses were so kind. They'd come up and offer drinks and even
water as and when you please. Everyone noticed that not once did they have a
displeased face on them. They smiled always.
We had three places for food in the resort. A restaurant for
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. Cafes next to the pools that served pizza, gozleme
etc and a café that served burgers, waffles, desserts etc. There was also couple
of a-la carte restaurants, but we didn’t get to check those out.
In the hotel lobby they served continuous supplies of
various drinks, tea, coffee etc with some small dessert nibbles.
CHILDREN FRIENDLY
MashaAllah children will love this place. There are small
paddling pools for children, games, slides and swings and shows.
The staff are very friendly to children. No annoyance on
their faces when children ask for things. They were always happy to serve
children. Children were fine with the food too. They serve burgers and chips etc.
Alhamdulillah the children were roaming around freely with no concern. They
were safe and independent.
DAY TRIPS:
Jumuah
We decided to pray Jumuah in an outside Masjid, just for the
experience. On the map we found a Masjid called 'Fatih Sultan Camii' which
looked nice too.
We walked 30 mins. However, when we got there, we discovered
that in some Masajid, women don't pray Jumuah therefore the women’s area is
used by the men. Two gentlemen explained this to us in Turkish and
Alhamdulillah we understood it! So, after walking around the local area, shops
etc we headed back towards our resort.
There was another Masjid nearby called Kesteloğlu Cami.
Again, women don't pray Jumuah, but a kind brother opened up a room where a
total of 5 women prayed. The Masjid was nice nevertheless and the Khutbah was
about marriage MashaAllah.
Alanya Kalesii
We also got to visit the Alanya Kalesi, built by Sultan
Alaeddin Kaykubad (who features in Diriliş Ertuğrul). From our hotel it cost
€20 by a pre-booked taxi. It took around 25 minutes to get there.
The driver, Mehmet, offered to pick us up again, which was
good as I didn't fancy hailing another taxi and haggling etc.! The entrance fee
to the castle was 65tl (£3) per person. The castle is in ruins with only one or
two rooms intact. There's also a small church here too. It is wheelchair
friendly, as they’ve built platforms for wheelchair users.
It was nice to walk around but hardly anything to do.
There's not many information boards etc. here. I did like the atmosphere as
there was probably only 6-7 people including ourselves.
There was a nice feeling here and the views overlooking the
sea was amazing. It was scary too, looking down the hill!
We found ourselves in some winding pathways on the hill
where the castle is located. This was just outside the castle entrance.
There were small residential buildings, government offices, graves,
and other ruins of the castle. We came across to an abandoned building (which
we nicknamed jinn house because of the way it looked!)
There are also shops selling drinks and snacks, dotted
around the area. One place sells hot food too. An old Bazaar was nearby, but
with only a handful of shops that didn't look interesting. We did get some
magic corn though.
We came across the Suleyman Camii, which was initially built
by Sultan Alaeddin, however it was destroyed by lightning and Sultan Suleiyman Kaynuni
rebuilt it. It is referred to both names. This is the main masjid in the area
and some of the locals come here to pray too.
There was an old-abandoned Masjid nearby. It contained two
unknown graves. I decided to give azan through the window. It was a nice
feeling indeed.
The Green Canyon
This is located near Manavgat, and Antalya and we had booked
a day trip with a local tour group. They set a date and sent a coach to our
hotel on the day to pick us up. The canyon is located up on the mountains, and
it was quite scary driving up! But the driver was quite an expert MashaAllah.
We came to a section where a boat was docked on a platform. It
was a two-level boat with other people in it who had come earlier. Our coach driver
happened to be the captain of the boat too!
It was a lovely ride, down the canyon which was actually
green! Beautiful scenery, with the mountains and trees. We stopped three times.
Once for a spot of fishing and swimming, another time for swimming only and
another time for lunch. Lunch was provided by the company. There was a small
masjid nearby and WC facilities. The staff were very kind throughout the journey.
It was a lovely trip and one I would love to recreate again.
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