Land of Myths: Belek

Belek is in the middle of a region which is a rich water basin known as Pamphylia in the ancient era. Pamphylia means “place of all races”, and as its name suggests, it is a significant geography since ages. Researches in Pamphylia show that civilizations survived on these lands until the paleolithic age.

You can trace the mysteries of history in Belek which is 17 km, 22 km, and 15 km away from important cities of Pamphylia region, i.e. Aspendos, Perge and Sillyon, respectively. Belek, a crossroads of civilization, is a fascinating tourism paradise with its antique identity leaving a mark in the memories and hearts of millions of people…

Selge: Ancient City Amphitheater
Selge: Ancient City Amphitheater
Selge: Adam Kayalar
Selge: Adam Kayalar
Silyon: Ancient Ruins
Silyon: Ancient Ruins
Silyon: Ancient Rocky Plateau
Silyon: Ancient Rocky Plateau

Belek’s Emergence on the Tourism Scene

The mass tourism movement, which started off in 1984 in the town of Belek, widely known as Belek Tourism Center, diversified with golf tourism in the 90s before taking its current shape in 2006. Inasmuch as the enactment of the 1982 Tourism Promotion Act supported the development of the tourism industry with a legislation, the Act played a very important role in shaping tourism in Turkey. Following its enactment, investment activities gathered speed in the south cost in particular, and Antalya has become a center of attraction for its diversity of resources and favorable climate. As a result of these developments, Belek Tourism Center has emerged as an important sub-center of Eastern Antalya Tourism Development Project.

The borders of Belek as a tourism center were first drawn in 1984 and the town was aimed to serve solely for mass tourism. The first planning project at Belek Tourism Center was created by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism and approved by the Municipality of Serik in 1986. With this master plan, Belek was divided into two regions as East and West on 21 July 1986.

According to this plan, West Belek included Üçüncü Kum Tepesi and Taşlıburun sites. Two camping sites with a total capacity of 900 units on a 25-hectare area, and a 4500-bed accommodation facility on a 45-hectare area were planned to be built in Üçüncü Kum Tepesi. Taşlıburun was to see a 7200-bed capacity facility built on an area spanning 72 hectares. East Belek, on the other hand, included İskele, İleribaşı and Acısu sites. In İskele, a camping site with a total capacity of 324 units on a 9-hectare area, and a 4900-bed accommodation facility on a 49-hectare area were planned to be built. For İleribaşı, a Public Institutions Education and Recreation Facility with a capacity of 840 beds, a social tourism area with a capacity of 10,973 beds, and a daycation area of 15 hectares; and for Acısu, a 5750-bed facility on an area of 57.5 hectares were proposed. In addition, a regional park, where the flora and the fauna of the region would be preserved and the local people could visit for recreation purposes was planned to be built between Aksu and Beşgöz streams.


Belek
Belek
Antalya Golf Club
Antalya Golf Club
Belek Acısu Location
Belek Acısu Location

The first investments in Belek Tourism Center started in 1987. In accordance with the Environmental Plan, the bed capacity of the parcels designated as “tourism facility area” was 650. On 23 July 1989, the implementary development plan was approved and the total capacity was determined as 14,950. The rapid growth of the tourism industry has inevitably brought along infrastructure problems. Belek Tourism Investors Association was established in 1989 with the purpose of solving the infrastructure problems in Belek Tourism Center with the cooperation of public and private sectors. Also known as BETUYAB, it was a union created by tourism investors who received the first allocations.


In 1990, the boundaries of Belek Tourism Center were expanded; Belek and Kadriye (Akkınlar) settlements were also included in the area. The purpose of this expansion was to ensure the controlled and planned development of Belek and Kadriye, located in the hinterland, in parallel with the planned tourism development in the coast and forests behind.


The mass tourism movement, which started off in 1984 in the town of Belek, widely known as Belek Tourism Center, diversified with golf tourism in the 90s. Following the planning in 2004, all allocations were complete and except a few facilities, which were still under construction, the facilities were put into operation. With a final expansion in 2006, the current borders of Belek Tourism Center were drawn. 


Belek Üçkum Tepesi Location
Belek Üçkum Tepesi Location
Belek Taşlıburun Location
Belek Taşlıburun Location
Belek İskele Location
Belek İskele Location
Belek İleribaşı Location
Belek İleribaşı Location
Must See