The Isparta Angle has played a critical role in the development of concepts concerning the tectonic evolution of the Mesozoic-Tertiary Neotethys in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Following early regional studies, mainly by the Mineral Research and Exploration Institute of Turkey (MTA), during the 1960s and 1970s, a French team mapped the area and confirmed a regional tectonostratigraphy of three great allochthonous systems of mainly Mesozoic-Early Tertiary age, termed the Antalya, Lycian and Hoyran-Beysehir-Hadim nappes. During the 1970s and 1980s a British group studied the Neotethyan evolution of what they termed the Antalya Complex, utilizing knowledge of plate tectonic processes. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s MTA systematically remapped the area at 1:25 000 scale. The root zone of the Antalya allochthon was either a southerly Neotethys, within and to the south of the Isparta Angle, or a northerly Neotethys, many hundreds of kilometres to the north. The southerly origin is nowadays favoured but some questions remain. Attention focused in the 1990s until present to the post-collisional, neotectonic evolution of the Isparta Angle and its links with the neighbouring Mediterranean Sea. Here, we trace the development of research and the ongoing debates concerning alternative tectonic concepts used to explain the evolution of the Isparta Angle from Mesozoic to Recent time. We conclude by outlining several tectonic models for the evolution of the Antalya allochthon within a southerly Neotethys that require to be tested by future field studies. Copyright (C) 2003 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.