■ Historical Places Of Alanya

ALANYA CASTLE

Alanya Castle was built by Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin Keykubat in the 13th century, and the castle has a height of 250 meters and the length of its walls is 6.5 km. Since Alanya Castle was located on a ten-hectare large peninsula; it was a host of Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman civilizations. The castle, which is surrounded by three lines of walls with 83 towers and 140 bastions, consists of inner and outer castle parts as a whole. The castle has 420 cisterns, some of which are still in use today and the life inside of the castle is still being preserved today without losing its touch of history.

Alanya Castle consists of Ehmedek, Akşebe Masjid, Andızlı Mosque, Selçuklu Hammam, Aşağı Kale Hammam, Aya Yorgi Church, Kanuni Sultan Süleyman Mosque, Akşabe Sultan Shrine, Selçuklu Hammam, Arasta, Bedesten, Sitti Zeynep Shrine, Sultan Alâeddin Palace, cisterns with miscellaneous dimensions, and a lighthouse and a dungeon. And being a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage candidate, Alanya Castle is also a historical treasure and has been declared as a cultural heritage site that needs to be protected on a national scale.

The old Alanya houses in the castle which have been restored and opened for use are among the other places worth seeing. In some of these houses, which are under protection, weaving is done on old looms and food and drinks are served in an authentic environment in the gardens. Since the castle is open to traffic, you can use cars or buses to visit, or you can walk to the castle in approximately 45 minutes.

You can also visit Ehmedek Castle on the same day with the ticket purchased at the entrance to Alanya Castle. The castle, where the museum card can be used for entry, is open to visitors every day of the week in spring and summer between 09:00 and 19:30, and in winter it is open to visitors between 08:00 and 17:00.

Main entrance gate of Alanya Castle:

The main entrance gate of Alanya Castle which is also known as Pazar Kapi is located in Hisarici Neighborhood Tunnel and provides entrance and exit to the castle. The main entrance gate and the bastion structure behind it constitute one of the most important points of the castle, and the red and white checkered frescoes on the walls are unique to Alanya Castle. According to the inscription on it, the Main Entrance Gate, which was built in 1230, its adjacent tower and fortification structure have been restored by the Alanya Municipality to serve as a visitor information centre.

Alaeddin Keykubat Palace

Ickale Palace, built by Alaeddin Keykubat and used as an administrative structure; consists of the ruins of the structure on a plain on the southeast corner of the Ickale Palace. Palace is separated from the other sections by a wall extending along the southwest edge to form a terrace. Since the 13th-century palaces are mostly wooden, it is thought that there are tiles, frescoes and Seljuk wood art examples in terms of decorative art.

Ehmedek

The complex building group located on an area to the north of Alanya Castle is called “Ehmedek”. It was built by Aladdin Keykubat the First one year after the Red Tower, and it is seen that larger stones were used than the other walls. It is understood from the inscription at the entrance gate that it was built in 1227.

It is thought that the name of Ehmedek might have originated from the nickname of the master of the Seljuk period or the fortification of the castle. Ehmedek (Middle Castle), which consists of two separate defence sections, each with three towers, was built in a strategic location against land attacks and in a position to protect the sultan’s palace. The building complex includes three large cisterns, a small bath and spaces of different sizes, and the three cisterns are still in use today.

Bedesten

The 13-meter-wide, 35-meter-long rectangular building group to the southwest of the Suleymaniye Mosque is called Bedesten. Bedesten, which was thought to have been built as an inn in the 14th or 15th centuries during the Karamanogullari Principality, has 26 rooms and a rectangular courtyard.

It is thought that a closed space laid with bricks, separated in the middle by four rows of columns opposite the entrance and with a skylight in the middle of the ceiling was used as a barn or storage. There are nine cells with flattened arches on the long sides of the courtyard.

There is a large cistern in the garden of the Bedesten, which now serves as a hotel, restaurant and cafeteria. The garden section has a magnificent two-way view of the castle walls, the Mediterranean Sea and the Taurus Mountains. The medieval shops opening into the courtyard are now arranged as hotel rooms.

Mint

At the tip of the peninsula, the structures on the Cilvarda cape, which consist of steep cliffs up to 400 meters in length, are called mints. Although it is called mint, there is no money to be printed in the buildings. The 11th century stone structures are thought to have been used for places of worship, watchtowers and other purposes. Although there is a stepped path carved into the rocks from the Inner Castle to descend to the structures in the cape of Cilvarda, the road is unusable today. The ascending to the building structures from the sea is difficult and dangerous. The Mint has an impressive view and can be seen from the castle and the sea.

Tophane and Tophane neighbourhood

Tophane, built-in 1227, adjacent to the shipyard in order to protect Alanya shipyard, is located at an altitude of 10 m. It was also known that in the armoury during the period it was built, artillery was made for warships. Tophane neighbourhood, where traditional Alanya houses are located, is one of the most visited spots in Alanya as a result of landscaping and renovation works in recent years. Alanya houses, prayer houses of different religions, boutique hotels, gourd workshops, some endemic plant and butterfly species can be seen in Tophane neighbourhood which has a very sloping structure.

Ethnographic Museum of the Kizilkule (Red Tower)

Kizilkule, which is a unique example of Mediterranean defence structures, was built to protect the harbour, shipyard and Alanya Castle against the attacks coming from the sea. It was built in 1226 by the Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin Keykubat, who also built the Sinop Castle. Kizilkule has five floors including the ground floor, first floor, mezzanine floor, open floor and an open terrace. During the construction of the tower, because it is difficult to remove stone blocks after a certain height, the upper part was made of baked red bricks and therefore the structure was called Kizilkule (Red Tower).

Kizilkule is an octagonal building with a wall of 12.5 meters in width, 33 meters in height and 29 meters in diameter. The tower which has 85 high-spaced steps up to the top receives sunlight from the top to the first floor. The cistern, which was built in the middle of the tower to meet the water needs, still works even today. The tower is a unique example of Anatolian building art with its location, plan, construction technique and inscriptions, and has become the symbol of Alanya with its paramount appearance.
 

Evliya Çelebi, a 17th-century traveller states that Alanya Castle has a strong tower with eight corners on the seaside, which could take 2000 men during the siege and that the second castle guard had 40 soldiers.

Kizilkule, which is definitely recommended to be visited for people who come to Alanya on holiday, offers a great view to its visitors due to its location. Visitors to the Red Tower can also see the shipyard built in the 13th century from the top floor of the Tower, with a fascinating view of the eastern side of the city and the settlement texture of the historic peninsula.
The tower, which is the watchtower of the shipyard, underwent a thorough maintenance and renovation work between 1951 and 1953 and was converted into an ethnography museum and opened to visitors. The entrance and the first floor of the five-storey tower serve as a museum and cultural and art activity place such as painting exhibitions and classical music concerts which are held from time to time in the historic structure.

Visiting hours pf Kizilkule
Between 15 April – 2 October, it opens is 8:00 and closes at 19:30
Between 3 October – 14 April, it opens at 08:00 and closes ar 17:00.

Tunnel structure

In front of the Kizilkule, the building, which serves as the sea gate of the fortress, stands the tunnel structures called the Egri Tower and the remains of which can be seen today. Egri Tower is connected to Kızılkule through a tunnel at the time it was built and it is estimated that its ships are used to meet the needs of food, water, soldiers and weapons.

Historical Bath Structure

It is known that the structure located to the south of Kizilkule is used as a bazaar bath with the traditional Alanya House. The temperature section was designed in a square-shaped system with small domes in the centre, which was common in Turkish baths starting from the 12th century to the 20th century. The bath is illuminated by the openings called the elephant eye on the dome. It is understood that the water coming from the bath was provided from the reservoir behind the Girene fountain which was built in the 13th century and which took the water from a source outside the city wall. The historical bath was operated by the owners of the house, which was located on it until the 1960s.

Port Walls

Port walls built during the reign of Alaeddin Keykubat I constitute the magnificent profile of Alanya Castle harbour area in the sea direction together with the monumental structures of Kizil Kule, Tersane and Tophane. Hundreds of ships graffiti belonging to different periods can be seen on the walls of the port.

Meyyit Gate

As the Red Tower and Tophane region are related to port trade and defence and the residences are located in

It is understood that it was built in 1230 according to the inscription on the Meyyit gate, which is known as the gate on the road that connects Kizilkule to the Tophane district. It was named Meyyit Gate because the death of the old city of Alanya was removed from this gate and the prayers were made in front of the gate around the coffin rest.
As the Red Tower and Tophane region are related to port trade and defence and the residences are located in the Tophane region, it was understood that the Meyyit gate was used only by soldiers and navy members and workers working on the pier in ancient times. The red and white checkered frescoes on the walls are also processed in a unique way to Alanya Castle. Meyyit gate serves as an information centre today.

Shipyard

It was built by Sultan Alaeddin Keykubat in 1227 in order to protect the tradesmen and coastal traders in the Mediterranean and to form the Mediterranean Fleet. Considering the time of daylight saving in terms of site selection, the walls of the building are made of hewn stone, arches and domes are made of bricks. The structure is the only Seljuk shipyard that has been built adjacent to each other on the seashore to the south of the Red Tower and has five chambers. There is an inscription on the entrance door bearing the coat of arms of Alaeddin Keykubat and decorated with badges. The protruding section on the right side of the gate is used as a masjid and the 5-window section on the left is used as an office by the shipyard officers.

57 m long shipyard structure consists of 5 vaulted chambers each having a width of 7.70 meters, the longest 43 meters and the shortest 32 meters long, and the pointed arched walls separating the eyes from each other. The vents in the vaults of the shipyard, whose walls are made of hewn stone, arches and vaults of bricks, allow both lights to enter and smoke to escape. The shipyard structure is positioned to make the most use of daylight. It is built at different levels to keep rock breaking to a minimum. The shipyard is not only a shipbuilding or winter accommodation of ships, but also has iron workplaces where repairs, sailing and ship equipment can be made, it has administrative and storage areas and is a permanent shipyard.

The shipyard, where boat building and repair continued until the 1960s, now serves as a museum dealing with maritime and ship subjects. While walking on a wooden walkway from the entrance you can see an antique crane in the first blinker, a fast sailboat that was used for logistics and replenishment in the Ottoman navy, one uncoated boat, a mizzen (a mast located in the stern of the boat) and one bumpkin (a part placed horizontally on the pole that is used for sailing) in the second blinker, one main pole (the longest mast of the boat), tools used in shipbuilding and the freshwater well in the third blinker, antique anchors in the fourth blinker and instruments used to determine the direction of the ships in the fifth blinker.

The shipyard, which has remained intact for eight centuries, is located next to Kızılkule as the symbol of Alanya. Entrance to the shipyard is free of charge and can be reached by boat from the sea or on foot from the walls next to the Red Tower.

Bonded Warehouses

A few of the bonded warehouses built for the berthing of the ships in the region between Kizilkule and Tophane has reached the present day. During the construction period it is known that there was a large dock for berthing of vessels in this area and this dock was protected by Kizilkule and Tophane, as well as warehouses on the city side where the ship’s supplies, supplies and ammunition were kept; however, it is seen that some of the docks and depots have been destroyed.

Alanya Lighthouse

The lights of the lighthouse can be seen from a distance of 20 nautical miles. In the lantern, firstly a fused gas oil lamp was used as the light source and then the brightly lit lamps operating with LPG were used and nowadays lighting is provided with a 500–watt electric lamp.

Historical Cistern Structure
The cistern, which was built as a square plan during the Seljuk period in the 13th century, consists of two spaces connected by vaults. This building, which was built to meet the water requirement in the old period, has been serving for tourism purposes after the maintenance and renovation works and it also hosts painting and photography exhibitions.

Cisterns

In order to meet the water needs of the people living in and around Alanya Castle, 420 cisterns of various sizes have been identified in the castle. The most important of these cisterns is the Mecduddin Cistern, which is between 22.5 meters deep and 13 meters wide located between Akşabe Sultan Masjid and Bedesten. These cisterns are one of the most beautiful examples of the importance that Seljuk Turks attach to infrastructure as well as architecture. These cisterns provide a large part of the water needs of the people and are still used by the local people today.

Cistern of Mecuddin

Since the inhabitants of Alanya Castle in the old period did not have a natural water source, they met their water needs through the cisterns where rainwater was collected. Today, there is a cistern in and around Alanya castle and in many of the traditional Alanya houses in the centre of Alanya. The inner castle is also known as the Cistern Castle because of its large cisterns. Most of the cisterns were built in the 13th century and have survived until today.

Mecdüddin Cistern located in Hisariçi Neighborhood is a 13th-century Seljuk structure. The rectangular barrel-vaulted structure is bordered by rubble stone walls raised from the outside. It has a mortared brick wall and a plastered surface. A small section with raised walls on the western side gives the cistern plan a U-shape. There are 3 water chimneys and 1 water leakage hole in the upper part.

The Kyrenia Fountain

The water of the 13th century Seljukian fountain comes from a spring outside the city wall. Behind the fountain, there is a reservoir made of bricks to accumulate water. From the source outside the fortification, both the fountain and the historical baths are transferred to water by means of terracotta pipes. As a result of excavations around the fountain, the structure, walls and stairs were exposed.

İçkale

İçkale is located at the summit of the peninsula extending to the Mediterranean Sea and within the historical castle. The presence of a magnificent palace belonging to Alaeddin Keykubat, one of the Seljuk sultans, was also found inside the İçkale.Just across the palace remains is a small church built with a clover plan.The existence of the church, which is still standing, is the greatest proof of the existence of an atmosphere of tolerance that embraces different beliefs during the Seljuk period.
From the terrace, which is located at the back of the citadel, and is called Seyirlik, you can watch the fascinating view of both Taurus Mountains and Alanya coasts.

Adam Atacağı (Man Thrower)
According to the rumour, it is said that two criminals were wrestled here and one of them was thrown into the sea by their rival.  Located at the northeast of Alanya castle, this area is approximately 250 meters high from the sea. There is also an old dungeon at a depth of 15 meters. It is also said that the perpetrator who was defeated was forgiven if he was taken out of the dungeon after a while and dropped one of the three stones given at the sea in exchange for his life. In this area where the discarded stone is very difficult to be thrown into the sea due to airflow and gravity, the tradition of throwing stones arising from the rumour is continued by domestic and foreign tourists with wishes.

Seljukian Bath
The bath, presumed to be built by Alaeddin Keykubat, is located next to the bastions to the east of the inner castle.The red brick and mortar bath has a single-domed and eight-faced structure. It is understood that it has a collapsed dome with a diameter of 5 meters and a small room covered with a vault. The bath meets the water need from the large cistern in the inner castle with pipes made of soil.