Alanya Castle

Alanya Castle crowns a dramatic 250-metre promontory that juts into the Mediterranean. The Seljuk fortress at the top encloses an entire small ruined city — Byzantine church, Seljuk palace, cisterns, and the remains of a bazaar — surrounded by 6 km of walls. The views from the top across the coast in both directions are extraordinary.

The castle is most easily reached by road (a winding drive up from town), but there is also a chairlift from the beach that deposits you partway up. Combine with the Red Tower and the arsenal (tersane) at the base of the promontory, both worth a look in their own right.

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A story
Alanya Castle was the winter capital of the Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad I, who captured it in 1220 and used it as a base to control the eastern Mediterranean trade routes. The Seljuk Red Tower (Kızıl Kule), which still stands at the harbour entrance, was built in the same year and contained a sophisticated system for hoisting supplies to the castle above — a supply chain that could sustain thousands of soldiers in a siege.

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