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Alanya (formerly known as Coracesium) is a seaside resort in the Turkish province of Antalya. The easiest way to get to Alanya is by air and the airport is in Antalya, which is 90 minutes away by car (about 120 km). Located on the Gulf ... more »
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Hotels Alanya (formerly known as Coracesium) is a seaside resort in the Turkish province of Antalya. The easiest way to get to Alanya is by air and the airport is in Antalya, which is 90 minutes away by car (about 120 km).
Located on the Gulf of Antalya in the coastal plain of Pamphylia, the town is bordered by the Taurus Mountains on the north and the Mediterranean Sea on the south and is considered part of the Turkish riviera. The town is divided by a rocky peninsula with the harbor and Keykubat beach on the east side and Damlatas beach, named for the famous "dripping caves," and Cleopatra beach on the west side. Legend and locals claim the name derives from either the Ptolemaic princess' visit here or the area's inclusion in her dowry to Mark Antony. Regardless, the area was indeed under Egyptian hegemony in the first century BC.
Many tourists (especially Scandinavian, German, Russian and the Dutch people) vacation in Alanya during the summer. Tourists are drawn to the area because of reasonable prices, pleasantly warm weather, sandy beaches, access to historic sites, and fine cuisine. Beach activities frequently include wind surfing, parasailing, and banana boating. Nightclubs and bars aimed at tourists are numerous. A height restriction in the city keeps high rise hotels to the east and west of the city, preserving its skyline at the expense of greater tourist potential.
The tourist industry here is worth over 1.2 billion euros, and is therefore the principal industry, though the area is known for its many fruit farms, particularly lemons and oranges, and large harvests of tomatoes and cucumbers.
Things to do
* Alanya Kale (Castle), old city walls, Süleymaniye Mosque and Caravanserai * Kizil Kule (Red Tower), a brick building located at the harbor, 33 meters high; with the ethnographic museum inside. * Tersane (arsenal), the dry dock located adjacent to the Tower * Damlatash cave, with an average temperature of 22 °C and 96% humidity * Archaeology museum
Though first fortified in the Hellenistic period following the area's conquest by Alexander the Great, the castle rock was likely inhabited long before that under the Hittite and Persian Empires. Known in Latin as Coracesium or in Greek as Korakesion from the Luwian Korakassa meaning "point/protruding city," it was a popular spot for Mediterranean piracy. This period ended with the city's incorporation into the Roman Empire by Pompey in 65 BC. After the Empire's collapse and split, the city remained under Byzantine influence, becoming known as "Kolonoros," or beautiful mountain. The area fell from their control after the Battle of Manzikert to tribes of Seljuk Turks, only to be returned in 1103 by Alexios I Komnenos and forces of the First Crusade.
The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia periodically held the port, and it was from an Armenian, Kir Fard, that Muslims took lasting control in 1221 when the Anatolian Seljuk Sultan Ala ad-Din Kay Qubadh I exchanged governance of the city of Aksehir for it. The the city was renamed Alaiye, a derivative of Ala ad-Din. Seljuk rule saw the golden age of the city, and it can be considered the winter capital of their empire. Building projects, including the twin citadel, city walls, arsenal, and Red Tower made it an important port for western Mediterranean trade, particularly with Ayyubid Egypt and the Italian city-states. Kay Qubadh also constructed numerous gardens and pavilions outside the walls, and many of his works can still be found in the city.
The Mongol invasion broke down Seljuk control, and the city fell to a series of beyliks, and even to Lusignans from Cyprus. The city was sold by the Karamanoglu dynasty in 1427 to the Mamluk dynasty for a period before the general Gedik Ahmed Pasha in 1471 incorporated it into the growing Ottoman Empire. In 1571 the city was organized into the province of Cyprus, then later under Konya, and in 1868 under Antalya, as it is today.
Like most in this region, the city suffered heavily following the population exchanges the heralded the Turkish Republic, when many of the city's Christians resettled in Nea Ionia, outside Athens. In his 1935 visit, Atatürk finalized the name in the new alphabet as Alanya, changing the 'i' and 'e' in Alaiye, reportedly because of a misspelled telegram two years prior. Tourism in the region started among Turks who flocked to Alanya in the 1950s for the alleged healing properties of Damlatas cave, and later with the access provided by Antalya's airport gaining the city greater international appeal.
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Distances are calculated as the crow flies, and are provided as an aid in planning only.
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