Alanya is a
beautiful holiday center of modern hotels and motels, numerous
fish restaurants and cafes and bars. the cafes that ring the
harbor have become popular gathering places for tourists. From the
town's lovely park, road runs along the cost to the harbor, lined
with countless boutiques that tempt tourists with handicrafts,
leather, clothes, jewelry, handbags and the amusing painted
gourds, a symbol of the area. In august when Alanya hosts a
colorful International Folklore Festival the atmosphere is
charged with vitality and gaiety.
If you enjoy
exploring you should visit the Damlatas Cave to see the eerie
misshapen rock formations. Nearby is the Archaeological and
Ethnographical Museum. A boat can take you to the three sea
grottoes: Fosforlu Magara with its phosphorescent rocks, the Kizlar
Magarasi, where pirates imprisoned their female captives, and the
Asiklar Magarasi.
when the
intense sun overpowers you, take a day trip to the dim Cayi
Valley, 15 km east of Alanya, where you can relax in the shade of
this scenic valley and listen to the stream rushing by.
Avsallar
(Incekum), about 25 km from Alanya to the west, is a holiday
resort center with fine sandy beaches. If you travel east From
Alanya towards Gazipasa you will discover and no doubt linger on
the exceptional beaches.
30 km east of
Alanya, Aytap, the historical harbour city lot ape , is great
excursion site, with Roman ruins, secluded beaches and bays
The
name of the Alanya in antiquity is Corasiceum.It remained an independent
city between Pamphylia and Cilicia. The Syrian King
antiochus III. conquered entire Cilicia but could not get hold
of Corasiceum.
Blinded by their victories and
arrogance, the Corasiceans got involved in acts of piracy. The
most notorious of the pirates was Tryphon. He was a fearful
adversary even for the Roman empire. His men infiltrated the Roman
costal towns and abducted women and asked for ransom. The
naval commercial lines were all cut off because of the attacks
of the pirates. Famine struck the Roman Cities. And that was the
last drop, The roman Commander Pompeius chastised the
Corasiceans in 67 BC by totally annihibilating their fleet as
well as all of the pirates. Corasiceum became part of the Roman
Empire.
It is claimed that Alanya was
allocated for Cleopatra by Antonius
and that Cleopatra has used the cedar and pine trees of Alanya
forest for building a new fleet.
In the Byzantine times, Alanya took
on the name Kolonoros; meaning the beautiful mountain.
But she lived her brighest times in
the Seljuk period. Alaaddin Keykubat lent his name to the city
(ala-iye; meaning Ala-City). Alanya
became a very important hub of commerce and culture. The town
and remained so until the 13th Century when the silk roads
started to lose its importance. Many structures in the castle,
Sarapsa Han on the Antalya Road,Alara Han on the road
connecting Konya to the shore, the last stop and Alara Kalesi
(castle) are some of the more prominent works of Seljucks.
Air :
Antalya International
Airport , 130 km from Antalya