Alanya Destination Guide

Discovered in 1948 by engineers working in the harbour, the Damlatas caves are located by the western edge of Cleopatra Beach, right at the start of the beach close to the tourist information centre. Because these caves are so close to the beach, you can exercise your muscles and walk up to these caves once you’re done resting on the sunny sands and conveniently return for some more sun bathing on the beach.

These moist caves have a humidity level of almost 90% and enjoy a pleasant temperature of 22–23 degree Celsius. Somehow a combination of all these characteristics has rendered the air in the cave very therapeutic, and it has gained the reputation of having a very positive effect on people ailing from asthma related problems. In fact, these caves are open only to asthma patients in the morning, but general public can visit from 10 in the morning to 6 in the evening.

The Damlatas caves also have some breathtaking stalactites and stalagmites.

Dim Valley is another gorgeous place located at a distance of 15km from Alanya. The Dim cave is situated in one end of the Dim valley at a height of 230 metres above sea level and extends 400 metres inside the mountain. It is an amazingly stunning cave and has some remarkable stalagmites and stalactites suspended inside. The cave has been covered with a footbridge for visitors to walk on so that the site suffers minimal damage from the well deserved onslaught of visitors. At the end of this path you come to a pretty lake, with everything looking all the more attractive thanks to the choice lighting fitted inside. The ‘stone sculptures’ are indeed very beautiful but you may still be left cold, but that’s only because the cave is almost always humid and chilly, even in days when the temperature outside is more than 30 degrees Celsius.

The Red Tower is easily one of the most famous attractions of Alanya and its picture even proudly adorns the 250 Turkish Lira currency bill. It stands tall at a height of 33 metres and has 5 floors. Exhibitions are occasionally held on the tower’s first floor with various traditional Turkish articles on display – from work tools to carpets to even weapons belonging to various periods of Turkish history.
Open: 10am – 6pm every day
History: Sultan Alladin Keykubat captured Alanya in the year 1226 after five years of intense struggle. It was then that he erected the red tower on the harbour so he could protect the city’s shipyard.

The Alanya Castle stands at a height of 250 metres (820 ft) on a hill close to the old town of Alanya.  A road twisting through the town climbs up to the upper fortress’s courtyard. The castle stands along the western wall of this courtyard, and is still in quite a decent condition. At the northern end of the upper courtyard you can see the castle mosque or the Kale Camii, while a lighthouse dating back to the year 1720 stands on its southern edge. Interestingly, the ruins of a cruciform Byzantine church can also be seen here.

The castle is surrounded by a 6 km long wall that contained outlook posts for soldiers at various vantage points. Visitors can drink in picturesque scenes of the Mediterranean coast from the castle, complete with houses dotting the landscape, colourful fruit orchards and the Ak Dagi Massif.

How to get there: While the walk up to the castle is quite pleasant, the road does get a little steep and the weather a bit too warm. But the road is lined with numerous cafes and restaurants to keep you motivated. You can always take the taxis or dolmuses running right till the top.  

History of Alanya Castle

The castle building has seen a number of phases of construction extending over centuries. It was first built in the era before Christ, but the most prominent contributor to the castle’s construction was Sultan Alaadin Keykubat.

A strange story is associated with the castle too. There is a place on the hill’s edge where prisoners held in the castle were offered an opportunity to save themselves. They were granted 3 chances of throwing a goat or a stone (nobody is really sure about that) into the sea water from this point on the hill. But somehow the peculiar shape of the hill made this task extremely tough. On failing to land the stone into the water even the third time around, the prisoners themselves were pushed out and plunged down into the waters their stone couldn’t reach.

The sprawling old town of Alanya dates back to Ottoman and Seljuk times. It is squeezed in between the lower and south (middle) walls of the fortress standing on the eastern slopes of the peninsula. The fortress dates back to an even earlier period with ancient foundations. The modern town stretches by the shore towards the northeast of the peninsula, and ultimately ends in fruit orchards.

Just about 35 km (22 miles) away from Alanya, standing by the coast of a small bay you can see the ruins of the ancient city of Syedra. Even as you approach the road you start seeing remains like baths, parts of walls and necropolis of the lower town extending all the way up to the adjacent hillside. As you go higher up in the mountains a little towards the northeast, you encounter the spot of the acropolis, grandly overlooking the Sedir Çayi from its standpoint over the vertical stony precipice.

If dark, restricted spaces at a high altitude excite you then do not miss the chance of exploring Lover’s cave. The name comes from a legend that says that lovers who enter this cave and jump together into the sea water will always stay together forever. Boat tours around Alanya have this cave marked as one of their stops and you have the option of safely staying on the boat or climbing up inside the cave. After a not very difficult climb, you reach the gloomy cave. If you keep on walking you emerge on the other side of the mountain from where you can jump into the inviting waters; or climb back down if not in the mood.

Do take a boat tour around Alanya and spend an entire day at sea, exploring and even swimming in caves, catching and barbequing fish, and having a great day soaking in the Mediterranean sunshine. The accompanying guide will spare no pains to keep you informed about the various sights you see along the coast, like the castle, shipyard and the red tower or the Kizil Kule. You can even swim inside some remarkable caves with interesting names like the Pirate’s cave, Lover’s cave and Phosphorus cave, at which the boat stops.

These boat trips are organised by numerous travel agencies in Alanya and you will have no trouble finding a suitable one.

With more than 26 km of coastline, you will have no difficulty in finding quiet little beaches for yourself in Alanya even in the busiest times of the year.

Cleopatra Beach with its fine sands and crystal clear water is located in Alanya itself, just behind the castle hill. To the east of the castle is the Keykubat Beach. This one is quite rocky with cliffs sloping down into the water. Another really nice and quiet beach you can go to is the Ulas Dunlenme. Located a few miles away from Alanya, you will need to take a bus or taxi to reach there. This may be the perfect spot for a barbecue by the sea!

Located about 3 km inland from the sea, and 50 km to the south east of Alanya, Gazipasa is a quaint little town standing on the road running along the coast of the ‘Turkish Riviera’. The history of this town goes back to more than 2000 years, and originally was the location of the Phoenician site of Selinus. It was in Gazipasa that the Emperor Trajan died in A.D.117, when returning from a campaign in Parthia. Later this town was also known as Traianopolis for sometime before it got its current name.