Alanya Castle & Red Tower

Alanya Castle, perched on a rocky peninsula rising 250 meters above the Mediterranean Sea in the coastal city of Alanya in eastern Antalya province, is one of the most impressive Seljuk fortifications in Turkey and one of the best-preserved medieval castles in the entire Mediterranean region. Built primarily by the Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad I in the 13th century after he captured Alanya from the Armenians in 1220, the fortification complex encompasses approximately 6.5 kilometers of walls studded with 83 towers. The castle divides into three sections: the lower town walls descending to the harbor, the inner citadel on the summit, and the Red Tower (Kızıl Kule) standing at the harbor's edge. The Red Tower is the most architecturally distinctive element, an octagonal five-story structure rising 33 meters and built in 1226 to defend the dockyards. It now functions as an ethnographic museum. Climbing to the castle summit by road, minibus, or on foot rewards visitors with panoramic views of the turquoise sea, the city spread along both sides of the peninsula, and the Taurus Mountains rising to the north. Within the inner citadel, a Byzantine church converted to a mosque, underground cisterns, and the ruins of a Byzantine palace are scattered across the hilltop. The castle walls and towers can be walked at various points, with the views from the seaward side particularly dramatic. At the base of the peninsula, the ancient Seljuk arsenal with five vaulted bays cut into the cliff face represents another highlight of the site.