Alanya is a lovely village with approx 90.000 permanent residents, located northwest of Cyprus. – A much-loved holiday area on the Turkish Riviera. This is due to the kilometre-long, wide beaches, good hotels, this exciting and strange atmosphere and an incredibly friendly and hospitable people.
Alanya is one of Turkey’s largest holiday villages with magnificent beaches and a wide variety of restaurants and amusements. But Alanya is also a distinctly Turkish city with oriental atmosphere and historical attractions. In summer, the pace is high in Alanya, when young people from across Europe come to sunbathe, swim and enjoy themselves at bars and discos. Out of season the pace is significant more relaxed. Alanya’s old quarter is located on top of a mighty cliff that shoots out into the sea.
The castle from the 1200s is still standing but is no longer the city centre. Nowadays, all activity is along the beaches, stretching on both sides of the cliff and surrounded by green mountains. Alanya itself is a joyous maze of shops, bars and restaurants. Once a week there is a market and trade becomes even more hectic. Trade in Alanya is easy, fun – and cheap.
Beaches
Cleopatra Beach is about 2 km long with golden, coarse sand and clear water in calm weather. Water sports, beach bars and douche are available. It is popular to walk along the promenade. Rental of chairs and parasol is approx 2 Euros per day. The eastern beach stretches around 22 km along the coast and has light fine-grained sand. Many hotels have private beaches here, but most places you can rent chairs. Unlike Cleopatra Beach is the eastern beach safe for children because the sea is calmer. Rental of chairs and parasol is also approx 2 Euros per days. You can also find smaller beaches, for example Ulas, 3 km west of Alanya.
On most beaches there are beach service, sun chairs and parasols (for a fee.) Outside of Alanya beaches are of varying quality. None of the beaches are especially shallow, and it quickly becomes deep. Many of the beaches have the EU blue flag, which means that according to EU standard the beaches are nice and clean. There may be strong underwater currents, when the waves are big. Flagging does not exist.
The Red Tower
When Aladdin had taken Alanya, but before he had dominance over the fortress, he built the octagonal tower down by the harbour, "Kizil Kule" - the red tower, which is considered the city's landmark. Besides serving in defence of the port it also operated as a water tower. The Red Tower was built in 1226 as a fortress for guarding and defence. It is now a popular museum with a wonderful view over the harbour and beaches. Open Tuesday-Sunday 8-12 and 13.30-18. Entry fee: Adults approx 2 Euros and children approx 1 Euro.
Activities
Water sports are several locations, primarily in addition of the larger hotels. They offer water skiing, water bikes, paragliding, windsurfing, yawls, canoes, diving and bungee jumping. There are also organized tours to river rafting. You can also do sports on land such as tennis and football. A stone's throw from the beach you can stroll around the streets and look at the Turkish daily lives closely.
At the cafes sit old men, they play backgammon and drinking tea. Over the oriental swarm it is called to prayer from the minaret. The market is open daily, but Friday is considered the biggest market day.
Food & Drink
The Turkish Cuisine is considered the third best in the world (after the French and Chinese Cuisine) and is an exciting blend of the Arabic, Greek, Eastern and Western cuisine. The courses are mostly made of cooked vegetables, soups, lamb and chicken. Another specialty is "meze" which is made of various appetizers ¬ some are very spicy and tasty. Should dinner be extra delicious, freshly caught fish is a good choice. In Turkey dinner is considered a social gathering and often the entire family ¬ children, parents and grandparents ¬ go to a restaurant together. If the children get tired towards the evening, they sleep in the pram or on two chairs next to the dinner party.
The national drink, raki, you drink straight or mixed with water, thereby it becomes whitish and it is called the Lion Milk ¬ when you drink it, you are wild and strong as a lion! Turkish coffee is fairly thick with coffee grounds in the bottom of the cup. Tea is served in small, tulip shaped glass. There are also regular tea and apple tea which usually fall in the Scandinavian taste and can be drunk both hot and cold.
The fortress
At night, the fortress and the surrounded wall are beautifully lit with a golden glow. The foundation stone for the fortress was established by the pirate Diototos Tryphon in the second century before Christ. The 6.400 meter long wall winds its way up the hill. There are 140 watch towers in the wall. On the less steep parts the wall there are holes, which the defenders could pour boiling oil and other unpleasant things at any attackers. In the wall there are a number of smaller entrances, but these are in poor condition. The castle is beautifully located on a cliff. On the cliff there are some small cafes with terraces. Open daily at 8.30-18. Entry fee is approx 4 Euros.