In today's video I take you on a trip to see the Alanya Fortress by going down to the cable car.
Could the area of the fortress, known in the city simply as kale (i.e. castle), still hide any secrets and little-known nooks and crannies?
It's worth checking it out and going on a hike, and you will certainly discover many interesting places and be amazed by the views from the top of the castle hill.
The documented origins of the hill fortifications in Alanya date back to Hellenistic times, when the city was known as Kalonoros. The fortress was expanded by both the Romans and the Byzantines, which is hardly surprising - the fortress has a strategic location and guards a convenient port on the Mediterranean Sea, which is a tasty morsel for both pirates and organized enemy forces. From the 7th century AD Byzantium was regularly attacked by Arab troops and special attention was paid to strengthening the fortress.
However, the fortifications were of no use during the attack of the Seljuk troops at the beginning of the 13th century. The city was then captured by forces led by Sultan Alaeddin Keykubat, who made Alanya his winter capital and from 1221 began its systematic expansion. Most of the preserved fortifications come from this period of history.
The castle hill served a purely defensive function both during the Seljuk rule and under the rule of the Ottoman dynasty. In the 19th century, residential residences began to be built on the area surrounded by walls, and in the 20th century, the fortress became one of the main tourist attractions in Alanya. Numerous restaurants, cafes and souvenir shops were established on the hill, and the road leading to its top was paved.
It may take even experienced walkers and inquisitive tourists many hours to thoroughly explore the area of the fortress. The fortifications are located on a peninsula surrounded on three sides by sea waters, which at its highest point is approximately 250 meters above sea level. The entire hill is surrounded by defensive walls, and their total length is 6.5 kilometers. The walls were reinforced with 140 defensive towers, and there are approximately 400 drinking water cisterns on the entire hill, which ensured long-term defense during the siege of the fortress.
Most of the buildings on the hill are located on its eastern side, where the slope is slightly more gentle. On the western side there is a cliff, additionally reinforced with a line of walls, but there was no space on this section to erect other buildings. An integral part of Alanya's fortifications are also the Red Tower, the Seljuk shipyards and the arsenal building located at the foot of the hill on its eastern side.
On the hill, on its southwestern side, there is the Inner Fortress (tr. İç Kale), which is the main citadel of the castle. City buses and taxis transporting holiday-makers arrive at its gate, as well as the largest groups of hiking tourists. After purchasing admission tickets, you can set out to explore the area inside this citadel. Not many structures have been preserved here - the most interesting building is the well-preserved church of Saint George from the Byzantine period, dating back to the 10th-12th centuries, and the brick cisterns.
The walls surrounding the Inner Fortress have been partially reconstructed, and a walk around their inner perimeter provides wonderful views of the beaches of Alanya stretching to the east and west and the Mediterranean Sea.
Archaeological works are still being carried out in the fortress, and in recent years archaeologists have managed to discover the remains of a building in its south-eastern part, which has been initially identified as the Sultan's palace. The remaining fragments of the buildings are traces of former barracks and warehouses.
From the walls of this fortress, you can clearly see the characteristic end of the peninsula extending far into the sea, formed of narrow and high rocks. It is called Adam Atacağı, meaning "thrower of people", because this is where death sentences were carried out by throwing convicts off the rocks into the water.
The Ehmedek Fortress was built in Seljuk times in an area where Hellenistic fortifications had previously stood. Significant fragments of their walls were used in the construction of the fortress and can be easily traced when visiting it.
In both the Seljuk and Ottoman periods, the Ehmedek fortress housed a military garrison, a treasury and an arsenal. The fortress also served as a prison, where criminals were held in its dungeons. Additionally, within the fortress there are the remains of a small bathhouse, several cisterns and the ruins of many unidentified buildings.
The area located next to the Ehmedek fortress, also bearing this name, is a very interesting area where it is worth exploring a bit in search of historic buildings.
Best regards and enjoy watching: Marcin Tiszer