The Road To Alanya

Our second road trip from Side takes us further along the D400  coast road to what will most likely be our most easterly destination, the large town of Alanya.

Alanya is just over 60 kilometres from Side, and like our previous Turquoise Coast drives along the D400, the views of the beautiful blue Mediterranean are fantastic. But the drive is noteworthy for another reason too; most of the second half of the journey takes us through an incredible run of gigantic resort hotels. These places are mind boggling, colossal hulking buildings shoulder to shoulder for mile upon mile; for us, the unacceptable face of mass tourism. Their appearance ranges from mock Russian architecture complete with golden domes to giant pretend cruise liners, and with all manner of other creations in between. But my God they are big places.

After that, our arrival in Alanya is a pleasant relief as, despite its obvious status as a tourist trap, the town is pleasing on the eye. The long golden Cleopatra Beach and deep blue sea make for a very attractive seafront. 

The main attraction here though is the incredibly spectacular castle which occupies the entire headland halfway along the seafront and effectively splits the waterfront in two. Much of the outer protective wall remains, making it obvious why this castle, with rugged cliffs and the sea on three sides and a narrow and steep hillside on the other, was pretty much impregnable. These days you can reach it via cable car from Cleopatra Beach.

Captured and enhanced by the enterprising and wonderfully named Aladdin Keykubad, the citadel inside the 4 miles of clifftop walls is fascinating and visually stunning, with beautiful buildings from different eras making it easy to lose yourself in the history of this enclosed and protected city, the first bastion of the Seljuk Turks after taking Alanya from the Ottomans.

The largest remaining tower from the city walls, Kizil Kule (the Red Tower), stands proud above the harbour as if still protecting Alanya from invasion. Beneath this tower lies a breathtaking relic of ancient times. Keykubad built here, below the citadel and into the cliffs, a shipyard capable of building and repairing ships out of sight of suitors or plunderers. The remaining arched recesses, still majestically intact 800 years after their construction, are again fascinating and well worth the small entrance fee. 

Keykabud built two such places, the other on the Black Sea, earning him the moniker Sultan Of The Two Seas. Just how much of his Alanya creation is still standing is incredible. 

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We wander around the town and enjoy a decent late lunch before heading back past those giant hotels. There are enough clues here to see that Alanya is a holiday party town in a normal high season, and we are glad to have visited here in quieter times rather than during noisy revelry.

These giant hotels must mean tens of thousands of “invaders” descend on this coast every summer within reach of a castle built to prevent invasion which has stood for centuries. And whilst those invaders disappear into their 5-star all-inclusive world every evening, farm workers toil to earn a meagre living in the fields just behind them. Two road trips, so many conundrums. 

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