Alanya

The city has changed hands many times over the centuries, and its name has reflected this. Alanya was known in Latin as Coracesium or in Greek as Korakesion () from the Luwian Korakassa meaning "point/protruding city". Under the Byzantine Empire it became known as Kalonoros or Kalon Oros, meaning "beautiful/fine mountain" in Greek. ==History==

map of Alanya from 1525 showing the extent of the medieval city and the location on the Pamphylia plain.|alt=A detailed drawing of a map of a distinct peninsula with a walled city, and a curved bay below it. Mountains are included on the right, as is a compass rose on the left. Finds in the nearby Karain Cave indicate occupation during the Paleolithic era as far back as , A Phoenician language tablet found in the district dates to , and the city is specifically mentioned in the 4th-century BC Greek geography manuscript, the periplus of Pseudo-Scylax. The castle rock was likely inhabited under the Hittites and the Achaemenid Empire, and was first fortified in the Hellenistic period following the area's conquest by Alexander the Great. Alexander's successors left the area to one of the competing Macedonian generals, Ptolemy I Soter, after Alexander's death in . His dynasty maintained loose control over the mainly Isaurian population, and the port became a popular refuge for Mediterranean pirates. The city resisted Antiochus III the Great of the neighboring Seleucid kingdom in , but was loyal to the pirate Diodotus Tryphon when he seized the Seleucid crown from 142 to . His rival Antiochus VII Sidetes completed work in on a new castle and port, begun under Diodotus. The Roman Republic fought Cilician pirates in , when Marcus Antonius the Orator established a proconsulship in nearby Side, and in under Servilius Vatia, who moved to control the Isaurian tribes. The period of piracy in Alanya finally ended after the city's incorporation into the Pamphylia province by Pompey in , with the Battle of Korakesion fought in the city's harbor. In Strabo's reckoning, Coracesium marked the boundary between ancient Pamphylia and Cilicia (Cilicia Trachaea, in particular); though other ancient authors placed the boundary elsewhere. Isaurian banditry remained an issue under the Romans, and the tribes revolted in the fourth and fifth centuries AD, with the largest rebellion being from 404 to 408. With the spread of Christianity Coracesium, as it was called, became a bishopric. Its bishop Theodulus took part in the First Council of Constantinople in 381, Matidianus in the Council of Ephesus in 431, Obrimus in the Council of Chalcedon in 451, and Nicephorus (Nicetas) in the Third Council of Constantinople in 680. Coracesium was a suffragan of the metropolitan see of Side, the capital of the Roman province of Pamphylia Prima, to which Coracesium belonged. It continued to be mentioned in the Notitiae Episcopatuum as late as the 12th or 13th century. No longer a residential bishopric, Coracesium is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see. Islam arrived in the 7th century with Arab raids, which led to the construction of new fortifications. in Alanya|alt=A stone statue of a man in warrior clothes on horseback. Following the Fourth Crusade's attack on the Byzantines, the Christian Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia periodically held the port, and it was from an Armenian, Kir Fard, that the Turks took lasting control in 1221 when the Anatolian Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin Kayqubad I captured it, assigning the former ruler, whose daughter he married, to the governance of the city of Akşehir. Seljuk rule saw the golden age of the city, and it can be considered the winter capital of their empire. Building projects, including the twin citadel, city walls, arsenal, and Kızıl Kule, made it an important seaport for western Mediterranean trade, particularly with Mamluk Egypt and the Italian city-states. Alaeddin Kayqubad I also constructed numerous gardens and pavilions outside the walls, and many of his works can still be found in the city. These were likely financed by his own treasury and by the local emirs, and constructed by the contractor Abu 'Ali al-Kattani al-Halabi. At the Battle of Köse Dağ in 1243, the Mongol hordes broke the Seljuk hegemony in Anatolia. Alanya was then subject to a series of invasions from Anatolian beyliks. Lusignans from Cyprus briefly overturned the then ruling Hamidid dynasty in 1371. The Karamanids sold the city in 1427 for 5,000 gold coins to the Mamluks of Egypt for a period before General Gedik Ahmed Pasha in 1471 incorporated it into the growing Ottoman Empire. The city was made a capital of a local sanjak in the eyalet of Içel. The Ottomans extended their rule in 1477 when they brought the main shipping trade, lumber, then mostly done by Venetians, under the government monopoly. Trade in the region was reduced by the development of an oceanic route from Europe around Africa to India, and in the tax registers of the late sixteenth century, Alanya failed to qualify as an urban centre. In 1571 the Ottomans designated the city as part of the newly conquered province of Cyprus. After World War I, Alanya was nominally partitioned in the 1917 Agreement of St.-Jean-de-Maurienne to Italy, before returning to the Turkish Republic in 1923 under the Treaty of Lausanne. Like others in this region, the city suffered heavily following the war and the population exchanges that heralded the Turkish Republic, when many of the city's Christians resettled in Nea Ionia, outside Athens. The Ottoman census of 1893 listed the number of Greeks in the city at out of a total population of . Tourism in the region started among Turks who came to Alanya in the 1960s for the alleged healing properties of Damlataş Cave, and later the access provided by Antalya Airport in 1998 allowed the town to grow into an international resort. Strong population growth through the 1990s was a result of immigration to the city, and has driven a rapid modernization of the infrastructure. ==Geography==

Located on the Gulf of Antalya on the Anatolian coastal plain of Pamphylia, the town is situated between the Taurus Mountains to the north and the Mediterranean Sea, and is part of the Turkish Riviera, occupying roughly of coastline. From west to east, the Alanya district is bordered by the Manavgat district along the coast, the mountainous Gündoğmuş inland, Hadim and Taşkent in the Province of Konya, Sarıveliler in the Province of Karaman, and the coastal Gazipaşa district. Manavgat is home to the ancient cities of Side and Selge. East of the city, the Dim River flows from the mountains in Konya on a south-west route into the Mediterranean. The Pamphylia plain between the sea and the mountains is an isolated example of an Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forest, which include Lebanon Cedar, evergreen scrub, fig trees, and black pine. The Alanya Massif refers to the area of metamorphic rocks east of Antalya. This formation is divided into three nappes from lowest to highest, the Mahmutlar, the Sugözü, and the Yumrudağ. The similar lithology extends beneath the city in a tectonic window. Bauxite, an aluminum ore, is common to the area north of city, and can be mined. The town is divided east–west by a rocky peninsula, which is the distinctive feature of the city. The harbor, city center, and Keykubat Beach, named after the Sultan Kayqubad I, are on the east side of the peninsula. Damlataş Beach, named for the famous "dripping caves", and Kleopatra Beach are to the west. The name "Cleopatra" possibly derives from either the Ptolemaic princess' visit here or the area's inclusion in her dowry to Mark Antony. Atatürk Bulvarı, the main boulevard, runs parallel to the sea, and divides the southern, much more touristic side of Alanya from the northern, more indigenous side that extends north into the mountains. Çevre Yolu Caddesi, another major road, encircles the main town to the north. Climate Alanya has a typical hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa), or a dry-summer humid subtropical climate (Trewartha: wet Cs/Cf). Located at the Mediterranean Basin, the subtropical high pressure zone ensures that most rain comes during the winter, leaving the summers long, hot, and dry, prompting the Alanya board of Tourism to use the slogan "where the sun smiles". Winters, however, are mild and wet. Storm cells sometimes bring with them fair weather waterspouts when close to the shore. The presence of the Taurus Mountain near to the sea causes fog, in turn creating visible rainbows many mornings. The height of the mountains creates an interesting effect as snow can often be seen on them even on warm days in the city below. The sea at Alanya has an average temperature of annually. ==Main sights==

On the peninsula stands Alanya Castle, a Seljuk era citadel dating from 1226. Most major landmarks in the city are found inside and around the castle. The current castle was built over existing fortifications and served the double purpose of a palace of local government and as a defensive structure in case of attack. In 2007, the city began renovating various sections of the castle area, including adapting a Byzantine church for use as a Christian community center. Inside the castle is the Süleymaniye mosque and caravanserai, built by Suleiman the Magnificent. The last of Alanya Castle's , the octagonal structure specifically protected the Tersane (dockyard), it remains one of the finest examples of medieval military architecture. The Tersane, a medieval drydock built by the Seljuk Turks in 1221, is divided into five vaulted bays with equilateral pointed arches. The Alara Castle and caravanserai near Manavgat, also built under Kayqubad's authority, has been converted into a museum and heritage center. is the main attraction in the city. Atatürk's House and Museum, from his short stay in the city on February 18, 1935, is preserved in its historic state and is an example of the interior of a traditional Ottoman villa, with artifacts from the 1930s. The house was built between 1880 and 1885 in the "karniyarik" (stuffed eggplant) style. Bright colors and red roofs are often mandated by neighborhood councils, and give the modern town a pastel glow. Housed in a 1967 Republican era building, The Alanya Museum is inland from Damlataş Beach. Alanya is a member of the Norwich-based European Association of Historic Towns and Regions. In 2009, city officials filed to include Alanya Castle and Tersane as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and were named to the 2009 Tentative List. ==Demographics==

From only 87,080 in 1985, In 2007, the city itself had a population of 134,396, of which 9,789 are European expatriates, about half of them from Germany and Denmark. 17,850 total foreigners own property in Alanya. During the summer the population increases due to large numbers of tourists, about each year pass through the city. , claim residence in Alanya while working abroad. Yörük nomads also live in the Taurus Mountains north of the city on a seasonal basis. Additionally, there is a small African community descendant from imported Ottoman slaves. In 2018, it was estimated that around 300 Finns live permanently in Alanya and 3,000 during the Winter. According to the TÜİK Institute of Statistics, as of October 2022, 55,000 foreigners live in the city, more than half of them are Russian speakers. The city is nearly 99% Muslim, and although many ancient churches can be found in the district, there are no weekly Christian services. In 2006, a German language Protestant church with seasonal service opened with much fanfare, after receiving permission to do so in 2003, a sign of the growing European population in the city. In 2015, the town began renovations of the Greek Orthodox Agios Georgios Church in the village of Hacı Mehmetli, and the church has been used for a monthly Russian Orthodox service. Alanya also provides the Atatürk Cultural Center to Christian groups on a regular basis for larger religious ceremonies. ==Education and health==

The city has 95% literacy, with public and private schools, and a roughly . In 2005, Akdeniz University of Antalya launched the Alanya Faculty of Business, as a satellite campus that focuses on the tourism industry. The school hosts an International Tourism Conference annually in coordination with Buckinghamshire New University. The city also has plans to open a private university in 2012. Georgetown University operates an annual study abroad program for American students known as the McGhee Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies, named for the United States Ambassador to Turkey from 1952 to 1953 George C. McGhee, and based in his villa. Başkent University Medical and Research Center of Alanya, a teaching hospital run by Başkent University in Ankara is one of nineteen hospitals in Alanya. Other major hospitals include the 300-bed Alanya State Hospital and the 90-bed Private Hayat Hospital. ==Culture==

, or Red Tower, is home to the city ethnographic museum.|alt=A eight-sided medieval tower built of red and yellow brick rises above a green sea in which swimmers play. Stone walls run along the shore and further up from the tower. Alanya's culture is a subculture of the larger Culture of Turkey. The city's seaside position is central to many annual festivals. These include the Tourism and Arts Festival, which marks the opening of the tourism season from at the end of May or beginning of June. At the opposite end of the season, the Alanya International Culture and Art Festival is held in the last week of May, and is a notable Turkish festival. Other regular festivals include the Alanya Jazz Days, which has been held since 2002 in September or October at the Kızıl Kule, which is otherwise home to the municipal ethnographic museum. The Jazz Festival hosts Turkish and international jazz musicians in a series of five free concerts. The Alanya Chamber Orchestra, formed of members of the Antalya State Opera and Ballet, gave its inaugural performance on December 7, 2007. The International Alanya Stone Sculpture Symposium, begun is 2004, is held over the month of November. The Alanya Documentary Festival was launched in 2001 by the Alanya Cinémathèque Society and the Association of Documentary Filmmakers in Turkey. Onat Kutlar, Turkish poet and writer, and founder of the Istanbul International Film Festival was born in Alanya, as was actress Sema Önür. Atatürk's visit to Alanya is also celebrated on its anniversary each February 18, centered on Atatürk's House and Museum. European residents of Alanya also often celebrate their national holidays, such as Norwegian Constitution Day, and the city set up a Christmas market in December 2010. Iranians also celebrate the Persian New Year, Nevruz, in Alanya. ==Government==

monument.|alt=A tall sweeping stone triangle projects skyward behind the statues of a man and two children in bronze on a smaller podium. Around the base are placed several wreaths with logos. Palm trees surround the scene. Alanya was set up as a municipality in 1872, electing its first mayor in 1901. Today, Alanya is governed by a mayor and a municipality council made up of thirty-seven members. Twenty-four councilors are from the centre-left Republican People's Party, nine are from the far-right Nationalist Movement Party, and four are of the Good Party. Mayor Osman Tarık Özçelik of the Republican People's Party was elected in 2024 by unseating the incumbent Adem Murat Yücel, who had previously been mayor since 2014. Elections are held every five years, with the next to be held in March 2029. (on the left) was also President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.|alt=Two older Turkish men stand facing each other, one bald, the other wearing a white cap, while a large crowd mingles behind them along a waterfront. Alanya District is divided up into , including the city center, and . Alanya is greatly influenced by the provincial government in Antalya, and the national government in Ankara, which appoints a governor for the district, currently Dr. Hulusi Doğan. Although Alanya has been part of Antalya Province since the Ottoman Empire, many local politicians have advocated a separate Alanya Province, a position supported by associations of foreign residents. Nationally, in the 2007 election, the province voted with the Justice and Development Party, who were followed closely by the Republican People's Party and the True Path Party. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, of the Justice and Development Party, is the only native Alanyalilar Member of Parliament representing Antalya Province in the Grand National Assembly, where he chairs the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population. Çavuşoğlu is the current Turkish Foreign Minister and also served as the president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. ==Economy==

The tourist industry in Alanya is worth just under per year, and is therefore the principal industry. About 80,000 tonnes of citrus fruits were produced in 2006 across . The greengage plum and the avocado are increasingly popular early season fruits where citrus fruits are becoming unprofitable. Despite the seaside location, few residents make their living on the sea, and fishing is not a major industry. In the early 1970s, when fish stocks ran low, a system of rotating access was developed to preserve this sector. This innovative system was part of Elinor Ostrom's research on economic governance which led to her 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics. In 2007, locals protested the establishment of some larger chain supermarkets and clothing stores, which have opened branches in Alanya. Beginning in 2003, with the provisional elimination of restrictions on land purchases by non-nationals, the housing industry in the city has become highly profitable with many new private homes and condominiums being built for European and Asian part-time residents. Buyers are primarily individuals, rather than investors. This housing boom put pressure on the city's many gecekondu houses and establishments as property values rise and property sales to locals fall. A height restriction in the city limits most buildings to (). This keeps high rise hotels to the east and west of the city, preserving the central skyline at the expense of greater tourist potential. The fringes of the city however have seen uncontrolled expansion. Tourism Since the first modern motel was built in 1958, considered the first year of the tourist industry in Alanya, hotels have raced to accommodate the influx of tourists, and the city claims beds. Damlataş Cave, which originally sparked the arrival of outsiders because of the cave's microclimate, with an average temperature of and , is accessible on the west side of the peninsula with trails from Damlataş Beach. Many tourists, especially Scandinavians, Germans, Russians, and Dutch, regularly vacation in Alanya during the warmer months. They are drawn to the area because of property prices, warm weather, sandy beaches, famous Turkish Hammam and access to Antalya's historic sites, and fine cuisine. Other outdoor tourist activities include wind surfing, parasailing, and banana boating. Attractions include Europe's largest waterpark, Sealanya, and Turkey's largest go-kart track. Hunting season also attracts some tourist for wild goat, pig and partridge hunting in area nature reserves. ==Media==

Alanya has 10 local daily newspapers. The free regional newspaper, Riviera News, is printed in English and is widely available in Alanya. Five radio stations broadcast from the city. Two television stations are local to Alanya, Kanal Alanya, and Alanya Televizyonu, abbreviated ATV, which is partnered with Alanya RadyoTime. ==Transportation==

The D 400 Highway, the Alanya–Mersin Route, connects Alanya from the east and west, encircling it, and linking through the city center via Atatürk Bulvarı. The D695, the Ankara–Akşehir Route, runs north–south and reaches the sea west of the city near Side, connecting with the D400. Antalya Airport is away and connects internationally. The new Antalya Gazipaşa Airport, first begun in 1992, is only from the city, and was expected to have its first regular domestic flights on May 22, 2010, although international flights were not expected before the start of the 2011 tourist season. No train routes go to Alanya or Antalya Province, and there are no train stations in the district. There are bus and dolmuş systems out of Alanya's two bus depots, but buses are usually limited to the major roads, and inside the city transportation is by car, taxi, or foot, as many roads in the old town are closed to vehicle traffic. The harbor includes cruise ship piers, and also seasonal ferries and hydrofoils depart for Kyrenia in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Cruise ships docking at Alanya have increased 50% in 2013, with 53 estimated to have brought 56,000 passengers the end of the year. Further west of the city is the Alanya Marina, which started services in 2008 while still under construction, completing its expansion in 2010. The city is also investing in a community bicycle program with 150 bicycles and twenty terminals. ==Sports==

Alanya is home to a woman's basketball team, Alanya Belediye, which started in the first division but was relegated after the 2002 season. The city hosts a Süper Lig soccer team, Alanyaspor. The club was founded in 1948, and play home games at Milli Egemenlik Stadium. It played in the Second League between 1988-1997 and 2014–2016. The club finally promoted to top level in 2015–16 season where they have played in to this day. In 2007, the city began constructing a new soccer facility with the intention of hosting winter competitions between major teams. The public Alanya Municipality Sports Facility is located adjacent to Milli Egemenlik Stadium, which is one of thirteen facilities. features a stage in Alanya every year.|alt=Dozens of professional bicyclists race on a street lined with palm trees and pastel apartments. Alanya's waterfront location makes it suitable for certain events, and is perhaps most famous for its annual triathlon, part of the International Triathlon Union series, which has been held every October since 1990. Marathon swimming competitions have also been connected to the triathlon since 1992. Building on the triathlon's success, Alanya hosted a modern pentathlon in 2009. Alanya is also the regular host of The Turkish Open, part of the Nestea European Beach Volleyball championship tour, which takes place in May. In 2007, the Turkish Volleyball Federation persuaded the European Volleyball Confederation to build a beach volleyball training facility in Alanya, and make it the exclusive "center of beach volleyball in Europe". The city is also a frequent host to national events, such as the annual beach handball tournament. Alanya is the traditional finish site of the seven-day Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey, though organizers reversed the route in 2012, and started the event in Alanya instead. Other cycling events include the Alanya International Mountain Bike Race. Additionally, the European Cycling Union had its 2010 European road cycling championship and 2010 ordinary congress meeting in Alanya. Recently the city also hosted 22nd Alanya International Culture, Art, and Tourism Festival, Alanya International Piano Competition and Festival and Europe Triathlon Cup Alanya all in 2024. ==Neighbourhoods==

There are 103 neighbourhoods in Alanya District: • Akçatı • Akdam • Alacami • Alara • Aliefendi • Asmaca • Avsallar • Bademağacı • Basırlı • Başköy • Bayırköy • Bayırkozağacı • Bektaş • Beldibi • Beyreli • Bıçakçı • Bucakköy • Burçaklar • Büyükhasbahçe • Büyükpınar • Çakallar • Çamlıca • Çarşı • Cikcilli • Çıplaklı • Cumhuriyet • Değirmendere • Demirtaş • Dereköy • Dinek • Elikesik • Emişbeleni • Fakırcalı • Fığla • Gözübüyük • Gözüküçüklü • Güllerpınarı • Gümüşgöze • Gümüşkavak • Güneyköy • Güzelbağ • Hacet • Hacıkerimler • Hacımehmetli • Hisariçi • Hocalar • İmamlı • İncekum • İshaklı • İspatlı • Kadıpaşa • Karakocalı • Karamanlar • Karapınar • Kargıcak • Kayabaşı • Keşefli • Kestel • Kızılcaşehir • Kızlarpınarı • Kocaoğlanlı • Konaklı • Küçükhasbahçe • Kuzyaka • Mahmutlar • Mahmutseydi • Oba • Obaalacami • Okurcalar • Orhanköy • Ortakonuş • Öteköy • Özvadi • Paşaköy • Payallar • Saburlar • Sapadere • Saray • Şekerhane • Seki • Şıhlar • Soğukpınar • Sugözü • Süleymanlar • Taşbaşı • Tepe • Tırılar • Tophane • Toslak • Tosmur • Türkler • Türktaş • Uğrak • Uğurlu • Üzümlü • Uzunöz • Yalçı • Yasırali • Yaylakonak • Yaylalı • Yenice • Yeniköy • Yeşilöz ==International relations==

The most significant tie is with the city of Nea Ionia, where many of Alanya's Christians were resettled in 1923 after the Treaty of Lausanne. Alanya is twinned with: • Dergachyovsky District, Russia • Fushun, China • Geoagiu, Romania • Gladbeck, Germany • Goa, India • Keszthely, Hungary • Mahdia, Tunisia • Ankara, Turkey • Nea Ionia, Greece • Murmansk, Russia • Oer-Erkenschwick, Germany • Rovaniemi, Finland • Šilutė, Lithuania • South-Eastern AO (Moscow), Russia • Špindlerův Mlýn, Czech Republic • Talsi, Latvia • Trakai, Lithuania • Wodzisław Śląski, Poland • Wronki, Poland • Zelenogorsk, Russia • Borås, Sweden Friendly cities • Nowy Sącz, Poland • Turek, Poland ==Notable residents==

• Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Turkish diplomat and politician; former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey • George C. McGhee, U.S. diplomat and ambassador to Turkey ==See also==