Alanya Castle
Encyclopedia
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
city of Alanya
Alanya
Alanya , formerly Alaiye, is a beach resort city and a component district of Antalya Province in the Mediterranean Region of Turkey, from the city of Antalya. On the southern coast of Turkey, the district has an area of 1,598.51 km2 and 248,286 inhabitants...
. Most of the castle was built in the 13th century under the Seljuq
Great Seljuq Empire
The Great Seljuq Empire was a medieval Persianate, Turko-Persian Sunni Muslim empire, originating from the Qynyq branch of Oghuz Turks. The Seljuq Empire controlled a vast area stretching from the Hindu Kush to eastern Anatolia and from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf...
Sultanate of Rûm
Sultanate of Rûm
The Sultanate of Rum , also known as the Anatolian Seljuk State , was a Turkic state centered in in Anatolia, with capitals first at İznik and then at Konya. Since the court of the sultanate was highly mobile, cities like Kayseri and Sivas also functioned at times as capitals...
following the city's conquest in 1220 by Alaeddin Keykubad I as part of a building campaign that included the Kızıl Kule
Kizil Kule
The Kızıl Kule is a historical tower in the Turkish city of Alanya. The building is considered to be the symbol of the city, and is even used on the city's flag. Construction of the building began in the early reign of the Anatolian Seljuq Sultan Ala ad-Din Kay Qubadh I and was completed in 1226...
.
The castle was built on the remnants of earlier Byzantine era
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
and Roman era fortifications. After the area was pacified under the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, the castle ceased to be purely defensive, and numerous villas were built inside the walls during the 19th century. Today the building is an open air museum
Open air museum
An open-air museum is a distinct type of museum exhibiting its collections out-of-doors. The first open-air museums were established in Scandinavia towards the end of the nineteenth century, and the concept soon spread throughout Europe and North America. Open-air museums are variously known as...
. Access to the seaward castle is ticketed, but much of the area inside the wall, including the landward castle is open to the general public.
The castle is located 250 metres (820.2 ft) high on a rocky peninsula jutting into the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
, which protects it from three sides. The wall which surrounds the castle is 6.5 kilometres (4 mi) long and includes 140 towers. 400 different cisterns were built to serve the castle. In 2009, city officials filed to include Alanya Castle and Tersane as UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
s, and were named to the 2009 Tentative List.