Sightseeing in Alanya - what to see. Complete travel guide

Alanya is a picturesque town located nearby Taurus Mountains and surrounded by lemon and orange gardens. Besides first class beaches the resort offers to its guests wide choice of excursion programs, multiple shops and restaurants, discos and bars.

Alanya was founded in the 4th century. Today only one sight reminds of those times – a piece of an ancient Byzantine wall. Many centuries ago the wall surrounded the local fortress and a part of the town, and its length estimated 8 kilometers. Today the fortress is turned into an ethnographic museum, and Kizil Kule tower features magnificent views of the town and suburbs from its observation deck. For decades Alanya was used as a pirate base, that’s why today multiple tourists of this popular Turkish resort can visit fantastic grotto and caves. One of the most beautiful of them is definitely Dalmatash Grotto, you may also like Cave Maiden, Mağara severler or the Cave of Lovers, and Phosphoric Grotto that has got its name from mystic lightning effect.

One of the most unusual buildings is so called «Ship Dockyard». This is a complex of two huge galleries with each one of them is 30-40 meters deep. Here visitors can see small to medium ships, take a ride through the gallery on a boat and view all caves in details. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

Tourists traditionally enjoy visiting aqua park, look the collection of the local Archeological museum, and try culinary masterpieces of local chiefs. People, who enjoy nightlife, will definitely like visiting such places as James Dean, Auditorium Open Air Disco, Koloni Disco, Zape Hahn and Sedir Bar and Café. In case your primary entertainment is sport, you can visit competitions in rafting, climbing, triathlon, tracking and other sports. When you get tired of all these activities, there’s nothing better than resting from all this fuzz and enjoy hot sun in one of numerous beaches and bays of Alanya.

For those fond of historical attractions, a visit to the ancient castle of Cleopatra is highly recommended. It is situated on top of a mountain, with a fortress offering a fascinating view of the city and the surrounding areas. This fortress was built in the 13th century by order of Sultan Ala al-Dina Key-Kubad. Beyond the walls of an impregnable fortress many buildings are hidden, including the most beautiful Sultan's palace and the mosque, a mint and a few dozen houses. Today the fortress is a true open-air museum. Here you can take a walk admiring the preserved buildings, as well as visit an entertaining museum dedicated to the national crafts. 

In the vicinity of Alanya there are several important archaeological areas, and artefacts found there can be seen in the local archaeological museum. It is a very beautiful building with columns, and the most valuable exhibits of the museum are considered to be the floor mosaics, some dating to more than 1800 years back. Some of the exhibits are presented in the museum, while others are scattered around the surrounding area. In the garden fragments of ancient tombs and ancient sculptures are to be observed. 

In the vicinity of Alanya is a small holiday village Konakli, which is also popular among tourists. This village is also ideal for walking, as it features a beautiful park with fountains and ancient mosque, as well as other historical buildings. One of the main attractions of the town is a local market, which not only always offers a selection of fresh fruits and vegetables to be bought, but also has some interesting souvenirs. 

For those that do not want to go far outside the city, a visit to the Central Park is necessary. It was founded in 2003, and the city government spent about five million dollars on the park’s equipment. The Park is 950 meters long and 480 meters wide. It features hundreds of trees and exotic plants, an artificial pond and even three huge fountains. It is difficult to find more beautiful and enjoyable place to relax in the middle of a hot day.