Alanya
Encyclopedia
Alanya formerly Alaiye
, is a beach resort city and a component district of Antalya Province
in the Mediterranean Region
of Turkey
, 166 kilometres (103.1 mi) from the city of Antalya
. On the southern coast of Turkey, the district (which includes the city and its built-up area) has an area of 1,598.51 km2 and (2010 Census) 248,286 inhabitants (city 98,627). The population is almost entirely of Turkish
origin, but is home to around 10,000 European residents.
Because of its natural strategic position on a small peninsula into the Mediterranean Sea
below the Taurus Mountains
, Alanya has been a local stronghold for many Mediterranean-based empires
, including the Ptolemaic
, Seleucid
, Roman
, Byzantine
, and Ottoman Empire
s. Alanya's greatest political importance came in the Middle Ages
, with the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm under the rule of Alaeddin Kayqubad I, from whom the city derives its name. His building campaign resulted in many of the city's landmarks, such as the Kızıl Kule
(Red Tower), Tersane (Shipyard), and Alanya Castle
.
The Mediterranean climate
, natural attractions, and historic heritage makes Alanya a popular destination for tourism, and responsible for nine percent of Turkey's tourism sector
and thirty percent of foreign purchases of real estate in Turkey
. Tourism has risen since 1958 to become the dominant industry in the city, resulting in a corresponding increase in city population. Warm-weather sporting events and cultural festivals take place annually in Alanya. Mayor Hasan Sipahioğlu, of the Justice and Development Party
, has led the city since 1999.
as Coracesium or in Greek
as Korakesion from the Luwian
Korakassa meaning "point/protruding city". Under the Byzantine Empire
it become known as Kalonoros or Kalon Oros, meaning "beautiful/fine mountain" in Greek
. The Seljuks
renamed the city Alaiye
(علاعية), a derivative of the Sultan
Alaeddin Kayqubad I's name. In the 13th and 14th centuries, Italian traders called the city Candelore or Cardelloro. In his 1935 visit, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
finalized the name in the new alphabet
as Alanya, changing the 'i' and 'e' in Alaiye, reportedly because of a misspelled telegram
in 1933.
Finds in the nearby Kadrini cave indicate occupation during the Paleolithic
era as far back as , and archeological evidence shows a port existed at Syedra, south of the modern city, during the Bronze Age
around . 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 Ptolemy I Soter
after . His dynasty maintained loose control over the mainly Isauria
n 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 Cilicia
n pirates in , when Marcus Antonius the Orator
established a proconsul
ship in nearby Side
, and in under Servilius Vatia, who moved on 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. 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. After the Roman Empire
's collapse
and split, the city remained under Byzantine
influence, becoming a suffragan
of Side
, in the metropolis
of Pamphylia Prima. Islam
arrived in the 7th century with Arab raids
, which led to the construction of new fortifications. 681 marked the end of a bishopric
in Alanya, although St. Peter of Atroa
may have taken refuge here from iconoclastic
persecution in the early 9th century. The area fell from Byzantine control after the Battle of Manzikert
in 1071 to tribes of Seljuk Turks
, only to be returned in 1120 by John II Komnenos
.
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 Ayyubid 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 emir
s, and constructed by the contractor
Abu 'Ali al-Kattani al-Halabi. Alaeddin Kayqubad I's son, Sultan Gıyaseddin Keyhüsrev II, continued the building campaign with a new cistern
in 1240.
At the Battle of Köse Dağ
in 1242, the Mongol hordes broke the Seljuk hegemony in Anatolia
. Alanya was then subject to a series of invasions from Anatolian beyliks. In 1293, the Karamanid dynasty took control after Mecdüddin Mahmud conquered the city, but their rule was intermittent. Lusignan
s 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
. On September 6, 1608, the city rebuffed a naval attack by the Order of Saint Stephen
from the Republic of Venice
.
Trade in the region was negatively impacted 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 center. In 1571 the Ottomans designated the city as part of the newly conquered province of Cyprus
. The conquest further diminished the economic importance of Alanya's port. Traveler Evliya Çelebi
visited the city in 1671/1672, and wrote on the preservation of Alanya Castle, but also on the dilapidation of Alanya's suburbs. The city was reassigned in 1864 under Konya
, and in 1868 under Antalya
, as it is today. During the 18th and 19th centuries numerous villas were built in the city by Ottoman nobility, and civil construction continued under the local dynastic Karamanid authorities. Bandits again became common across Antalya Province in the mid-nineteenth century.
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.
Located on the Gulf of Antalya
on the Anatolia
n 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 70 kilometres (43.5 mi) 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.
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 rock
s east of Antalya
. This formation is divided into three nappe
s 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 Cleopatra Beach are to the west. The name Cleopatra Beach possibly derives from either the Ptolemaic
princess' visit here or the area's inclusion in her dowry from 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.
. The Mediterranean Basin
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". Storm cells sometimes bring with them fair weather waterspout
s when close to the shore. The presence of the Taurus Mountain in close proximity 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 hot days in the city below. The sea at Alanya has an average temperature of 21.4 °C (71 °F) annually, with an average August temperature of 27.9 °C (82 °F).
, 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 old city walls surround much of the eastern peninsula, and can be walked. Inside the walls are numerous historic villa
s, well preserved examples of the classical period of Ottoman architecture, most built in the early 19th century.
The Kızıl Kule
(Red Tower) is another well-known building in Alanya. The 108 feet (32.9 m) high brick building stands at the harbor below the castle, and contains the municipal ethnographic
museum. Sultan Kayqubad I brought the accomplished architect Ebu Ali from Aleppo
, Syria
to Alanya to design the building. 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 arch
es. The Alarahan caravanserai near Manavgat
, also built under Kayqubad's authority, has been converted into a museum and heritage center.
Atatürk's House and Museum, from his short stay in the city on February 18, 1935 is preserved in its historic state and is a good 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 Damlataşh Beach. With its rich architectural heritage, 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 Site
s, and were named to the 2009 Tentative List.
From only 87,080 in 1985, the district has surged to hold a population of 384,949 in 2007. This population surge is largely credited to immigration to the city as a result or byproduct of the increased prominence of the real estate sector and the growth of the housing market bubble
. The city itself has 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. The European expatriate population tends to be over fifty years old. During the summer the population increases due to large numbers of tourists, about each year pass through the city. Both Turks
and Europeans, these vacationers provide income for much of the population.
The city is home to many migrants from the Southeastern Anatolia Region and the Black Sea region. In the first decade of the 21st century, the town has seen a surge in illegal
foreign immigrants from the Middle East
and South Asia
, both to stay and to attempt to enter European Union
countries. As of 2006, 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
.
The town is nearly 99% Muslim
, and although many ancient churches can be found in the city, there are no regular 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. The town provides the Atatürk Cultural Center to Christian groups on a regular basis for larger religious ceremonies.
The city has 95% literacy
, with public and private
schools, and a roughly . Rural villages are, however, disadvantaged by the limited number of secondary schools
outside the city center. Alantur Primary School, which opened in 1987, was built and is maintained under the Turkish "Build Your Own School" initiative, supported by the foundation of Ayhan Şahenk, the founder of Doğuş Holding
.
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 1952–53 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.
. The city's seaside position is central to many annual festivals. These include the Tourism and Art 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. The Alanya Museum is home to archaeology
found in and around the city, including a large bronze Hercules
statue, ceramics, and Roman limestone ossuaries
, as well as historic copies of the Qur'an
. 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.
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 twenty-five members. Twelve councilors are of the Justice and Development Party
(AK Party), which is currently in power in the national government. Eight councilors are from the center-right Motherland Party
, with three members from the center-left Republican People's Party
, two from the far-right Nationalist Movement Party
. Mayor Hasan Sipahioğlu was formerly with the Motherland Party, but on July 12, 2009 joined the AK Party. Sipahioğlu was first elected in 1999, and was reelected in 2004 and 2009. Elections
are held every five years, with the next to be held in March 2014. Alanya also has a deputy mayor, who often represents the city at its sporting events.
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. He is also the current president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
.
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 supermarket
s 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. Sixty-nine percent of homes purchased by foreign nationals in the Antalya Province
and 29.9% in all of Turkey are in Alanya. 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.
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 as of 2007 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 Scandinavia
ns, 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, 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.
For various reasons, tourist seasons after 2005 have been disappointing for Alanya's tourism industry. Among the reasons blamed were increased PKK
violence, the H5N1 bird flu
found in Van
, and the Mohammad cartoon controversy
. Alanya officials have responded with a variety of publicity initiatives, including baking the world's longest cake on April 26, 2006, a Guinness World Record
. The economy has also suffered due to investment in more than properties. Israeli tourists, commonly arriving via cruse ship, have also declined sharply by about 85% from 2009 to 2011 due in part to strained relations between Turkey and Israel.
Five radio stations broadcast from the city. Alanya FM Radyo
broadcasts on 106.0 FM and is partnered with Radio Flash, on 94.0 FM, both broadcasting popular music
. Other stations include Alanya RadyoTime on 92.3 FM, which broadcasts a variety of Turkish music, news, and talk programming. Two television stations are local to Alanya, Kanal Alanya, and Alanya Televizyonu, abbreviated ATV, which is partnered with Alanya RadyoTime.
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 41 kilometres (25.5 mi) west of the city near Side
, connecting with the D400. Antalya Airport
is 121 kilometres (75.2 mi) away and connects internationally. The new Antalya Gazipaşa Airport
, first begun in 1992, is only 14.5 kilometres (9 mi) 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 hydrofoil
s depart for Kyrenia
in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
. Further west of the city is the Alanya Yacht Harbor, a marina
, which started services in 2008. The 85-km2 (33-sq-mi) marina allowed Alanya to participate in the 2008 Eastern Mediterranean Yacht Rally. The city is also investing in a community bicycle program
with 150 bicycles and twenty terminals.
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 third level 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. 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.
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, and the finish of the seven-day Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey
. 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.
, Trakai
, and Keszthely
in 2006, Borås
in 2007, and Rovaniemi
, Špindlerův Mlýn
, and Moscow
in 2009, Alanya increased its number of sister cities to twelve, ten of which are located within the European Union
. In 2005 Alanya applied with Sister Cities International
for an additional sister city from the United States. 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
. Soccer teams from sister cities Wodzisław Śląski and Schwechat
have also come to train and scrimmage in Alanya. Wodzisław, Schwechat, Gladbeck
, Fushun
, and Alanya form a "family" in that most are partnered with the others. During the annual Tourism and Culture Festival, Alanya dedicates the year to focus on one country, and has involved sister cities, such as Trakai when 2009 was declared the "Year of Lithuania."
Alaiye
Alaiye is the medieval Seljuq name for Alanya . The city name is derived from the name of Sultan Kayqubad I. It refers to the city-state in a specific period and the beylik which developed around there, at times under the Karamanid dynasty...
, is a beach resort city and a component district of Antalya Province
Antalya Province
Antalya Province is located on the Mediterranean coast of south-west Turkey, between the Taurus Mountains and the Mediterranean sea.Antalya Province is the centre of Turkey's tourism industry, attracting 30% of foreign tourists visiting Turkey. The province of Antalya corresponds to the lands of...
in the Mediterranean Region
Mediterranean Region, Turkey
The Mediterranean Region is one of Turkey's seven census-defined geographical regions . It is bordered by the Aegean Region to the west, the Central Anatolia Region to the north, the Eastern Anatolia Region to the northeast, the Southeastern Anatolia Region to the east, Syria to the southeast, and...
of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, 166 kilometres (103.1 mi) from the city of Antalya
Antalya
Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...
. On the southern coast of Turkey, the district (which includes the city and its built-up area) has an area of 1,598.51 km2 and (2010 Census) 248,286 inhabitants (city 98,627). The population is almost entirely of Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
origin, but is home to around 10,000 European residents.
Because of its natural strategic position on a small peninsula 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...
below the Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, dividing the Mediterranean coastal region of southern Turkey from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir in the west to the upper reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the east...
, Alanya has been a local stronghold for many Mediterranean-based empires
History of the Mediterranean region
The history of the Mediterranean region is the history of the interaction of the cultures and people of the lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea —the central superhighway of transport, trade and cultural exchange between diverse peoples...
, including the Ptolemaic
Ptolemaic Kingdom
The Ptolemaic Kingdom in and around Egypt began following Alexander the Great's conquest in 332 BC and ended with the death of Cleopatra VII and the Roman conquest in 30 BC. It was founded when Ptolemy I Soter declared himself Pharaoh of Egypt, creating a powerful Hellenistic state stretching from...
, Seleucid
Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...
, Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, Byzantine
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 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...
s. Alanya's greatest political importance came in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, with the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm under the rule of Alaeddin Kayqubad I, from whom the city derives its name. His building campaign resulted in many of the city's landmarks, such as 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...
(Red Tower), Tersane (Shipyard), and Alanya Castle
Alanya Castle
Alanya Castle is a medieval castle in the southern Turkish city of Alanya. Most of the castle was built in the 13th century under the Seljuq Sultanate of Rûm following the city's conquest in 1220 by Alaeddin Keykubad I as part of a building campaign that included the Kızıl Kule.The castle was...
.
The Mediterranean climate
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
, natural attractions, and historic heritage makes Alanya a popular destination for tourism, and responsible for nine percent of Turkey's tourism sector
Tourism in Turkey
Tourism in Turkey is focused largely on a variety of historical sites, and on seaside resorts along its Aegean and Mediterranean Sea coasts. In the recent years, Turkey has also become a popular destination for culture, spa, and health care tourism...
and thirty percent of foreign purchases of real estate in Turkey
Foreign purchases of real estate in Turkey
Purchasing property in Turkey has become more popular with holiday home owners and investors around the globe. Several factors have contributed to the popularity and the trend displayed by foreign purchases and have had important repercussions within Turkey. The issue is especially notable given...
. Tourism has risen since 1958 to become the dominant industry in the city, resulting in a corresponding increase in city population. Warm-weather sporting events and cultural festivals take place annually in Alanya. Mayor Hasan Sipahioğlu, of the Justice and Development Party
Justice and Development Party (Turkey)
The Justice and Development Party , abbreviated JDP in English and AK PARTİ or AKP in Turkish, is a centre-right political party in Turkey. The party is the largest in Turkey, with 327 members of parliament...
, has led the city since 1999.
Names
The city has changed hands many times over the centuries, and its name has reflected this. Alanya was known in LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
as Coracesium or in Greek
Koine Greek
Koine Greek is the universal dialect of the Greek language spoken throughout post-Classical antiquity , developing from the Attic dialect, with admixture of elements especially from Ionic....
as Korakesion from the Luwian
Luwian language
Luwian is an extinct language of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. Luwian is closely related to Hittite, and was among the languages spoken during the second and first millennia BC by population groups in central and western Anatolia and northern Syria...
Korakassa meaning "point/protruding city". Under the Byzantine Empire
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...
it become known as Kalonoros or Kalon Oros, meaning "beautiful/fine mountain" in Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
. The Seljuks
Seljuq dynasty
The Seljuq ; were a Turco-Persian Sunni Muslim dynasty that ruled parts of Central Asia and the Middle East from the 11th to 14th centuries...
renamed the city Alaiye
Alaiye
Alaiye is the medieval Seljuq name for Alanya . The city name is derived from the name of Sultan Kayqubad I. It refers to the city-state in a specific period and the beylik which developed around there, at times under the Karamanid dynasty...
(علاعية), a derivative of the Sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
Alaeddin Kayqubad I's name. In the 13th and 14th centuries, Italian traders called the city Candelore or Cardelloro. In his 1935 visit, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
finalized the name in the new alphabet
Turkish alphabet
The Turkish alphabet is a Latin alphabet used for writing the Turkish language, consisting of 29 letters, seven of which have been modified from their Latin originals for the phonetic requirements of the language. This alphabet represents modern Turkish pronunciation with a high degree of accuracy...
as Alanya, changing the 'i' and 'e' in Alaiye, reportedly because of a misspelled telegram
Telegraphy
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages via some form of signalling technology. Telegraphy requires messages to be converted to a code which is known to both sender and receiver...
in 1933.
History
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools discovered , and covers roughly 99% of human technological prehistory...
era as far back as , and archeological evidence shows a port existed at Syedra, south of the modern city, during the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
around . 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
Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax
The Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax is an ancient Greek periplus that ranks among the minor Greek geographers, dating from 4th or 3rd century BC. The name of Scylax applied to the text is thought to be a pseudepigraphical appeal to authority: Herodotus mentions a Scylax of Caryanda, a Greek navigator...
. The castle rock was likely inhabited under the Hittites
Hittites
The Hittites were a Bronze Age people of Anatolia.They established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia c. the 18th century BC. The Hittite empire reached its height c...
and the Achaemenid Empire
Achaemenid Empire
The Achaemenid Empire , sometimes known as First Persian Empire and/or Persian Empire, was founded in the 6th century BCE by Cyrus the Great who overthrew the Median confederation...
, and was first fortified in the Hellenistic period
Hellenistic period
The Hellenistic period or Hellenistic era describes the time which followed the conquests of Alexander the Great. It was so named by the historian J. G. Droysen. During this time, Greek cultural influence and power was at its zenith in Europe and Asia...
following the area's conquest by Alexander the Great. Alexander's successors
Diadochi
The Diadochi were the rival generals, family and friends of Alexander the Great who fought for the control of Alexander's empire after his death in 323 BC...
left the area to Ptolemy I Soter
Ptolemy I Soter
Ptolemy I Soter I , also known as Ptolemy Lagides, c. 367 BC – c. 283 BC, was a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great, who became ruler of Egypt and founder of both the Ptolemaic Kingdom and the Ptolemaic Dynasty...
after . His dynasty maintained loose control over the mainly Isauria
Isauria
Isauria , in ancient geography, is a rugged isolated district in the interior of South Asia Minor, of very different extent at different periods, but generally covering what is now the district of Bozkır and its surroundings in the Konya province of Turkey, or the core of the Taurus Mountains. In...
n population, and the port became a popular refuge for Mediterranean pirates
Ancient Mediterranean piracy
Piracy in the ancient Mediterranean has a long documented history, from the Late Bronze Age. Classical historian Janice Gabbert proclaimed “The eastern Mediterranean has been plagued by piracy since the first dawn of history.” Though its prehistory is ambiguously differentiated from trade, this...
. The city resisted Antiochus III the Great
Antiochus III the Great
Antiochus III the Great Seleucid Greek king who became the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire as a youth of about eighteen in 223 BC. Antiochus was an ambitious ruler who ruled over Greater Syria and western Asia towards the end of the 3rd century BC...
of the neighboring Seleucid kingdom in , but was loyal to the pirate Diodotus Tryphon
Diodotus Tryphon
Diodotus Tryphon was king of the Hellenistic Seleucid kingdom. As a general of the army, he promoted the claims of Antiochus VI Dionysus, the infant son of Alexander Balas, in Antioch after Alexander's death, but then in 142 deposed the child and himself seized power in Coele-Syria where Demetrius...
when he seized the Seleucid crown from 142 to . His rival Antiochus VII Sidetes
Antiochus VII Sidetes
Antiochus VII Euergetes, nicknamed Sidetes , ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, reigned from 138 to 129 BC. He was the last Seleucid king of any stature....
completed work in on a new castle and port, begun under Diodotus.
The Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
fought Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
n pirates in , when Marcus Antonius the Orator
Marcus Antonius Orator
Marcus Antonius Orator was a Roman politician of the Antonius family and one of the most distinguished Roman orators of his time. He was also the grandfather of the famous general and triumvir, Mark Antony.-Career:...
established a proconsul
Proconsul
A proconsul was a governor of a province in the Roman Republic appointed for one year by the senate. In modern usage, the title has been used for a person from one country ruling another country or bluntly interfering in another country's internal affairs.-Ancient Rome:In the Roman Republic, a...
ship in nearby Side
Side
Side was an ancient Greek city in Anatolia, in the region of Pamphylia, in what is now Antalya province, on the southern Mediterranean coast of Turkey...
, and in under Servilius Vatia, who moved on the Isaurian tribes. The period of piracy in Alanya finally ended after the city's incorporation into the Pamphylia
Pamphylia
In ancient geography, Pamphylia was the region in the south of Asia Minor, between Lycia and Cilicia, extending from the Mediterranean to Mount Taurus . It was bounded on the north by Pisidia and was therefore a country of small extent, having a coast-line of only about 75 miles with a breadth of...
province by Pompey
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
in , with the Battle of Korakesion
Battle of Korakesion
The Battle of Korakesion, also known as the Battle of Coracesium, was a naval battle fought in 67 BC between the pirates of Cilicia and Pompey of ancient Rome. Plutarch describes it as the key battle of Pompey's clearing of the Mediterranean of pirates after several smaller battles...
fought in the city's harbor. 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. After the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
's collapse
Decline of the Roman Empire
The decline of the Roman Empire refers to the gradual societal collapse of the Western Roman Empire. Many theories of causality prevail, but most concern the disintegration of political, economic, military, and other social institutions, in tandem with foreign invasions and usurpers from within the...
and split, the city remained under Byzantine
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...
influence, becoming a suffragan
Suffragan bishop
A suffragan bishop is a bishop subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop. He or she may be assigned to an area which does not have a cathedral of its own.-Anglican Communion:...
of Side
Side
Side was an ancient Greek city in Anatolia, in the region of Pamphylia, in what is now Antalya province, on the southern Mediterranean coast of Turkey...
, in the metropolis
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
of Pamphylia Prima. Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
arrived in the 7th century with Arab raids
Byzantine-Arab Wars
The Byzantine–Arab Wars were a series of wars between the Arab Caliphates and the East Roman or Byzantine Empire between the 7th and 12th centuries AD. These started during the initial Muslim conquests under the expansionist Rashidun and Umayyad caliphs and continued in the form of an enduring...
, which led to the construction of new fortifications. 681 marked the end of a bishopric
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
in Alanya, although St. Peter of Atroa
Peter of Atroa
-Biography:He was born the eldest of three children. His given name was Theophylact. At eighteen, he determined to become a monk and joined Paul the Hesychast at his hermitage in Phrygia, where he took the religious name "Peter"....
may have taken refuge here from iconoclastic
Iconoclasm
Iconoclasm is the deliberate destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major political or religious changes...
persecution in the early 9th century. The area fell from Byzantine control after the Battle of Manzikert
Battle of Manzikert
The Battle of Manzikert , was fought between the Byzantine Empire and Seljuq Turks led by Alp Arslan on August 26, 1071 near Manzikert...
in 1071 to tribes of Seljuk Turks
Seljuq dynasty
The Seljuq ; were a Turco-Persian Sunni Muslim dynasty that ruled parts of Central Asia and the Middle East from the 11th to 14th centuries...
, only to be returned in 1120 by John II Komnenos
John II Komnenos
John II Komnenos was Byzantine Emperor from 1118 to 1143. Also known as Kaloïōannēs , he was the eldest son of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Irene Doukaina...
.
Following the Fourth Crusade
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade was originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire...
's attack on the Byzantines, the Christian Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia , also known as the Cilician Armenia, Kingdom of Cilician Armenia or New Armenia, was an independent principality formed during the High Middle Ages by Armenian refugees fleeing the Seljuk invasion of Armenia...
periodically held the port, and it was from an Armenian, Kir Fard
Kir Fard
Kir Fard was an Armenian Roupenian nobleman who held the fortress of Kalonoros, later known as Alanya, until 1221, when it was besieged by the Seljuq Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad I. He surrendered his fortress in exchange for the fief of Akşehir, and gave his daughter Hunat Hatun in marriage to...
, 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
Aksehir
Akşehir is a town and district of Konya Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. According to 2000 census, population of the district is 114,918 of which 63,000 live in the town 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
Alanya Castle
Alanya Castle is a medieval castle in the southern Turkish city of Alanya. Most of the castle was built in the 13th century under the Seljuq Sultanate of Rûm following the city's conquest in 1220 by Alaeddin Keykubad I as part of a building campaign that included the Kızıl Kule.The castle was...
, city walls, arsenal, and 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...
, made it an important seaport for western Mediterranean trade, particularly with Ayyubid Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and the Italian city-states
Italian city-states
The Italian city-states were a political phenomenon of small independent states mostly in the central and northern Italian peninsula between the 10th and 15th centuries....
. Alaeddin Kayqubad I also constructed numerous gardens and pavilions
Pavilion (structure)
In architecture a pavilion has two main meanings.-Free-standing structure:Pavilion may refer to a free-standing structure sited a short distance from a main residence, whose architecture makes it an object of pleasure. Large or small, there is usually a connection with relaxation and pleasure in...
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 emir
Emir
Emir , meaning "commander", "general", or "prince"; also transliterated as Amir, Aamir or Ameer) is a title of high office, used throughout the Muslim world...
s, and constructed by the contractor
General contractor
A general contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and communication of information to involved parties throughout the course of a building project.-Description:...
Abu 'Ali al-Kattani al-Halabi. Alaeddin Kayqubad I's son, Sultan Gıyaseddin Keyhüsrev II, continued the building campaign with a new cistern
Cistern
A cistern is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by their waterproof linings...
in 1240.
At the Battle of Köse Dağ
Battle of Köse Dag
The Battle of Köse Dağ was fought between the Seljuk Turks of Anatolia and the Mongols on June 26, 1243 at the defile of Köse Dağ, a location between Erzincan and Gümüşhane in northeast Anatolia, modern Turkey, and ended in a decisive Mongol victory....
in 1242, the Mongol hordes broke the Seljuk hegemony in Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
. Alanya was then subject to a series of invasions from Anatolian beyliks. In 1293, the Karamanid dynasty took control after Mecdüddin Mahmud conquered the city, but their rule was intermittent. Lusignan
Lusignan
The Lusignan family originated in Poitou near Lusignan in western France in the early 10th century. By the end of the 11th century, they had risen to become the most prominent petty lords in the region from their castle at Lusignan...
s from Cyprus
Kingdom of Cyprus
The Kingdom of Cyprus was a Crusader kingdom on the island of Cyprus in the high and late Middle Ages, between 1192 and 1489. It was ruled by the French House of Lusignan.-History:...
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
Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)
The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt was the final independent Egyptian state prior to the establishment of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty in 1805. It lasted from the overthrow of the Ayyubid Dynasty until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. The sultanate's ruling caste was composed of Mamluks, Arabised...
for a period before General Gedik Ahmed Pasha
Gedik Ahmed Pasha
Gedik Ahmed Pasha was an Ottoman grand vizier as well as an army and navy commander during the reigns of sultans Mehmed the Conqueror and Beyazid II....
in 1471 incorporated it into the growing 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 city was made a capital of a local sanjak
Sanjak
Sanjaks were administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire. Sanjak, and the variant spellings sandjak, sanjaq, and sinjaq, are English transliterations of the Turkish word sancak, meaning district, banner, or flag...
in the eyalet of Içel
Mersin Province
The Mersin Province is a province in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast between Antalya and Adana. The provincial capital is the city of Mersin and the other major town is Tarsus, birthplace of St Paul...
. The Ottomans extended their rule in 1477 when they brought the main shipping trade, lumber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
, then mostly done by Venetians
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, under the government monopoly
Government monopoly
In economics, a government monopoly is a form of coercive monopoly in which a government agency or government corporation is the sole provider of a particular good or service and competition is prohibited by law...
. On September 6, 1608, the city rebuffed a naval attack by the Order of Saint Stephen
Order of Saint Stephen
The Order of Saint Stephen is a Tuscan dynastic-military order founded in 1561. The order was created by Cosimo I de' Medici, first Grand Duke of Tuscany. The last member of the Medici dynasty to be a leader of the order was Gian Gastone de Medici in 1737...
from the Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
.
Trade in the region was negatively impacted 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 center. In 1571 the Ottomans designated the city as part of the newly conquered province of Cyprus
Cyprus under the Ottoman Empire
The Eyalet of Cyprus was created in 1571, and changed its status frequently. It was a sanjak of the Eyalet of the Archipelago from 1660 to 1703, and again from 1784 onwards; a fief of the Grand Vizier , and again an eyalet for the short period 1745-1748.- Ottoman raids and conquest :Throughout the...
. The conquest further diminished the economic importance of Alanya's port. Traveler Evliya Çelebi
Evliya Çelebi
Evliya Çelebi was an Ottoman traveler who journeyed through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty years.- Life :...
visited the city in 1671/1672, and wrote on the preservation of Alanya Castle, but also on the dilapidation of Alanya's suburbs. The city was reassigned in 1864 under Konya
Konya Province
Konya Province is a province of Turkey located in central Anatolia. The provincial capital is the city of Konya. It is the largest province by area of Turkey.-Districts:...
, and in 1868 under Antalya
Antalya
Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...
, as it is today. During the 18th and 19th centuries numerous villas were built in the city by Ottoman nobility, and civil construction continued under the local dynastic Karamanid authorities. Bandits again became common across Antalya Province in the mid-nineteenth century.
After World War I, Alanya was nominally partitioned
Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire
The Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire was a political event that occurred after World War I. The huge conglomeration of territories and peoples formerly ruled by the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire was divided into several new nations.The partitioning was planned from the early days of the war,...
in the 1917 Agreement of St.-Jean-de-Maurienne
Agreement of St.-Jean-de-Maurienne
The Agreement of St.-Jean-de-Maurienne was an agreement between France, Italy and the United Kingdom, signed at Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne on April 26, 1917, and endorsed August 18 – September 26, 1917. It was drafted by the Italian foreign ministry as a tentative agreement to settle its Middle...
to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, before returning to the Turkish Republic
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
in 1923 under the Treaty of Lausanne
Treaty of Lausanne
The Treaty of Lausanne was a peace treaty signed in Lausanne, Switzerland on 24 July 1923, that settled the Anatolian and East Thracian parts of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. The treaty of Lausanne was ratified by the Greek government on 11 February 1924, by the Turkish government on 31...
. Like others in this region, the city suffered heavily following the war
Turkish War of Independence
The Turkish War of Independence was a war of independence waged by Turkish nationalists against the Allies, after the country was partitioned by the Allies following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I...
and the population exchanges that heralded the Turkish Republic, when many of the city's Christians resettled in Nea Ionia
Nea Ionia
Nea Ionia is a northern suburb of Athens, Greece, and a municipality of the Attica region. It has a surface train station . The suburb was named after Ionia, the region in Anatolia from which many Greeks migrated in the 1920s following the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey. It is...
, outside Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. The Ottoman census of 1893 listed the number of Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
in the city at out of a total population of . Tourism in the region started among Turks
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
who came to Alanya in the 1960s for the alleged healing properties of Damlataş Cave, and later the access provided by Antalya Airport
Antalya Airport
Antalya Airport is northeast of the city center of Antalya, Turkey. The airport is operated in Turkey's primary holiday destination located on the country's Mediterranean coast. The airport is big and modern, built to accommodate the millions of passengers who come to Turkey's Mediterranean...
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
Gulf of Antalya
The Gulf of Antalya is a large bay of the northern Levantine Sea, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea south of Antalya province, Turkey. It includes some of the main seaside resorts of Turkey, also known as the "Turkish riviera"....
on the Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
n coastal plain of Pamphylia
Pamphylia
In ancient geography, Pamphylia was the region in the south of Asia Minor, between Lycia and Cilicia, extending from the Mediterranean to Mount Taurus . It was bounded on the north by Pisidia and was therefore a country of small extent, having a coast-line of only about 75 miles with a breadth of...
, the town is situated between the Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, dividing the Mediterranean coastal region of southern Turkey from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir in the west to the upper reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the east...
to the north and 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...
, and is part of the Turkish riviera
Turkish Riviera
The Turkish Riviera is a term used to define an area of southwest Turkey encompassing Antalya, Muğla and to a lesser extent the provinces of Aydın, southern İzmir and western Mersin...
, occupying roughly 70 kilometres (43.5 mi) of coastline. From west to east, the Alanya district is bordered by the Manavgat
Manavgat
Manavgat is a town and district of the Antalya Province in Turkey, from the city of Antalya. The Manavgat River has a waterfall near the town.-Geography:...
district along the coast, the mountainous Gündoğmuş
Gündogmus
Gündoğmuş is a town and remote district of Antalya Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey, 182 km from the city of Antalya, off the road from Akseki to Manavgat....
inland, Hadim
Hadim
Hadim is a town and district of Konya Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. According to 2000 census, population of the district is 59,941 of which 16,620 live in the town of Hadim.-Notes:...
and Taşkent
Taskent
Taşkent, formerly Pirlerkondu, is a town and district of Konya Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. According to 2000 census, population of the district is 46,396 of which 10,779 live in the town of Taşkent.-External links:* *...
in the Province of Konya
Konya Province
Konya Province is a province of Turkey located in central Anatolia. The provincial capital is the city of Konya. It is the largest province by area of Turkey.-Districts:...
, Sarıveliler
Sariveliler
Sarıveliler is a town and district of Karaman Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. According to 2000 census, population of the district is 21,308 of which 6,718 live in the town of Sarıveliler.-History:...
in the Province of Karaman
Karaman Province
Karaman Province is a province of central Turkey. It has an area of 9,163 km². It has a population of 232,633 . According to the 2000 census the population was 243,210. Population density is 27.54 people/km². The traffic code is 70. The capital is the city of Karaman...
, and the coastal Gazipaşa
Gazipasa
Gazipaşa is a town and district of Antalya Province on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey, 180 km east of the city of Antalya. Gazipaşa is a quiet rural district famous for its bananas, oranges and international airport...
district. Manavgat is home to the ancient cities of Side
Side
Side was an ancient Greek city in Anatolia, in the region of Pamphylia, in what is now Antalya province, on the southern Mediterranean coast of Turkey...
and Selge.
The Pamphylia plain between the sea and the mountains is an isolated example of an Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forest
Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests
The Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests ecoregion, in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, is of the eastern Mediterranean Basin.-Setting:...
, which include Lebanon Cedar
Lebanon Cedar
Cedrus libani is a species of cedar native to the mountains of the Mediterranean region.There are two distinct types that are considered to be different subspecies or varieties. Lebanon cedar or Cedar of Lebanon Cedrus libani is a species of cedar native to the mountains of the Mediterranean...
, evergreen scrub, fig trees, and black pine. The Alanya Massif
Massif
In geology, a massif is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole...
refers to the area of metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rock is the transformation of an existing rock type, the protolith, in a process called metamorphism, which means "change in form". The protolith is subjected to heat and pressure causing profound physical and/or chemical change...
s east of Antalya
Antalya
Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...
. This formation is divided into three nappe
Nappe
In geology, a nappe is a large sheetlike body of rock that has been moved more than or 5 km from its original position. Nappes form during continental plate collisions, when folds are sheared so much that they fold back over on themselves and break apart. The resulting structure is a...
s from lowest to highest, the Mahmutlar, the Sugözü, and the Yumrudağ. The similar lithology
Lithology
The lithology of a rock unit is a description of its physical characteristics visible at outcrop, in hand or core samples or with low magnification microscopy, such as colour, texture, grain size, or composition. It may be either a detailed description of these characteristics or be a summary of...
extends beneath the city in a tectonic window
Window (geology)
thumb|right|350px|Schematic overview of a thrust system. The [[fault |hanging wall block]] is called a [[nappe]]. If an [[erosion]]al hole is created in the nappe that is called a window. A [[klippe]] is a solitary outcrop of the nappe in the middle of autochthonous material.A tectonic window...
. Bauxite
Bauxite
Bauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium. This form of rock consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite γ-AlO, and diaspore α-AlO, in a mixture with the two iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite, and small amounts of anatase TiO2...
, an aluminum ore, is common to the area north of city, and can be mined.
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
, 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 Cleopatra Beach are to the west. The name Cleopatra Beach possibly derives from either the Ptolemaic
Ptolemaic dynasty
The Ptolemaic dynasty, was a Macedonian Greek royal family which ruled the Ptolemaic Empire in Egypt during the Hellenistic period. Their rule lasted for 275 years, from 305 BC to 30 BC...
princess' visit here or the area's inclusion in her dowry from Mark Antony
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar...
.
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 Mediterranean climateMediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
. The Mediterranean Basin
Mediterranean Basin
In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin refers to the lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have a Mediterranean climate, with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub vegetation...
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". Storm cells sometimes bring with them fair weather waterspout
Waterspout
A waterspout is an intense columnar vortex that occurs over a body of water and is connected to a cumuliform cloud. In the common form, it is a non-supercell tornado over water. While it is often weaker than most of its land counterparts, stronger versions spawned by mesocyclones do occur...
s when close to the shore. The presence of the Taurus Mountain in close proximity to the sea causes fog, in turn creating visible rainbows many mornings. The height of the mountains creates an interesting effect as snow
Snow
Snow is a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by...
can often be seen on them even on hot days in the city below. The sea at Alanya has an average temperature of 21.4 °C (71 °F) annually, with an average August temperature of 27.9 °C (82 °F).
Architecture
On the peninsula stands Alanya CastleAlanya Castle
Alanya Castle is a medieval castle in the southern Turkish city of Alanya. Most of the castle was built in the 13th century under the Seljuq Sultanate of Rûm following the city's conquest in 1220 by Alaeddin Keykubad I as part of a building campaign that included the Kızıl Kule.The castle was...
, a Seljuk
Seljuq dynasty
The Seljuq ; were a Turco-Persian Sunni Muslim dynasty that ruled parts of Central Asia and the Middle East from the 11th to 14th centuries...
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
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
and caravanserai
Caravanserai
A caravanserai, or khan, also known as caravansary, caravansera, or caravansara in English was a roadside inn where travelers could rest and recover from the day's journey...
, built by Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman I was the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1520 to his death in 1566. He is known in the West as Suleiman the Magnificent and in the East, as "The Lawgiver" , for his complete reconstruction of the Ottoman legal system...
. The old city walls surround much of the eastern peninsula, and can be walked. Inside the walls are numerous historic villa
Villa
A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...
s, well preserved examples of the classical period of Ottoman architecture, most built in the early 19th century.
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...
(Red Tower) is another well-known building in Alanya. The 108 feet (32.9 m) high brick building stands at the harbor below the castle, and contains the municipal ethnographic
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
museum. Sultan Kayqubad I brought the accomplished architect Ebu Ali from Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
to Alanya to design the building. 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 arch
Arch
An arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...
es. The Alarahan caravanserai near Manavgat
Manavgat
Manavgat is a town and district of the Antalya Province in Turkey, from the city of Antalya. The Manavgat River has a waterfall near the town.-Geography:...
, also built under Kayqubad's authority, has been converted into a museum and heritage center.
Atatürk's House and Museum, from his short stay in the city on February 18, 1935 is preserved in its historic state and is a good 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 Damlataşh Beach. With its rich architectural heritage, Alanya is a member of the Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
-based European Association of Historic Towns and Regions
European Association of Historic Towns and Regions
The European Association of Historic Towns and Regions , founded by the Congress of the Council of Europe in October 1999, is a self-governing organisation which groups together twelve associations, such as the Historic Towns Forum of Great Britain, from eleven states, namely the Czech Republic,...
. 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.
Demographics
| Historical Populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Alanya District | ||
| Year | Population | +/- |
| 1985 | 87080 | - |
| 1990 | 129936 | 49% |
| 1997 | 222028 | 71% |
| 2000 | 264240 | 19% |
| 2007 | 384949 | 46% |
| Alanya City Center | ||
| 1893 | 37914 | - |
| 1985 | 28733 | -24% |
| 1990 | 52460 | 83% |
| 1997 | 110181 | 110% |
| 2000 | 88346 | -20% |
| 2007 | 91713 | 4% |
| 2008 | 92223 | 1% |
| 2009 | 94316 | 2% |
| Turkish/Ottoman census Address based registration |
||
From only 87,080 in 1985, the district has surged to hold a population of 384,949 in 2007. This population surge is largely credited to immigration to the city as a result or byproduct of the increased prominence of the real estate sector and the growth of the housing market bubble
Real estate bubble
A real estate bubble or property bubble is a type of economic bubble that occurs periodically in local or global real estate markets...
. The city itself has a population of 134,396, of which 9,789 are European expatriates
Demographics of Europe
Figures for the population of Europe vary according to which definition of European boundaries is used. The population within the standard physical geographical boundaries was 731 million in 2005 according to the United Nations. In 2010 the population is 857 million, using a definition which...
, about half of them from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. 17,850 total foreigners own property in Alanya. The European expatriate population tends to be over fifty years old. During the summer the population increases due to large numbers of tourists, about each year pass through the city. Both Turks
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
and Europeans, these vacationers provide income for much of the population.
The city is home to many migrants from the Southeastern Anatolia Region and the Black Sea region. In the first decade of the 21st century, the town has seen a surge in illegal
Illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...
foreign immigrants from the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
, both to stay and to attempt to enter European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
countries. As of 2006, claim residence in Alanya while working abroad. Yörük
Yörük
The Yorouks, also Yuruks or Yörüks are immigrants, ultimately of Thracian descent,some of whom are still nomadic, primarily inhabiting the mountains of Anatolia and partly Balkan peninsula...
nomads also live in the Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, dividing the Mediterranean coastal region of southern Turkey from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir in the west to the upper reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the east...
north of the city on a seasonal basis. Additionally, there is a small African
African people
African people refers to natives, inhabitants, or citizen of Africa and to people of African descent.-Etymology:Many etymological hypotheses that have been postulated for the ancient name "Africa":...
community descendant from imported Ottoman slaves
Slavery (Ottoman Empire)
Slavery was an important part of Ottoman society until the Ottoman Empire extinguished slavery of Caucasians in the early 19th century. The practice carried over into Ottoman reign...
.
The town is nearly 99% Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
, and although many ancient churches can be found in the city, there are no regular Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
services
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
. In 2006, a German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
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. The town provides the Atatürk Cultural Center to Christian groups on a regular basis for larger religious ceremonies.
Education and health
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
, with public and private
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
schools, and a roughly . Rural villages are, however, disadvantaged by the limited number of secondary schools
Secondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
outside the city center. Alantur Primary School, which opened in 1987, was built and is maintained under the Turkish "Build Your Own School" initiative, supported by the foundation of Ayhan Şahenk, the founder of Doğuş Holding
Dogus Holding
Doğuş Holding A.Ş. is one of the top three largest private-sector conglomerates in Turkey, with a portfolio of 25 companies that cross industry verticals, including one of Turkey's largest banks, Garanti Bank, as well as high-end Porsche, Audi, and Volkswagen dealerships, retail and food stores,...
.
In 2005, Akdeniz University
Akdeniz University
Akdeniz University is a campus university in Antalya Province of Turkey. It is the leading higher education and scientific research center of the West Mediterranean region of Turkey....
of Antalya
Antalya
Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...
launched the Alanya Faculty of Business, as a satellite campus
Satellite campus
A satellite campus or branch campus is a campus of a college or university that is physically detached from the main university or college area, and is often smaller than the main campus of an institution....
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
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
operates an annual study abroad
Study abroad
Studying abroad is the act of a student pursuing educational opportunities in a country other than one's own. This can include primary, secondary and post-secondary students...
program for American students known as the McGhee Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies
McGhee Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies
The McGhee Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies is an overseas academic center operated by Georgetown University in Alanya, Turkey. The McGhee Center was founded in 1989 after Ambassador George Crews McGhee, former U.S...
, named for the United States Ambassador to Turkey
United States Ambassador to Turkey
The United States of America has maintained many high level contacts with Turkey since the nineteenth century.-Chargé d'Affaires:*George W. Erving *David Porter -Minister Resident:*David Porter *Dabney Smith Carr...
from 1952–53 George C. McGhee
George C. McGhee
George Crews McGhee was an oilman and a career diplomat in the United States foreign service.-Early life:McGhee was born on March 10, 1912 in Waco, Texas, the son of a Waco banker. He studied at the University of Oklahoma, graduating with a degree in geology in 1933...
, and based in his villa. Başkent University Medical and Research Center of Alanya
Baskent University Medical and Research Center of Alanya
Başkent University Medical and Research Center of Alanya is a medical and research center in Alanya, Turkey. It is one of the Başkent University hospitals in Turkey. The center was opened on 10th of July 2000. The center has a certificate of ISO-EN 9001:2000 Quality system. There are nearly 100...
, a teaching hospital
Teaching hospital
A teaching hospital is a hospital that provides clinical education and training to future and current doctors, nurses, and other health professionals, in addition to delivering medical care to patients...
run by Başkent University
Baskent University
Başkent University was founded on January 13, 1994 by Prof. Dr. Mehmet Haberal. The University center is located in Ankara and also has Medical and Research Centers and Dialysis Centers all around Turkey.-History:...
in Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
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
Alanya's culture is a subculture of the larger Culture of TurkeyCulture of Turkey
The culture of Turkey combines a largely diverse and heterogeneous set of elements that are derived from the Ottoman, European, Middle Eastern and Central Asian traditions...
. The city's seaside position is central to many annual festivals. These include the Tourism and Art 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
Alanya International Culture and Art Festival
Alanya International Culture and Art Festival, is a festival that has been organized every year since 2001 in Alanya. The last Saturday and Sunday of the month of May are festival days for the southern Mediterranean town of Alanya. 2011 festival is betwwen 28.th and 31.th of May.All aspects of the...
is held in the last week of May, and is a notable Turkish festival
Festivals in Republic of Turkey
More than 100 festivals are held in Turkey every year. Along with festivals of local scale held in almost every city of the country, cultural events and other festivals of international reach are also organized in major metropolitan centers such as Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir and Antalya.Istanbul is...
. Other regular festivals include the Alanya Jazz Days, which has been held since 2002 in September or October at 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...
, which is otherwise home to the municipal ethnographic
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
museum. The Jazz Festival hosts Turkish and international jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
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
Istanbul International Film Festival
The Istanbul International Film Festival is the first and oldest international film festival in Turkey, organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts , a non-profit organisation. It is held every year in April in movie theaters in Istanbul, Turkey...
was born in Alanya, as was actress Sema Önür.
Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
's visit to Alanya is also celebrated on its anniversary each February 18, centered on Atatürk's House and Museum. The Alanya Museum is home to archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
found in and around the city, including a large bronze Hercules
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
statue, ceramics, and Roman limestone ossuaries
Ossuary
An ossuary is a chest, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years the skeletal remains are removed and placed in an ossuary...
, as well as historic copies of the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
. European residents of Alanya also often celebrate their national holidays, such as Norwegian Constitution Day
Norwegian Constitution Day
Norwegian Constitution Day is the National Day of Norway and is an official national holiday observed on May 17 each year. Among Norwegians, the day is referred to simply as syttende mai or syttande mai , Nasjonaldagen or Grunnlovsdagen , although the latter is less frequent.- Historical...
, and the city set up a Christmas market
Christmas Market
A Christmas market, also known as Christkindlmarkt, Christkindlesmarkt, Christkindlmarket, and Weihnachtsmarkt, is a street market associated with the celebration of Christmas during the four weeks of Advent...
in December 2010. Iranians
Iranian peoples
The Iranian peoples are an Indo-European ethnic-linguistic group, consisting of the speakers of Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family, as such forming a branch of Indo-European-speaking peoples...
also celebrate the Persian New Year, Nevruz
Nowruz
Nowrūz is the name of the Iranian New Year in Iranian calendars and the corresponding traditional celebrations. Nowruz is also widely referred to as the Persian New Year....
, in Alanya.
Government
Justice and Development Party (Turkey)
The Justice and Development Party , abbreviated JDP in English and AK PARTİ or AKP in Turkish, is a centre-right political party in Turkey. The party is the largest in Turkey, with 327 members of parliament...
(AK Party), which is currently in power in the national government. Eight councilors are from the center-right Motherland Party
Motherland Party (Turkey)
The Motherland Party, was a political party in Turkey. It was founded in 1983 by Turgut Özal. It was merged to Democratic Party in October 2009...
, with three members from the center-left Republican People's Party
Republican People's Party (Turkey)
The Republican People's Party is a centre-left Kemalist political party in Turkey. It is the oldest political party of Turkey and is currently Main Opposition in the Grand National Assembly. The Republican People's Party describes itself as "a modern social-democratic party, which is faithful to...
, two from the far-right Nationalist Movement Party
Nationalist Movement Party
The Nationalist Movement Party , is a far-right political party in Turkey.In the 2002 general elections, the party had lost its 129 seats as it had won only 8.34% of the national vote...
. Mayor Hasan Sipahioğlu was formerly with the Motherland Party, but on July 12, 2009 joined the AK Party. Sipahioğlu was first elected in 1999, and was reelected in 2004 and 2009. Elections
Elections in Turkey
Turkey elects on the national level a legislature. The Grand National Assembly of Turkey has 550 members, elected for a four year term by a system based on proportional representation...
are held every five years, with the next to be held in March 2014. Alanya also has a deputy mayor, who often represents the city at its sporting events.
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
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
, which appoints a governor for the district, currently Dr. Hulusi Doğan. Although Alanya has been part of Antalya Province
Antalya Province
Antalya Province is located on the Mediterranean coast of south-west Turkey, between the Taurus Mountains and the Mediterranean sea.Antalya Province is the centre of Turkey's tourism industry, attracting 30% of foreign tourists visiting Turkey. The province of Antalya corresponds to the lands of...
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
Turkish general election, 2007
Turkey's 16th general election was held on July 22, 2007 and resulted in a resounding victory for the incumbent Justice and Development Party...
, 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
Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu
Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu is the current president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. He also represents Antalya Province in the Turkish Grand National Assembly...
, of the Justice and Development Party, is the only native Alanyalilar Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
representing Antalya Province in the Grand National Assembly
Grand National Assembly of Turkey
The Grand National Assembly of Turkey , usually referred to simply as the Meclis , is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Constitution. It was founded in Ankara on 23 April 1920 in the midst of the Turkish War of Independence...
, where he chairs the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population. He is also the current president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe , which held its first session in Strasbourg on 10 August 1949, can be considered the oldest international parliamentary assembly with a pluralistic composition of democratically elected members of parliament established on the basis of an...
.
Economy
The tourist industry in Alanya is worth just under per year, and is therefore the principal industry. The area is further known for its many fruit farms, particularly lemons and oranges, and large harvests of tomatoes, bananas and cucumbers. About 80,000 tonnes of citrus fruits were produced in 2006 across 16840 hectares (41,612.5 acre). The greengage plumGreengage
The greengages, also known as the Reine Claudes, are the edible drupaceous fruits of a cultivar group of the common European plum. The first true greengage was bred in Moissac, France, from a green-fruited wild plum originally found in Asia Minor; the original greengage cultivar nowadays survives...
and the avocado
Avocado
The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...
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
Elinor Ostrom
Elinor Ostrom is an American political economist. She was awarded the 2009 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, which she shared with Oliver E. Williamson, for "her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons." She was the first, and to date, the only woman to win the prize in...
's research on economic governance which led to her 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics
Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, commonly referred to as the Nobel Prize in Economics, but officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel , is an award for outstanding contributions to the field of economics, generally regarded as one of the...
. In 2007, locals protested the establishment of some larger chain supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
s and clothing stores, which have opened branches in Alanya.
Beginning in 2003, with the provisional elimination of restrictions on land purchases by non-nationals
Foreign purchases of real estate in Turkey
Purchasing property in Turkey has become more popular with holiday home owners and investors around the globe. Several factors have contributed to the popularity and the trend displayed by foreign purchases and have had important repercussions within Turkey. The issue is especially notable given...
, 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. Sixty-nine percent of homes purchased by foreign nationals in the Antalya Province
Antalya Province
Antalya Province is located on the Mediterranean coast of south-west Turkey, between the Taurus Mountains and the Mediterranean sea.Antalya Province is the centre of Turkey's tourism industry, attracting 30% of foreign tourists visiting Turkey. The province of Antalya corresponds to the lands of...
and 29.9% in all of Turkey are in Alanya. Buyers are primarily individuals, rather than investors. This housing boom put pressure on the city's many gecekondu
Gecekondu
Gecekondu is a Turkish word meaning a house put up quickly without proper permissions, a squatter's house, and by extension, a shanty or shack...
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 motelMotel
A motor hotel, or motel for short, is a hotel designed for motorists, and usually has a parking area for motor vehicles...
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 as of 2007 claims beds. Damlataş Cave, which originally sparked the arrival of outsiders because of the cave's microclimate
Microclimate
A microclimate is a local atmospheric zone where the climate differs from the surrounding area. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square feet or as large as many square miles...
, with an average temperature of and , is accessible on the west side of the peninsula with trails from Damlataş Beach. Many tourists, especially Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
ns, Germans
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
, Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
, and Dutch, regularly vacation in Alanya during the warmer months
Summer
Summer is the warmest of the four temperate seasons, between spring and autumn. At the summer solstice, the days are longest and the nights are shortest, with day-length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice...
. They are drawn to the area because of property prices, warm weather, sandy beaches, access to Antalya's historic sites, and fine cuisine
Cuisine of Turkey
Turkish cuisine is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine, which can be described as a fusion and refinement of Central Asian, Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisines. Turkish cuisine has in turn influenced those and other neighbouring cuisines, including that of western Europe...
.
Other outdoor tourist activities include wind surfing, parasailing
Parasailing
Parasailing, also known as parascending, or "parakiting" is a recreational kiting activity where a person is towed behind a vehicle while attached to a specially designed canopy wing that reminds one of a parachute, known as a parasail wing...
, and banana boating
Banana boat (boat)
A banana boat, also known as a water sled and often referred to simply as a banana, is an inflatable recreational boat meant for towing. It was invented by Glenn Matthews in the late 1980s. Different models usually accommodate three to ten riders sitting on a larger, main tube and resting their...
. Attractions include Europe's largest waterpark, Sealanya, and Turkey's largest go-kart
Kart racing
Kart racing or karting is a variant of open-wheel motorsport with small, open, four-wheeled vehicles called karts, go-karts, or gearbox/shifter karts depending on the design. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits...
track. Hunting season also attracts some tourist for wild goat, pig and partridge hunting in area nature reserves.
For various reasons, tourist seasons after 2005 have been disappointing for Alanya's tourism industry. Among the reasons blamed were increased PKK
Kurdistan Workers Party
The Kurdistan Workers' Party , commonly known as PKK, also known as KGK and formerly known as KADEK or KONGRA-GEL , is a Kurdish organization which has since 1984 been fighting an armed struggle against the Turkish state for an autonomous Kurdistan and greater cultural and political rights...
violence, the H5N1 bird flu
H5N1
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1, also known as "bird flu", A or simply H5N1, is a subtype of the influenza A virus which can cause illness in humans and many other animal species...
found in Van
Van Province
Van Province is a province in eastern Turkey, between Lake Van and the Iranian border. It is 19,069 km2 in area and had a population of 1,035,418 at the end of 2010....
, and the Mohammad cartoon controversy
Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after 12 editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005...
. Alanya officials have responded with a variety of publicity initiatives, including baking the world's longest cake on April 26, 2006, a Guinness World Record
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
. The economy has also suffered due to investment in more than properties. Israeli tourists, commonly arriving via cruse ship, have also declined sharply by about 85% from 2009 to 2011 due in part to strained relations between Turkey and Israel.
Media
Alanya has 10 local daily newspapers. One of these is Yeni Alanya, which includes the news and lifestyles magazine Orange and is available in English, German and Turkish. Two native German language newspapers are published in Alanya, the Aktuelle Türkei Rundschau and Alanya Bote for the community of German speaking residents and visitors. A monthly magazine Hello Alanya published in Alanya for foreigners, appearing in English and Dutch. The free regional newspaper, Riviera News, is printed in English and is widely available in Alanya.Five radio stations broadcast from the city. Alanya FM Radyo
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
broadcasts on 106.0 FM and is partnered with Radio Flash, on 94.0 FM, both broadcasting popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
. Other stations include Alanya RadyoTime on 92.3 FM, which broadcasts a variety of Turkish music, news, and talk programming. Two television stations are local to Alanya, Kanal Alanya, and Alanya Televizyonu, abbreviated ATV, which is partnered with Alanya RadyoTime.
Transportation
Side
Side was an ancient Greek city in Anatolia, in the region of Pamphylia, in what is now Antalya province, on the southern Mediterranean coast of Turkey...
, connecting with the D400. Antalya Airport
Antalya Airport
Antalya Airport is northeast of the city center of Antalya, Turkey. The airport is operated in Turkey's primary holiday destination located on the country's Mediterranean coast. The airport is big and modern, built to accommodate the millions of passengers who come to Turkey's Mediterranean...
is 121 kilometres (75.2 mi) away and connects internationally. The new Antalya Gazipaşa Airport
Antalya Gazipasa Airport
Gazipaşa Airport is an airport currently in service in the Gazipaşa area of the Antalya province in Turkey. The Airport opened for domestic flights in July 2010 with daily flights from Istanbul with Bora Jet. International flights began in the 2011 holiday season, with flights from Amsterdam...
, first begun in 1992, is only 14.5 kilometres (9 mi) 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
Antalya Province
Antalya Province is located on the Mediterranean coast of south-west Turkey, between the Taurus Mountains and the Mediterranean sea.Antalya Province is the centre of Turkey's tourism industry, attracting 30% of foreign tourists visiting Turkey. The province of Antalya corresponds to the lands of...
, and there are no train stations in the district.
There are bus and dolmuş
Dolmuş
In Turkey and Turkish controlled Northern Cyprus, dolmuş are share taxis that run set routes within and between cities.Departing from the terminal only when a sufficient amount of passengers have boarded, their name is derived from Turkish for "apparently stuffed" for this reason.In some cities...
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
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
and hydrofoil
Hydrofoil
A hydrofoil is a foil which operates in water. They are similar in appearance and purpose to airfoils.Hydrofoils can be artificial, such as the rudder or keel on a boat, the diving planes on a submarine, a surfboard fin, or occur naturally, as with fish fins, the flippers of aquatic mammals, the...
s depart for Kyrenia
Kyrenia
Kyrenia is a town on the northern coast of Cyprus, noted for its historic harbour and castle. Internationally recognised as part of the Republic of Cyprus, Kyrenia has been under Turkish control since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974...
in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Northern Cyprus or North Cyprus , officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus , is a self-declared state that comprises the northeastern part of the island of Cyprus...
. Further west of the city is the Alanya Yacht Harbor, a marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
, which started services in 2008. The 85-km2 (33-sq-mi) marina allowed Alanya to participate in the 2008 Eastern Mediterranean Yacht Rally. The city is also investing in a community bicycle program
Community bicycle program
A bicycle sharing system is a service in which bicycles are made available for shared use to individuals who do not own them. Bicycle sharing systems can be divided into two general categories: "Community Bike programs" organized mostly by local community groups or non-profit organizations; and...
with 150 bicycles and twenty terminals.
Sports
Women's professional sports
Professional athletes are distinguished from amateur athletes by virtue of being paid. Throughout the world, most top female athletes are not paid, and work full-time or part-time jobs in addition to their training, practice and competition schedules. Women's professional sports organizations defy...
basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team, Alanya Belediye, which started in the first division
Turkish Women's Basketball League
The Turkish Women’s Basketball League is the top women’s professional basketball league in Turkey organized by the Turkish Basketball Federation. The women’s league started in 1980...
but was relegated after the 2002 season. The city hosts a third level soccer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
team, Alanyaspor
Alanyaspor
Alanyaspor is a professional Turkish football club located in the city of Alanya. Formed in 1948, the club colours are orange and green and they play their home matches at Alanya Milli Egemenlik.-Current squad:...
. The club was founded in 1948, and play home games at Milli Egemenlik Stadium. It played in the Second League between 1988-1997. 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.
Alanya's waterfront location makes it suitable for certain events, and is perhaps most famous for its annual triathlon
Triathlon
A triathlon is a multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events. While many variations of the sport exist, triathlon, in its most popular form, involves swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances...
, part of the International Triathlon Union
International Triathlon Union
The International Triathlon Union or ITU is the international governing body for the multi-sport disciplines of triathlon, duathlon, aquathlon and other nonstandard variations...
series, which has been held every October since 1990. Marathon swimming
Marathon swimming
Marathon swimming, or ultra-long-distance swimming, is a class of open water swimming. Unlike the use of the term for foot-races where the distance is well-defined, the distance of a marathon swim varies from event to event. Tides, surface currents and wind-chop are major determinants of...
competitions have also been connected to the triathlon since 1992. Building on the triathlon's success, Alanya hosted a modern pentathlon
Modern pentathlon
The modern pentathlon is a sports contest that includes five events: pistol shooting, épée fencing, 200 m freestyle swimming, show jumping, and a 3 km cross-country run...
in 2009. Alanya is also the regular host of The Turkish Open, part of the Nestea
Nestea
Nestea is a brand of iced tea manufactured by Nestle and distributed by Nestle company's beverage department in the United States and byBeverage Partners Worldwide , a joint venture between The Coca-Cola Company and Nestle, in the rest of the world. It competes with Unilever/Pepsi's Lipton Iced Tea...
European Beach Volleyball
Beach volleyball
Beach volleyball, or sand volleyball, is an Olympic team sport played by two teams of two players on a sand court divided by a net.Like volleyball, the object of the game is to send the ball over the net in order to ground it on the opponent’s court, and to prevent the same effort by the opponent....
championship tour, which takes place in May. In 2007, the Turkish Volleyball Federation
Turkish Volleyball Federation
The Turkish Volleyball Federation is the governing body of volleyball and beach volleyball in Turkey. Formed in 1958, it is based in Ankara...
persuaded the European Volleyball Confederation
Confédération Européenne de Volleyball
Confédération Européenne de Volleyball is the continental governing body for the sport of volleyball in Europe. Its headquarters are located in Luxembourg, Luxembourg.- Profile :...
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
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
tournament, and the finish of the seven-day Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey
Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey
Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey is a professional road bicycle racing stage race held annually in Turkey. Historically the race attracted almost no attention from Europe's major cycling teams and best riders. However, its recent elevation in rankings has attracted an increasingly competitive...
. Other cycling events include the Alanya International Mountain Bike Race. Additionally, the European Cycling Union
Union Européenne de Cyclisme
The national federations of the UCI form confederations by continent.In Europe, this body is the Union Européenne de Cyclisme , also shortened to UEC.-Member Federations:...
had its 2010 European road cycling championship and 2010 ordinary congress meeting in Alanya.
Sister cities
Since making agreements with TalsiTalsi
Talsi is a town in Latvia. It is the center of Talsi municipality.-Talsi:Talsi - known as 'The Town of Nine Hills' - perches above two lakes...
, Trakai
Trakai
Trakai is a historic city and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies 28 km west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Because of its proximity to Vilnius, Trakai is a popular tourist destination. Trakai is the administrative centre of Trakai district municipality. The town covers 11.52 km2 of...
, and Keszthely
Keszthely
Keszthely is a Hungarian city of 21,100 inhabitants located on the western shore of Lake Balaton. It's the second largest city by the lake after Siófok....
in 2006, Borås
Borås
Borås is a locality and the seat of Borås Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 63,441 inhabitants in 2005.- Geography :Borås is located at the point of two crossing railways, among them the railway between Gothenburg and Kalmar, and is often considered the Swedish city gaining the...
in 2007, and Rovaniemi
Rovaniemi
Rovaniemi is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland. It is situated close to the Arctic Circle and is between the hills of Ounasvaara and Korkalovaara, at the confluence of the Kemijoki River and its...
, Špindlerův Mlýn
Špindleruv Mlýn
Špindlerův Mlýn is a town in the Czech Republic in the Krkonoše. It received its name after a mill belonging to Spindler's family, where neighbours used to meet...
, and Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
in 2009, Alanya increased its number of sister cities to twelve, ten of which are located within the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. In 2005 Alanya applied with Sister Cities International
Sister Cities International
Sister Cities International is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between United States and international communities. More than 2,000 cities, states and counties are partnered in 136 countries around the world...
for an additional sister city from the United States. The most significant tie is with the city of Nea Ionia
Nea Ionia
Nea Ionia is a northern suburb of Athens, Greece, and a municipality of the Attica region. It has a surface train station . The suburb was named after Ionia, the region in Anatolia from which many Greeks migrated in the 1920s following the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey. It is...
, where many of Alanya's Christians were resettled
Population exchange between Greece and Turkey
The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey was based upon religious identity, and involved the Greek Orthodox citizens of Turkey and the Muslim citizens of Greece...
in 1923 after the Treaty of Lausanne
Treaty of Lausanne
The Treaty of Lausanne was a peace treaty signed in Lausanne, Switzerland on 24 July 1923, that settled the Anatolian and East Thracian parts of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. The treaty of Lausanne was ratified by the Greek government on 11 February 1924, by the Turkish government on 31...
. Soccer teams from sister cities Wodzisław Śląski and Schwechat
Schwechat
Schwechat is a city south-east of Vienna known for the Vienna International Airport and Schwechater beer. It is also home to the refineries belonging to the Austrian national oil company OMV.- Geography :...
have also come to train and scrimmage in Alanya. Wodzisław, Schwechat, Gladbeck
Gladbeck
Gladbeck is a city in the district of Recklinghausen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.The name ´Gladbeck´ evolves from Low German, originally spoken in the area around Gladbeck. ´Glad´ means something like gleamy and ´beck´ means about brook. However, the brook Gladbeck flows under the ground...
, Fushun
Fushun
Fushun is a city in Liaoning, China, about 45 km east from Shenyang, with a population about 2,138 090 inhabitants at the 2010 census and an area of 11,271 km2, including 713 km2 of the city proper. Fushun is situated on the Hun He . It was formerly called Fouchouen in French...
, and Alanya form a "family" in that most are partnered with the others. During the annual Tourism and Culture Festival, Alanya dedicates the year to focus on one country, and has involved sister cities, such as Trakai when 2009 was declared the "Year of Lithuania."
| Borås Borås Borås is a locality and the seat of Borås Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 63,441 inhabitants in 2005.- Geography :Borås is located at the point of two crossing railways, among them the railway between Gothenburg and Kalmar, and is often considered the Swedish city gaining the... , Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... Fushun Fushun Fushun is a city in Liaoning, China, about 45 km east from Shenyang, with a population about 2,138 090 inhabitants at the 2010 census and an area of 11,271 km2, including 713 km2 of the city proper. Fushun is situated on the Hun He . It was formerly called Fouchouen in French... , China People's Republic of China China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres... Gladbeck Gladbeck Gladbeck is a city in the district of Recklinghausen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.The name ´Gladbeck´ evolves from Low German, originally spoken in the area around Gladbeck. ´Glad´ means something like gleamy and ´beck´ means about brook. However, the brook Gladbeck flows under the ground... , Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
Keszthely Keszthely Keszthely is a Hungarian city of 21,100 inhabitants located on the western shore of Lake Balaton. It's the second largest city by the lake after Siófok.... , Hungary Hungary Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The... Nea Ionia Nea Ionia Nea Ionia is a northern suburb of Athens, Greece, and a municipality of the Attica region. It has a surface train station . The suburb was named after Ionia, the region in Anatolia from which many Greeks migrated in the 1920s following the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey. It is... , Greece Greece Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe.... Moscow Moscow Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent... , Russia Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects... |
Rovaniemi Rovaniemi Rovaniemi is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland. It is situated close to the Arctic Circle and is between the hills of Ounasvaara and Korkalovaara, at the confluence of the Kemijoki River and its... , Finland Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside... Schwechat Schwechat Schwechat is a city south-east of Vienna known for the Vienna International Airport and Schwechater beer. It is also home to the refineries belonging to the Austrian national oil company OMV.- Geography :... , Austria Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... Špindlerův Mlýn Špindleruv Mlýn Špindlerův Mlýn is a town in the Czech Republic in the Krkonoše. It received its name after a mill belonging to Spindler's family, where neighbours used to meet... , Czech Republic Czech Republic The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest.... |
Talsi Talsi Talsi is a town in Latvia. It is the center of Talsi municipality.-Talsi:Talsi - known as 'The Town of Nine Hills' - perches above two lakes... , Latvia Latvia Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden... Trakai Trakai Trakai is a historic city and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies 28 km west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Because of its proximity to Vilnius, Trakai is a popular tourist destination. Trakai is the administrative centre of Trakai district municipality. The town covers 11.52 km2 of... , Lithuania Lithuania Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark... Wodzisław Śląski, Poland Poland Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north... |
Further reading
- Redford, Scott. Landscape and the state in medieval Anatolia: Seljuk gardens and pavilions of Alanya, Turkey. OxfordOxfordThe city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
: Archaeopress; 2000. ISBN 1-84171-095-4
External links
- Alanya municipality official site
- Travel Guides: Wikitravel
- Alanya Map