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Alanya, 115
km (72 miles) east of Antalya
(map), was favored as a seaside
resort by
the Seljuk
Turks 800 years ago, just
as it is for the thousands of British
and European visitors who pack its
hundreds of hotels
and villas today.
For the Seljuks, the attraction was
the mild climate, the good harbor,
and its relative closeness to Konya,
the Seljuk capital (maps).
For today's visitors it's the l-o-n-g
stretches of sand beach, the warm
waters of Turkey's
Mediterranean coast, and the deep
history of the town.
Alanya has grown incredibly during
the past decade, and now boasts a population
of more than 250,000, which must double during
the summer tourist season.
Many visitors
fly into Antalya airport
on inexpensive package vacations,
then bus to
Alanya. Lots of new hotels have
been built to cater to the package
trade. More...
While you're here, visit the vast Seljuk
Turkish fortress which
dominates the town from its promontory;
the tall, octagonal Seljuk Kızılkule (Red
Tower); and the Tersane (shipyard).
The dank atmosphere of Damlataş
Cave, said to be
beneficial to asthma sufferers,
but with hordes of tourists exhaling
hot carbon dioxide into the humid,
already-stuffy atmosphere, I have
my doubts....
But of course Alanya's big attraction
is its beaches, l-o-n-g
swaths of sand to west (several kilometers)
and east (many kilometers).
Click
here for maps of Alanya & Mediterranean
Turkey.
Click here to find a hotel
or villa in Alanya.
—by Tom Brosnahan
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