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 300,000, which must doubleduring 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.
Click here to find a villa or flat to buy.
—by Tom Brosnahan
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