The cliff platform
From the edge of the inner castle Cleopatra Beach and the coast stretch beneath you to the horizon, the one view that justifies the whole climb.
Luke_33 — CC BY 2.5 pl · Julian Lupyan — CC0 · Julian Lupyan — CC0 · Julian Lupyan — CC0
Six and a half kilometres of wall and something like 140 towers wrap an entire rocky peninsula: this is less a castle you visit than an old town you climb into and wander. When the Seljuk sultan Alaeddin Keykubad took the city in 1221 he did not start from nothing. He raised his ramparts on Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine footings and named the place after himself, Alaiye, which time has worn down to Alanya. The whole site sits on Turkey's UNESCO tentative list, and deserves to. The ticketed part is the İçkale, the inner castle on the 250 m summit: enormous cisterns, the small domed Byzantine church of St George, and a cliff-edge platform hanging over Cleopatra Beach and the coast running west. Be honest with yourself: the ruins inside are modest and the view is what you are paying for. The Ministry sells one Alanya Castle ticket, valid for the day, which also covers Ehmedek, the middle castle with its original Seljuk towers, and down at the harbour the Red Tower, the Seljuk shipyard and the Tophane, so do not buy those separately. The best of the castle is free. The Ottoman quarter inside the walls has timber houses, orange gardens, small cafes, the still-working Süleymaniye Mosque, and a handful of homes that still weave silk and cotton on their looms and sell it. Walking up from the town centre takes 30 to 45 minutes on a steep grade, which nobody should attempt on an August afternoon. Instead take the Teleferik cable car from beside Cleopatra Beach, which lands you near Ehmedek in a few minutes, the number 4 city bus from the centre to the upper gate, or a taxi. For families: the lanes of the old quarter are cobbled and stepped, pushchairs struggle, and small children will need carrying in places, though the İçkale itself has level paths laid out for visitors with limited mobility. There is almost no shade in the inner castle, so go early or in the last hour before the gate shuts. Sunset from the ticketed platform is not on offer, since the İçkale closes in the late afternoon; for the evening show, the sea glittering below and the town lighting up around you, stay in the free lanes and wall-top viewpoints of the old quarter.
From the edge of the inner castle Cleopatra Beach and the coast stretch beneath you to the horizon, the one view that justifies the whole climb.
Timber houses, orange gardens and small cafes inside the walls, entirely free and better than the ticketed ruins.
Original thirteenth-century Seljuk towers, and your castle ticket gets you in the same day.
Hisariçi Mahallesi, Kale Caddesi, Alanya
Alanya Seljuk Shipyard (Tersane)Five stone arches open straight onto the sea, and the water still slides into th6 min walk4.6
Red Tower (Kızıl Kule)An architect from Aleppo built it, and that one fact changes how you look at the7 min walk4.9
Damlataş CaveUntil ten in the morning, nobody enters Damlataş Cave for fun. The first four ho14 min walk4.1
Alanya Archaeological MuseumThe star of this museum is a bronze figure barely 52 centimetres tall, yet it ha16 min walk4.5If you are short on time or with small children, the old quarter and outer walls give you ninety percent of the experience for nothing. Pay the 12 EUR if you want the cliff platform and the full coastal panorama, and remember the same ticket also gets you into the Red Tower and the shipyard at the harbour, which makes it better value; the ruins inside the İçkale are not worth it on their own.
Take the Teleferik from beside Cleopatra Beach; it cuts the climb to minutes and lands you near Ehmedek, though the walk on to the inner castle is still uphill on stone steps. The number 4 bus or a taxi drops you right at the upper gate, the best option for anyone who wants no long walking at all.
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