Description of the attraction
The Alanya fortress is considered the hallmark of the city, embodies its ancient history, and is also a reminder of how difficult and bloody the historical past of Turkey was. The fortress is one of the largest and most majestic of many others in the country. It is distinguished by the fact that it has been preserved as well as possible to this day.
The fortress consists of one hundred and forty towers, which are surrounded by walls with unusual graceful ornaments. The walls were erected from large cobblestones, which were fastened with the help of a special heavy-duty mortar "Khorasan", thanks to which the walls were resistant to shelling from cannons. The length of the wall along the perimeter of the entire fortress is more than six kilometers. The walls themselves have built-in towers, which are equipped with holes for draining hot resin onto the precipitators. There are about four hundred underground reservoirs in the fortress. The gates in the form of arches with preserved ancient runes, framing the fortress entrances, are still an example of ancient architecture. All entrances were given separate names - Lower, Upper, Middle, Cold, Curved, Secret and Warrior's Gate, and they were intended primarily for communication with the outside world.
Various structures were built in the fortress, and each had its own function: the Sultan's winter palace, a building for military exercises, a naval dockyard for ships, living quarters, a mosque, houses and tents for trade, a bathhouse, as well as a place for execution by throwing the sentenced off a cliff. … Also in the fortress there is an old monastery and a church, as well as an ancient mint.
The most impressive building is the Red Tower. It was built in 1226 by the ancient architect Khalepli Ebu Ali. The exterior of the tower looks rather simple, but the interior plan of the building shows the great skill of the creator. The Red Tower underwent restoration in the 50s of the 20th century. and currently functions as a museum displaying works of folk art.
