GENERAL INFORMATION
The large and popular resort center of Alanya lies at one end of a rocky promontory, which juts out into the Mediterranean between two long sandy beaches. A fortress repaired by the Seljuks in 1231, one of the most magnificent sights on the coast, crowns the headland. Nearly 150 towers punctuate the walls of the well- preserved, doublewalled citadel.

Within the outer walls are ruins of mosques, a caravanserai and a covered bazaar, and within the inner walls are a ruined cistern and a Byzantine church. Besides the impressive citadel, tourists should visit the unique dockyards and the octagonal Kizil Kule (Red Tower). Alanya itself is a beautiful holiday center of modem hotels and motels, as well as numerous fish restaurants, cafes and bars.The cafes that ring the harbor have become popular gathering places for tourists. There are also three blue flag beaches.

From the town's lovely park, the road runs along the coast to the harbor, lined with countless boutiques that tempt tourists with handicrafts, leather, clothes, jewelry, handbags and the amusing painted gourds that are a symbol of the area. In August, when Alanya hosts a colorful International Folklore Festival the atmosphere is charged with vitality and gaiety.

History of Alanya
Alanya first appeared in history during the antiquity. In the antique era Alanya was situated between the boundaries of Pamfilya and Kilikya, and was sometimes considered to be a city of Kilikya and sometimes a city of Pamfilya. Heredot states the people who lived in the region between Pamfilya and Kilikya are the descendants of the people spreading all around Anatolia after the Trojan war. The first historical name of Alanya is Coracesium.

The person who mentioned the name of 'Coracesium' for the first time was 4th B.C. geographer Skylaks when the region was under the invasion of the Persians. Meanwhile, the city was an important center for the Mediterranean pirates and later on became strong enough to resist the Roman navy and a base of the scary pirate of the Mediterranean: Dryphon. Although VII. Antiochus, the Selefki king of the Syrian region, conquered the city in 139 B.C., Coracesium continued to be a home for the pirates for a while.