Alanya Castle & Old Town: A Walking Guide Through 800 Years

Alanya Castle is the one sight in town that repays a whole morning rather than an hour. The castle is not a single building. It is an entire fortified hill with 6.5 km of walls, a Seljuk shipyard, an Ottoman-era village and some of the best views on the Turkish Riviera. You can rush it in an hour on a tour bus, or walk it properly in half a day. Walk it.

The route that works

Start at the Red Tower (Kızıl Kule) by the harbour. The 1226 octagonal keep that appears on every Alanya postcard. Climb its five floors for the harbour view, then follow the sea wall south to the Tersane, the only surviving Seljuk shipyard in Turkey: five brick arches open straight onto the water.

From the Tersane, the walled path climbs through the old town district of Ehmedek. This is the part most visitors miss: lived-in Ottoman houses, fig trees over garden walls, and old women selling silk scarves and village lace at their gates. No shop windows, no menus in four languages.

The inner fortress

The İçkale (inner castle) at the summit holds the ruins of a Byzantine church and the famous cliff viewpoint the boat guides call "the place they used to throw the prisoners". True or not, the drop is spectacular: 250 metres straight into blue water, with Cleopatra Beach curving away to the west.

• Entry to İçkale and the Red Tower is covered by one combined ticket
• Wear real shoes. Cobbles and uneven stone throughout
• There are two good cafés inside the walls for a mid-walk break

Timing and the lazy option

In summer, start by 08:30 or go after 16:00; midday on the bare hilltop is punishing. The dramatic option is late afternoon: castle first, then dinner as the walls light up below.

If knees or the heat vote no, a guided castle tour covers the same ground with transport between the gates and a guide who fills the walls with stories. The difference between looking at stones and reading them.

Getting up to Alanya Castle, and the honest comparison

There are three ways up to Alanya Castle and they suit different mornings.

The cable car from Damlataş beach takes about six minutes and drops you near the top of the headland. Easiest, and the view on the way is worth the ticket on its own.

The road, by taxi, dolmuş or hire car, goes all the way to the citadel gate. The only sensible option in July heat or with anyone who cannot manage a long climb.

On foot, up through the old town, takes 45 to 60 minutes and climbs steadily. Beautiful in April and punishing in August, so start before nine or leave it for a cooler month.

What to see inside Alanya Castle

• The inner citadel at the summit, with the Byzantine church of Saint George and the cistern.
• The southern walls, where the cliff drops straight to the sea and the whole bay opens up.
• Ehmedek, the Seljuk quarter, quieter than the citadel and full of restored houses.
• The old town lanes on the way down, where people still live and cats own the walls.

Half a day covers it comfortably. Take water; there is very little shade on the walls.