Surrounded
by walls of 6 km length and situated on 10 hectares of the peninsula, The
Castle of Alanya hosted Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman
civilizations.
The
history of its establishment and by whom it was founded is unknown, but the
geographer Scylax from 4th century BC mentioned Alanya as Coracesium at first.
Strabon defined Coracesium as the first apparent city if travelled from west to
Cilicia and specified its location as being on a very steep rock formation.
Coracesium,
as a result of its defendable nature and its sheltered port, ideal for pirates
and rebels, became a pirate harbour and a centre of piracy in 2nd century BC,
even with the presence of a small military. The Hellenistic wall with a large
block stone and mortar which spans from Arap Evliyası to Ehmedek, found in the
part of Middle Castle (Orta Kale), dates back to the period of Diototos Tryhon,
who was the ruler of the city in 2nd century BC.
In 65 BC,
the pirate dominance ended with the Coracesium war, which resulted in the
victory of the Roman Pompeius. The city in Roman times grew with the expansion
of its walls and the addition of new buildings. In this period, coins were
created in the name of the emperors. Samples of these coins can be seen in
Alanya Museum.
With the
name of Kalonoros (the beautiful mountain), Alanya Castle in Byzantine times
became a locating point for sailors and the busiest port of the Mediterranean.
The Church in the castle (İçkale), Arap Evliyası, ruins of the monastery at
Cilvarda point and the remains of the round – towered wall which spans from the
Middle Fortress (Orta Hisar) to the castle (İçkale), date back to the Byzantine
period.
In
1221, Kalonoros was taken over by Alaeddin Keyqubad I, Anatolian Seljuk Sultan,
from Kyr Vart, the former owner of the castle and its name was changed to
Alaiye. Alaeddin Keyqubad I began various construction projects, reinforced old
walls, built new walls and started the golden age of Alanya. Today’s existing
walls, large cisterns, the shipyard, the Red Tower, the Cannon House, Akşebe
tomb and the palace complex in the castle (İçkale) are some of the works built
by Alaeddin. Ehmedek, Akşebe Small Mosque, Andızlı Mosque, the Seljuk Baths and
the Lower Castle (Asagi Kale) Baths were constructed during the reign of the Seljuk’s.
By conquering
Alanya, the Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate gained a strong castle in the coast of
the Mediterranean as well as a strong foundation in both the sea and the land.
Alaiye also reached a specific status in developing internal, external and
transit trade.
Alaiye in
the first half of the 14th century was among the most important cities of
Anatolia and the Mediterranean. It had an important naval base, and it was a
leading commercial city as well as a centre of trade and shipbuilding under the
Anatolian Seljuks by having strong relations with Egypt and Syria. Egyptian
merchants came looking for famous cedars used in the construction of ships, as
well as, Genoese, Venetian and Florentine merchants who bought spices, canvas
and sugar. Pegolotti in his book “practura della mercatura” introduced a table
for weights and measurements used in Alanya, comparing them with the ones used
in Italy. Egyptian and Syrian merchants were traveling to the Black Sea ports
via Alanya.
Alaiye fell
to the Kingdom of Cyprus for a short period of time after the collapse of the Seljuk
Sultanate (1293) and then came under the dominance of the Ottomans after periods
of Karaman and Alaiye principality rule (1471). Süleymaniye Mosque, covered
market with the Ottoman bazaar at the Upper Castle (Yukari Kale) and the traditional
Alanya houses are monuments of the Ottoman period.
Alaiye in the
Republican period took its name at the request of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who
visited the city.
Many
local and foreign travellers talked about Alanya Castle. In 1332, Ibn-i Batuta
stated export of timber to Alexandria, Damietta and Egyptian cities. In the 1650s,
Katip Çelebi compared Alanya Castle with the Baghdad Castle with regard to its
magnificence and noted the growing of cotton, silk and sesame. Also, in 1671
Evliya Çelebi stated that there were three hundreds houses, the Süleymaniye
Mosque and the small Akşebe Mosque, a cistern and houses without patios at the
Middle Fortress (Orta Hisar); two madrasas, six schools, three khans, one bath,
one fountain and one hundred and fifty shops at the Lower Castle (Asagi Kale), noting
that all streets had steps and access was provided by mules and donkeys.
Setton
Llyod in his Ala’iyye book separated Alanya Castle into five (5) regions by the
segmentation of its walls. The first region has the shape of a crescent, whose
one end is the Red Tower and the other is the shipyard; second is the lower
pitched part of the hill above the first region; third is the region of Ehmedek
and the area that extends to the Inner Castle (İçkale); fourth region is the Inner
Castle (İçkale) and the fifth region is the area that encompasses the Cilvarda
Point.
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