The Alanya Fortress is considered the city's calling card, epitomises its ancient history, and is a reminder of how difficult and bloody Turkey's historical past was. The fortress is one of the largest and most majestic of the many others in the country. What makes it stand out is that it is as well preserved as possible to this day.
The fortress consists of one hundred and forty towers, which are surrounded by walls with unusual elegant ornamentation. The walls were built of large cobblestones, which were fastened with a special super strong mortar "khorasan", thanks to which the walls were resistant to cannon fire. The length of the perimeter wall of the entire fortress is more than six kilometres. The walls themselves have inbuilt towers which are equipped with holes to drain hot tar on the besiegers. The fortress has underground reservoirs of about four hundred. The arched gates 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 Warriors' Gate, and they were designed primarily to communicate with the outside world.
Various buildings were built in the fortress, and each had its own function: the Sultan's winter palace, a building for military training, a naval dockyard for ships, living quarters, a mosque, houses and tents for trade, a bathhouse, and a place for execution by throwing the condemned from the cliff. The fortress also includes an ancient monastery and church, as well as an ancient mint.
The most impressive building is the Red Tower. It was built in 1226 by the ancient architect Halepli Ebu Ali. Externally the tower looks quite simple, but the internal plan of the construction shows the high skill of the creator. The Red Tower was restored in the 50s of the 20th century and now functions as a museum, which presents works of folk art.
