Red Tower and Tersane of Alanya

Overview

Walk along Alanya harbor, past the pirate-ship boats and the fish restaurants, and the waterfront ends at a tall, eight-sided tower of red brick. Behind it, the castle walls climb the rock, and further along the shore, dark arches open straight onto the sea. This is the Red Tower of Alanya, Kızıl Kule, with the Seljuk shipyard beside it. Our Alanya castle tour visits both.

The Symbol of Alanya

When the Seljuk sultan Alaeddin Kayqubad I took Alanya in 1221, he set out to make it a great naval base. To guard the harbor and the new shipyard, he brought an architect, Ebu Ali Reha, from Aleppo in Syria. The tower was completed in 1226.

It rises 33 m (108 ft) and measures 29 m (95 ft) across, built of red brick, which explains its name. Today, it is still the best-preserved Seljuk building in the city and its symbol: it appears on Alanya’s flag, and from 1992 to 2005 it was printed on the Turkish 250,000 lira banknote.

What to See at the Red Tower

The Red Tower museum

First, step inside. Since 1979, the Red Tower has housed Alanya’s Ethnographic Museum. Floors built around a massive central pillar tell the story of the town and of the Seljuk double-headed eagle that still flies on its flag.

The view from the top

Next, climb the stairs as far as they go. From up high, you see the harbor below you and the castle walls running up the headland behind.

Inside the Red Tower: Five Floors and a Cistern

The inscription on the north facade dates the Red Tower to 1226 and names its architect, Ebu Ali of Aleppo. Inside, each of its five floors has a different plan, and a cistern sits above the first floor. The entrance and the first floor hold the Ethnography Museum, and the tower sometimes hosts exhibitions and concerts too. From the top floor, you look over the eastern part of the town and the castle peninsula. The tower stands at İskele Mevkii, at the end of Tersane Sokak, where the harbor promenade ends.

The Tersane, a Seljuk Shipyard

Then, follow the path along the water to the Tersane. The Seljuks built this drydock in the late 1220s, soon after taking the town, to build and repair their ships.

Five arches on the sea

The builders split the shipyard into vaulted bays with pointed arches that open straight onto the sea. Together with the castle, it has been on the UNESCO Tentative List since 2000.

How to Visit the Red Tower and Tersane

The Red Tower stands at the end of Alanya harbor, and the Tersane lies a short walk away along the shore below the castle.

Above the harbor, explore Alanya Castle, and for the whole resort, read our guide to Alanya. For another great Seljuk building, see the Sultanhanı Caravanserai, built by the same sultan.