The Name

The city has been hand overed through out the centuries, so the change on its name reflects this truth. Alanya was first known in Latin as Coracesium or in Greek as Korakesion from the Luwian Korakassa meaning "point/protruding city. Under the Byzantine Empire rule, it was known as Kalonoros, or "beautiful mountain". The Seljuks renamed the city Alaiye ,a derivative of the name of the Sultan Alaaddin Kayqubad.

In his 1935 visit, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (founder of the Republic of Turkey) finalized the name changes according to new alphabet as Alanya, by changing the 'i' and 'e' in Alaiye, reportedly because of a misspelled telegram two years prior.

History

The Red Tower The world famous holiday resort Alanya lies at one end of a rocky promontory which juts out into the Mediterranean between two long sandy beaches. About 150 towers punctuate the walls of the well- preserved, double walled citadel. There are ruins of mosques, a caravanserai and a covered bazaar within the outer walls and a ruined cistern and a Byzantine church surrounded by inner walls.

Although Alanya's history dates back to Roman times, it come to prominence under the Seljuks control, when in 1220, Alaaddin Keykubat made it his winter residence and naval base. The surviving buildings reflect the importance of the city in Seljuk times. Besides the impressive citadel tourists should explore the unique dockyards and the octagonal Kizil Kule (Red Tower). 

Geography

Alanya The town, located on the Gulf of Antalya in the south west Anatolian coastal plain of Pamphylia, is bordered by the Taurus Mountains on the north and the Mediterranean Sea on the south and is considered as a part of the Turkish riviera. The municipality occupies roughly 43.5 miles (70 km) of coastline. The town is divided by a rocky peninsula which is perhaps the most distinctive feature of the city. The harbour and Keykubat beach, named for Sultan Kay-Qubad, are on the east side of the peninsula, and Damlatas beach, named for the famous "dripping caves," and Cleopatra beach are on the west side. Legends and locals claim the name derives from either the Ptolemaic princess' visit here or the area's inclusion in her dowry from Mark Antony.

Atatürk Bulvari (Boulevard), runs parallel to the sea, and divides the southern, much more touristic side of Alanya,from the northern, more native side, that extends north into the mountains.Expressway Avenue circles the main town on the northern border. 

Climate

Though promoting itself as "where the sun smiles", Alanya has a relatively moderate continental Mediterranean climate. The Mediterranean Basin ensures that it rains mostly during the winter, leaving the summers long, hot, and dry. Rarely tornados are seen when so close to shore. The presence of the Taurus Mountains in close proximity to the sea sometimes causes fog early in the mornings as well as in turn creating visible rainbows .The height of the mountains creates an interesting effect like as snow and can often be seen on them even on hot days from the city below. 

Demographics

The district’s population has reached from 87,080 in 1985 to a population of 384,949. The city itself has a population of 134,396, of which 5,062 are European, about half of them from Germany. The European population tends to be over 50 years old. During the summer the population increases due to large numbers of tourists, about 1.1 million each year pass through the city. Many social classes meet in Alanya.

Alanya’s religious composition can be outlined as below 99% Muslim, and although many ancient churches can be found in the city, there are not regular Christian services. In 2006, a German language protestant church with seasonal service was opened with much fanfare, after receiving permission to do so in 2003, a sign of the growing European population in the city. 

Education

The city boasts a literacy of % 95, involving public, private, and religious based schools available, and a roughly 1:24 student-teacher ratio. There remains however a limited number of secondary schools outside of the city center, disadvantaging the less affluent neighbourhoods. Akdeniz University, with 17,287 students is the largest higher education institute in the area, and is located between Alanya and Antalya. In 2005, the University launched the Alanya Faculty of Tourism Administration, as a satellite campus which focuses on the tourism industry. Georgetown University operates an annual study abroad program for American students known as the McGhee Center, named for the United States Ambassador to Turkey from 1952-1953 George C. McGhee, and based in his villa. 

Economy

Tourism industry here is worth approximately 1.1 billion euros, and is therefore the principal industry. The area is further known for its many fruit farming, particularly lemons and oranges, and large harvests of tomatoes, bananas and cucumbers. 

Media

Alanya has ten local daily newspapers. The most prominent of these is Yeni Alanya, which also delivers the news and lifestyles magazine Orange as a subset which they provide in both English and German as well as the regular Turkish edition. Two native German language newspapers are published in Alanya, the Aktuelle Türkei Rundschau, Prima Tuerkei and Alanya Bote for the community of German speaking residents and visitors. Riviera News for English speaking residents and guests. 

Transportation

D-400 Turkish Highway connects Alanya from the east and west, and runs through the city center as Atatürk Bulvari. Alanya is serviced by air through the Antalya Airport outside of Antalya, 75 miles (120 km) east of the city, to which it connects via a bus and dolmus system branching out of the city's two bus stations. Buses are usually limited to the major roads. Cityline transportation is by car or taxi as many roads in the old part of town are closed to vehicle traffic. The harbour includes cruse ship piers that allow for large boats to dock in Alanya, and also for seasonal ferries and hydrofoils to depart from there, often for Northern Cyprus. 

Sports

Alanya hosts a Women Basketball team and a football team called Alanyaspor.Alanya is perhaps more famous for the annual triathlon held every October, and for the city's role as the host of The Turkish Open, part of the Nestea European Beach Volleyball championship tour, which takes place in May. 

Sister Cities of Alanya

Since making agreements with Talsi (Latvia), Trakai (Lithuania), and Keszthely (Hungary) in 2006, Alanya increased its number of associate cities to eight, seven of which are located within the European Union. Previously in 2005 Alanya had applied with Associate Cities International for an additional associate city located in the United States. The most significant tie is with the city of Nea Ionia, where many of Alanya's Christians were forcibly resettled in 1923. Gladbeck (Germany), Wodzislaw Slaski (Poland), Schwechat (Austria), Fushun (China), and Alanya form a "family" in that each is partnered with the others.