World Travel Stories

A travel adventures stories blog.

Travel tours and vacation advices in Antalya 2023: Teleferik heading to Cleopatra Beach: The most scenic way to reach the Alanya Castle area is by hopping on the cable car that connects Cleopatra Beach with the lower castle district of Ehmedek. The cable-car operates between 11am and 9pm daily, and the trip over the cliff is great for capturing sunset coastal views, as well as a means of transport. The 900-meter ride offers excellent views over the forested cliff face leading up to the castle, the yawning strip of Cleopatra Beach’s sand and Mediterranean Sea below, as well as the dusky mountains in the distance. The lower station is just behind the beachfront, while the upper station deposits you just outside Alanya Castle’s main gate from where you can wander farther up the slope to explore the historic buildings and ruins. Discover even more information on Alanya excursions.

In 1228 the Anatolian Seljuk Sultan Kayqubad I ordered the construction of this remarkable shipyard, facing east across the bay, just south of Kızılkule. In Medieval times Alanya was the Seljuk Empire’s prime shipyard on the Mediterranean, and what remains is in great condition and open to the public for free along a wooden boardwalk. There’s a row of five pointed arches, more than 55 metres long in total, and these vaulted bays go back 44 metres inland. The shipyard was oriented east to get as much sunlight as possible, and is flanked by a mosque and guardroom. Slightly back and posted on the rocks on the south side is a defensive tower once armed with cannons.

Pamukkale is 3 hours drive from Kusadasi town. Right by the natural wonders the ancient city of Hierapoolis was founded. Today a unesco heritage site. Its natural beauty and historical background attracts many travellers. Pamukkale means cotton castle. There are two reasons why the area is name as cotton castle. One reason the white cliffs look like a castle made of white cotton, the other reason is that the area houses lots of cotton processing factories. ​Natural thermal springs which has high density of chalk inside formed glacier looking terraces on the areas where flowed for thousands of years. It is a unique site. Ancient Hierapolis was founded by Pergamum Kingdom. Due to the existence of thermal waters which healed people. Thousands of patients came to the area to get cured. The ones who were not able to be cured died and buried in the area. Today the site has the largest ancient necropolis. The number of thumbs like sarcaphaguses excavated is over 1600. The total number is expected to be over 3000. St. Philip the apostle lived in the city and martyred during the persecution time to the christians. This is a must see site for travellers.

Silk Worm Cocoon in the Culture House in Alanya in Turkey: This structure serves as Alanya Municipality Culture and Social Affairs Department and the Alanya Castle Site Management Office. It’s also known as Hamamlı Ev (Bath House) due to the historical bath on the ground floor. This traditional Alanya house was built with quarry stone and a lathing wood system. It used grog and haired plaster, specific to the region in the early 20th century. It was restored according to its original form after it was assigned to the Alanya Municipality by its owners.

The legendary Cleopatra Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in Turkey, clearly worth visiting during your trip to Antalya. With its crystal-clear water and numerous water sport activities, it attracts about 2 million tourists a year and gets more and more popular every year. The Alanya Archeology Museum is located in the very center of Alanya, on Ismet Hilmi Balcı Street behind Alanya Castle and Damlataş Cave. Alanya is a city with a very rich historical heritage in every aspect. However, you don’t have a lot of chances to visit a cultural places in Alanya. Although the best cultural museum in the region is the Antalya Museum, followed by the Side Archaeology Museum, the Alanya Archaeology Museum is the best witness of the area’s heritage. It’s located in the heart of the city. The Archaeology Museum in Alanya exhibits bronze, marble, terra-cotta, and glass artifacts, mosaics and coin collections belonging to the Archaic and Classical periods, and also Turkish Islamic works of art from the Seljuk and Ottoman Periods.

Temple of Artemis, is also known as the Temple of Diana. The temple is dedicated to the goddess Artemis was completed in Ephesus around 550 BC. The temple was built entirely from marble. Even if the temple has been used for more than 800, it was never really completed. The architect of the temple, known as Artemisium in Latin, is known as Chersiphron from Greece. When the temple was first built, it was visited by many people from kings to artists, traders, and travelers, and was used as a religious building where they offered their blessings and beliefs to the goddess. There is no entrance fee for the Temple of Artemis. Visiting hours of the temple have been announced from 9 A.M to 7 P.M but as there are any guards in the neighborhood, the hours might be flexible too.

Harbor-side, both the Red Tower (Kızılkule) and Seljuk Shipyard (Tersane) are extensions of Alanya castle fortifications, built in the 13th century. The octagonal, 30-meter-high Red Tower served as the harbor’s defense tower in the Seljuk era. Inside, there are exhibits on the Red Tower’s and Alanya’s history, but you’re really here to climb up to the roof for great views across the harbor front. From the tower, a pretty walkway runs along the harbor’s original fortification walls to Turkey’s only remaining example of a Seljuk-era shipyard. The arched halls here, built into the shorefront, are open to the sea, so that waves constantly pummel the stone. The walkway continues from here for a short length along the coastline to a small Seljuk-era watchtower building. Read additional info on https://www.tourmoni.com/.

Alanya’s emblem is a 13th-century Seljuk defensive tower, getting its name from the red brick that makes up the structure’s upper storey and parapet. The Red Tower has an octagonal footprint and climbs to 33 metres with marble blocks on its lower walls. This rare piece of Medieval defensive architecture was constructed to protect Alanya’s harbour and shipyard, and greeted people’s arrival to the city for many centuries. There’s a cistern inside, still able to collect rainwater, and you can make out the historic siege-repelling murder holes, through which boiling water and pitch would be dropped on helpless invaders. On the first floor is a small ethnographic museum with tools and handicrafts reflecting the Turkmen culture in the Taurus Mountains.