Alara Castle

Alara Castle is a medieval fortress perched on a steep rocky hill above the Alara River, roughly 37 kilometres west of Alanya. Originally constructed in Byzantine times, it later served as a western outpost of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia before becoming a key waystation protecting merchant caravans crossing Anatolia. Despite its reputation as virtually impregnable, the castle fell to the Seljuk sultan Kai Kobad I in 1232 — not by siege, but because its lord surrendered upon hearing that Alanya itself had already capitulated. The approach today involves a steep hike through dense vegetation, rewarded by broad views over the Alara valley and the layered stonework of the surviving fortification walls.