Day trip to Alanya

October is here and it means that the weather is becoming cooler, just perfect for exploring the surroundings of Antalya. There are many places you can go starting from picturesque canyons and beaches and finishing at other cities and provinces. We decided to start our adventures this fall with Alanya.

I’ve already been to Alanya before and was familiar with main city sights. However as any Turkish city you can never find all the treasures it hides.

In the morning we took a bus from the main bus station and 2,5 hours later arrived to the bus station in Alanya. It is conveniently located in the city center and close to the famous Cleopatra beach. After this long ride we decided to get lunch first before exploring the city.

Most of the places in Alanya offer traditional Turkish cuisine and it was a challenge to find a European kind of place. Don’t get me wrong I love Turkish cuisine but after a year of living here I got tired of it and would rather spend some time on looking for a European menu.

We were lucky to stop at Cafe Local where we had delicious lunch and enjoyed talking with restaurant’s personnel about their specialties such as pizza made in a real Italian oven.

After lunch we went straight to the beach. To be honest we were a lot bit disappointed. Real estate agents and tour advisers always say that it’s a sandy beach that is perfect for relaxing with kids. In fact it is a kind of sandy shore with small stones that look like sand from a distance and huge rocks in the sea! This stones are located right at the beginning of the water and you have to be very careful not to slip on it. Later we found out that a very small area of the beach close to the hill has a place without any rocks on the bottom. And all the people were there. It feels like you’re in a big jacuzzi with all of them.

Rocky sea bottom

Too many people in a rock-free area

We spent about an hour at the beach and continued exploring the city. It is very convenient that you can get to the other side of the hill where all historical sights are located simply by walking down the street. We took a walk on Damlatas Cd and it lead us directly to the Red tower (Kizil Kule). Here is located my favorite view point. The view reminds me very much of Italy and lake Como.

Then we experienced a little bit of hiking and went up the hill towards the fortress walls.

Unfortunately the main bar street was closed and we couldn’t enjoy the atmosphere of the festive city so it was time to get dinner and head home.