Alanya, Turkey

Alanya is a Mediterranean coastal city of roughly 330,000 residents located about 130 kilometres east of Antalya in southern Turkey. Founded in the 2nd century BC, the settlement was renamed Alaiye in 1221 by the Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad I. The 1226 Alanya Castle crowns a 250-metre peninsula, covering 6.5 hectares with 6.5 kilometres of walls and 140 towers, ranking among the best-preserved medieval fortresses in the eastern Mediterranean. The 33-metre octagonal Red Tower, built the same year, anchors the harbour, while the 2-kilometre sandy shore of Cleopatra Beach stretches just beyond it.