Rising along the harbor in the district of Alanya, Antalya, the Red Tower is considered one of the city's primary symbols and is even featured on the city's flag.
The building's origins date back to the 13th-century Seljuk period. Construction began in the early reign of Anatolian Seljuq Sultan Ala ad-Din Kay Qubadh I and was completed in 1226.
The sultan brought the accomplished architect Ebu Ali Reha el Kettani from Aleppo, Syria, to Alanya to complete the building. The same architect had previously constructed the Sinop Fortress.
During construction, because it became difficult to lift stone blocks after a certain height, fired red bricks were used for the upper section. These red bricks gave the tower its name; additionally, oral tradition and local narratives claim that egg whites were used in its mortar and egg yolks were applied to its exterior surface.
The octagonal structure features walls that are each 12.5 meters wide. The building stands 33 meters high and has a diameter of 29 meters.
A fine example of medieval military architecture, the tower incorporates ancient marble blocks visible within its walls.
Inside, the tower contains five stories including the ground floor. Visitors reach the top via a steep stone staircase with 85 wide-interval steps, and sunlight entering from the top reaches all the way down to the first floor.
A cistern is located right in the center of the tower, highlighting the practical engineering behind its military function.
The tower was built to protect the harbor and the nearby shipyard dating from 1221 against attacks from the sea, serving military purposes for centuries.
Having undergone repairs in the 1950s, the tower opened to visitors in 1979, with its first floor transformed into the Alanya Ethnographic Museum. The museum introduces visitors to the history of the tower and town while paying attention to heraldry, such as the Seljuq double-headed eagle.
The historic structure was also depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 250,000 lira banknotes in circulation from 1992 to 2005.
Wikimedia research dossier · Last checked: 2026-09-12 22:14:21
