Alanya, Turkey

11/13/2012 (Tuesday) -- Alanya, Turkey

We had a surprisingly pleasant day at Alanya, Turkey at this first port of the cruise. We had been to Turkey two years ago, at Izmir where we visited Ephesus but we knew nothing about Alanya. We decided that we are not planning any excursion and just take it as it is and explore the town itself. 

When I saw the shoreline from the balcony, my first thought was "the Great Wall"! It was just a smaller scale of the Great Wall on the hills of this port city. This is going to be exciting! 

Doesn't it look like the Great Wall?

After breakfast in Cagney’s, we met at the Star Lounge with Carlos, the concierge. He took us down through the crew elevator to deck 4 where we exited with priority debarkation. We were given a port card when we walked off the gangway and were told that we didn’t need to do anything with it, just hang on to it for coming back to port. 

We were welcomed with music...

...and dance.

the Red Tower right outside the port

Walking to town in Alanya is very easy. There were taxis outside the port but we didn’t feel comfortable using them because they wouldn’t tell us the price of the trip and just kept asking us to go with them. So we just ignored them and walked along the promenade to town. This is a very lovely city, clean and quiet. I think because it was still early, the whole place was barely waking up, even the touristy places and shops along the promenade seemed empty. 

We walked up to town and saw a big mosque and next to it is the tourist information office but it was closed. We wanted to find out how we can get up to the top of the wall or at least get a map of the city. The taxi driver waiting outside told us that it will open at 9am. It was about 15 minutes before nine so we just walked around and waited. 9 o’clock came and it was not open, then somebody else told us may be it will open at 9:30.  

the mosque next to the tourist information office

We were waiting at this fountain for the tourism office to open.

Then we decided to walk a little around the area.

a Chinese restaurant

isn't this beautiful?

clean and modern

Mosque Visit
The gentleman from the mosque came out and invited us inside. I have never been inside a mosque before and that was a very interesting experience. He told us that the mosque can hold thousands of people at the same time. He also took us to the balcony, where women would be at their meetings.
After the visit, we used their restroom downstairs. A man watching the women's restroom from the little window wanted us to pay when we leave, so we paid $1 USD to use the restroom.

People would kneel in rows between the lines in the big hall so thousands of people can all fit in.

The friendly gentleman on the right invited us in and took us on a little tour.

Time of prayers posted on the wall.

The women section--the balcony.

It was past 10:00 and the tourism office still did not open so we decided to just go ahead without a map or information about the city. Walking around the area was interesting enough. Alanya is really pretty, modern, and clean. We all found that the people here are very friendly. We felt safe walking around and checking out the shops. This is a good place for shopping but check around for prices, they can be very different for the same thing. I regret not buying those embroidered cushion covers but I had a couple of good buys here...a purse/backpack for $10 USD, and a blouse also $10 USD (both marked for $15). 

bazaar

Alanya is a really beautiful city.

A serene little park right in town.

Checking out fake food on display.

many restaurants to choose from

                           

It was still a little early for lunch, so we walked back to the promenade and sat under the warm sun enjoying the beautiful scenery. 

Ravza

While we were walking around earlier, we spotted some NCL crew members eating heartily at this roadside restaurant. Definitely a good sign. They were happy to tell us what they were eating and recommended that it would be a good place to have lunch. The waiter was very eager to have us and he told us that bread and Turkish tea would be on the house. So, after relaxing we back track to this restaurant called Ravza (www.ravza.com.tr). What a wonderful lunch we had!

This complimentary bread was a few feet long.

freshly baked

It was delivered with a long paddle that looked like an oar.

We practically finished this delicious bread before our food even arrive.

We tried this yogurt drink.

Turkish pizza--delicious!

Regular Dona Kabab

a shrimp stew

I think this is called Alanya Kabab.

Dona Kabab with french fries

We were all very happy with our lunch.

Our meal ended with the Turkish tea.

DC ordered the Turkish coffee. We were all admiring the coffee cup.

We were told that the owner bought them in Istanbul and can't get them here in Alanya.

After lunch we went for more shopping. DD bought several pounds of freshly ground Turkish Coffee from a supermarket where the restaurant directed us to. Again, very friendly people there. 

Red Tower and Ship Yard

Finally, we were done with all the shopping and decided to go back to the port and the Red Tower. The Red Tower is just right outside of the port, very easy to walk to but not for people with mobility issues.

You can get tickets just for the Red Tower or tickets for both the Red Tower and the Ship Yard. 

View of our ship while walking up to the tower.

Ticket booth where we met another very friendly guard.

Pictorial history of Alanya

Looking down from one of the windows.

According to the storyboard, Alexander the Great failed to conquer Alanya both by land and sea because of the walls.

After the Red Tower we walked to the Shipyard.

By the time we got here I gave up and refused to get up these stairs.

Christian and I just waited around and watched a man fishing here.

these brave souls continued on their journeys 

finally coming back down

and we were back to the port

our cabin is up there

Alanya still in the day

and at night

As the ship leaving Alanya in the evening, I spent a long time looking back at this beautiful port. We really had a pleasant day here in Alanya. Friendly people, great food, incredible shopping, and beautiful scenery, what else can you ask for? 

We ended the day with another wonderful dinner at the Grand Pacific. What a day we had!