Kızıl Kule: Seljuk Harbor Defense Tower in Alanya
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.8
- Popularity
- Medium
- Country
- Turkey
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Seljuk
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Tower
On this page6 sections
History
Kızıl Kule is a historic tower in Alanya, Türkiye, built by the Anatolian Seljuks, a medieval Turkic dynasty that ruled much of Anatolia. Construction began at the start of Sultan Ala al-Din Kayqubad I’s reign and was completed in 1226. The tower is part of Alanya Castle, the city’s historic fortified citadel, and its purpose was to protect the harbor and the Tersane shipyard from naval attacks.
Seljuk construction and military use
Ala al-Din Kayqubad I brought the architect Abu Ali Reha al-Kattani from Aleppo in Syria to complete the project. The nearby Tersane, a facility for building and repairing ships, had been established in 1221. Kızıl Kule and the shipyard formed part of the Seljuk defensive system around the harbor, and the tower continued to serve military purposes for several centuries.
Restoration and civic meaning
The tower was restored during the 1950s and opened to visitors in 1979. That year, its first floor became the Alanya Ethnographic Museum, which presents the history of the tower and the city. Its displays give particular attention to heraldry, the system of symbols used by cities and political authorities, including the Seljuk double-headed eagle shown on Alanya’s flag. Kızıl Kule is regarded as a symbol of Alanya and was depicted on the reverse of Turkish 250,000-lira banknotes issued between 1992 and 2005.
Remains
Octagonal defensive tower
Kızıl Kule is an octagonal Seljuk structure built from red bricks. The material gives the tower its name, which means “Red Tower.” It rises 33 meters and has an approximate diameter of 12.5 meters. Its form reflects the defensive architecture of the Anatolian Seljuks, whose military works commonly combined towers, walls, and fortified harbor installations. The tower remains one of the finest examples of medieval military architecture and is regarded as the best-preserved Seljuk building in Alanya.
Upper defenses and museum interior
The first floor contains the Alanya Ethnographic Museum, while the battlements, the raised protective structures along the top of a defensive wall or tower, carry the Turkish flag. These surviving elements connect the tower’s interior interpretation and upper defensive features with its original role in protecting the harbor and shipyard.
