TurkishKIZILKULE
After Alaaddin Keykubat conquered Alanya in 1221, he first commissioned Kettanizade EburRahaoğlu Ebu Ali from Aleppo to build the necklace of Alanya Castle, the Red Tower, which was the greatest symbol of Turkish Naval Dominance. Ebu Ali was an expert in the construction of castles and towers at that time. He also built Sinop Castle in 1215. The construction of the Red Tower was completed 5 years after Alaaddin Keykubat conquered Alanya. The Red Tower is 8-sided and 5-storey, and its height from the ground on the eastern side is 33 m. and its height from the ground on the western side is 30 m. In addition to its magnificence and size, the entrance gate is relatively small due to its military position. No one (except children) can pass without bowing their heads. When we enter the tower, which is a small area compared to the tower, do not forget to see the huge lock of the Tower by asking the Museum officer who greets you with a smiling face. The first floor has the appearance of a museum consisting of ethnographic works collected from Alanya and its region. In the middle of the first floor, there is a cistern that rises to the fourth floor in an octagonal shape like the Tower, forming the backbone of the Tower, and also serves as a water supply for the soldiers. Let’s visit the first floor and proceed to the other floors via the high staircase steps, the heights of which are made according to the soldiers of that time, reaching 87 in number. Each floor has its own special feature, some are decorated with loopholes for shooting arrows, some with hot oils poured during wartime. When you go up to the fourth floor, you see a huge void, the mouth of the cistern (water well) that has been rising since the ground floor in the middle of the void. Art exhibitions opened on certain days of the year are held in this void. After this floor, you can go up to the fifth floor, the last floor, turn 360 degrees around the Tower and watch beautiful Alanya to your heart’s content. There is a door opening to the Castle. In the past, you could safely go from this gate to the Sultan Palace in the Inner Castle through a narrow road between the bastions. This year, with a study carried out by the Museum Directorate, you can continue through this gate again and have the best view of the surroundings. Now let’s come to the inscriptions found in various places on the Tower: On the upper right side of the small entrance gate, on a small inscription measuring 50X50, it is written as follows:
“This was done by Ebu Ali of Aleppo, son of Kettanizade Ebür Raha. May God split him.” After examining this inscription more or less, we will see another inscription written on solid marble on a high place on the south side of the tower. The Turkish of this inscription written in Seljuk Thuluth is as follows. “Our master, the great sultan, the great shah, the ruler of the nations, the sultan of the sultans of the world, the protector of the servants of Allah, the protector of the lands of Allah, the supreme being of religion and the world, the helper of Islam and Muslims, the reviver of justice in the worlds, the shadow of God in places separating the oppressed from the oppressors, the majesty of the overwhelming state, the helper of the victorious state, the reviver of justice and fairness, the sultan of the land and the two seas, the shelter of the people, the protector of the east and the west, the crown of the Seljuk family, the master of the kings and sultans, the father of the conqueror, the proof of the emirul mu’minin, the son of Kılıçarslan, Keyhüsrevzade Keykubat, may God make his reign permanent, ordered the construction of this blessed tower.” There are two more inscriptions that those who come now cannot see, in fact it is possible to see these inscriptions, on the north side of the Tower. If you walk around and raise your head up, you may be able to see it.
The Turkish version of this inscription is as follows: “Our great sultan, the ruler of the nations, the sultan of the land and the sea, the leader of the religion and the world, the son of Kılıçarslanzade Keyhüsrev, the father of the conquest, the proof of the emirül believer, Keykubat, ordered the construction of this blessed tower at the beginning of the Rebiülahır (the 4th month of the lunar calendar, the month of small mevlid) in 623 (1226). May God make the sultanate horse impossible. You can see that the Fourth Inscription is on the 5th floor level in the north. The Red Tower fought against natural conditions until 1948, but it suffered great damage due to the melting of the brickwork. It attracted the great interest of the Minister of National Education at the time, Hasan Ali Yücel, and was restored, taking its current form.