Alara Han (Alara Han) description and photos - Turkey: Alanya (Topic)

Alara Han description and photos - Turkey: Alanya. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Alara Han.

Photo and description

35 kilometers from Alanya, not far from the Alara River (on the first eastern plain), there is the Alara Khan caravanserai, or Alar courtyard, an architectural ensemble created in 1232 by order Seljuk Sultan Aladdin Keykubat I (as evidenced by the inscription above the portal with numerous words of praise addressed to the Sultan). Not far from here, twenty kilometers away, there is the Sharavsin caravanserai, built in the middle of the 13th century by the son of Sultan Aladdin Keykubat I.

Alara Khan was built to protect the caravans that passed along the Great Silk Road. These caravans, following from Alai to Konya and Antalya in the Middle Ages, stopped at this very place. Hotels of this type were located at a distance of a day's journey from each other and were "key points" in the network of roads crossing Anatolia. In the XIII century, the entire chain of caravanserais was fully formed, and Alara Khan was considered the best fortification on the entire southern coast.

Alara Khan was erected of rough stone, its area is two thousand square meters. All buildings in the caravanserai are located in a group, in the courtyards of which there were premises for transport - camels. Entering through one of the doors you can get into the premises intended for overnight stay. There are small rooms on either side of the long corridor. Also on the territory of the Inn there is a bathhouse, mesjit and a spring. The local stones bear the inscriptions of the craftsmen who built this building. Often all the inscriptions on the ancient buildings of Alanya proclaimed Aladdin Keykubat “The ruler of the country of Persians and Arabs, the sultan of land and two seas,” and the Alar inscription also gives him the title “conqueror of the lands of Damascus, Ruman, Frankish and Armenian.”

The material from which they were all walls of Alara Khan were executed, except for the eastern one, there was a carved stone. Three walls of this ensemble are supported by triangular and quadrangular supports. The outer portal, located in the northern part and executed in the form of a low arch, is decorated with convex heads of lions, which were used as candlesticks.

This is the only monument located here related to the Seljuk architecture. Unlike other buildings of this type, there is no courtyard here - it is located outside the caravanserai, behind its outer walls. At the entrance on the left side there is a source, a small mosque, a stone sentry box, on the right is a hamam. Around the living quarters, stables were built in the form of arches, which surrounded the Khan on three sides. Small windows were made in the back of the rooms so that traders could see their animals and communicate with slaves.

You can get into the sleeping quarters, where the large courtyard, the mosque and the spring are located from the courtyard behind the portal. The rooms have openings for light, concealing cradle-shaped arches. Travelers usually dined in the evenings on these terraces with sharp arches.

At the entrance to Alara Khan, there are two small square towers with walls protected by a canopy on either side. The Great Khan Hall is decorated and also closed with arches.

Several years ago, Alara Khan was renovated, and today it is already open as a shopping center and restaurant. Premises, where the guards of the inn were located, and today it has retained its distinctive features. At the present time, Turkish evenings for visitors and tourists are held in the caravanserai, which has been restored in the traditional Turkish style.

In the north, 800 m from the Inn and nine kilometers from the coastline, there is the Alar Fortress. This unusual fortress is located on a high hill, where the height differences are from 200 to 500 meters. The fortress looks truly powerful. It is divided into two parts - external and internal. To get into the fortress, you need to climb one hundred and twenty steps and walk along a dark long corridor. Here you can stumble upon ruins everywhere. This is due to the fact that it is not open as a museum for tourists to visit, so be careful and careful. In the rocks located inside the fortress, tunnels were carved. In these ruins you can see a small palace, a mosque and premises for the employees of the fortress. Those who wish to climb the paths along the walls to the top of the fortress need to stock up on great patience and comfortable shoes, as the ascent can take more than an hour. But, despite this, when you go up and see with your own eyes what kind of view opens from there to the surroundings, no trace of fatigue will remain.

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Topic: Alara Han (Alara Han) description and photos - Turkey: Alanya.