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To be honest, I did not like Alanya at all when I visited the town for the first time in the summer of 2004. I thought it was the worst place one could possibly go on a holiday: a town full of soulless modern concrete blocks, beaches packed with topless fat European pensioners eager to bake themselves brown in the sun, restaurants and bars serving bratwurst and sauerkraut to German tourists, and it was so hot I did not even want to go out in the afternoon.
And there were so many shops in Alanya selling cheap-looking counterfeit designer wears and bags; it seems turkish shop owners were all convinced that fake Gucci bags and Prada t-shirts are all that European holiday makers want to take home with them after their 2-weeks vacation in the sun.
Which is why I thought I would never ever visit Alanya again, until some Belgian friends of mine invited me to visit them in Alanya. My first reaction was 'Oh My God, no thank you, I had been there before and I don't want to go there again', but they kept reassuring me Alanya has become a much nicer place since my previous visit and I would give it another try.
Since I had nothing better to do then, I decided to accept their invitation and check out the town for a second time. Maybe the sunny, mild climate of mid-March does make a difference to the steaming hot sun of September, but Alanya in March is actually quite a nice place for a short visit ..............
The harbour of Alanya where boats leave for an 1-hour excursion of nearby coves and beaches. Unlike the Aegean coast, tourist season in Alanya lasts throughout the year. Average temperature in March is already 20 - 25 degrees Celsius during the day, which makes it the best time of the year to visit. Mass hordes of tourists will begin to arrive in April, reaching the peak in the summer months.
The town has a natural deep water harbour and a pictursque setting. During the summer months, there are weekly high-speed ferry to the port of Girne, Northern Cyprus, from Alanya.
Cleopatra Beach, Alanya: 傳說中 Alanya 是安東尼送給埃及艷后克麗歐佩特拉的結婚禮物,兩人還在此地渡蜜月, 這片海灘因此而得名.
Most European holiday makers come to Alanya for the white sandy beaches and the warm sea. One of the most well-known destinations is the Cleopatra Beach (picture above), named after the Ancient Egyptian Queen. Legend has it that Alanya was the wedding gift presented to Cleopatra by her lover, Marcus Antonius, and both of them spent their honeymoon in Alanya. Hence the name 'Cleopatra Beach'. What is also true is that the Egyptians hacked off most of the forests in the mountains near Alanya and ship the timbers back to Egypt.
Apart from the famous Cleopatra Beach, Alanya also has some ancient monuments, the most well-known of which are the hill top fortess and castle that perched high above the rocks overlooking the sea, and
the Red Tower, located right at the sea near the harbour front at the old town centre.
Nice view of the harbour front and the sea from a roof top tea garden in the centre of Alanya.
I am not sure if I had missed it out completely the last time I was in Alanya, but it seems to me Alanya this time round has plenty of green parks and open spaces in the town centre that allow people to stroll around and enjoy some fresh air. Did they build all these parks after 2004??? How come I did not remember seeing all these nice parks during my previous visit???
Another nice seaside tea house and public park ran by the Municipality of Alanya, which I obviously missed out too the last time round. Really, I must admit, I am quite impressed....
Local residents admiring the sea view in the afternoon.
It might look very hot in this photo, but in reality the temperature was just about right: 24 degree Celsius, sunny and blue sky yet it was not humid at all. Really nice to have a cup of coffee at one of the seaside tea houses.
A road-side open air music bar near the hotel where I stayed. In the night you can enjoy live music while sipping some freshly made lemonade.
Copyrights 2008. Text and all photos by YC Cheng. All Rights Reserved.
And there were so many shops in Alanya selling cheap-looking counterfeit designer wears and bags; it seems turkish shop owners were all convinced that fake Gucci bags and Prada t-shirts are all that European holiday makers want to take home with them after their 2-weeks vacation in the sun.
Which is why I thought I would never ever visit Alanya again, until some Belgian friends of mine invited me to visit them in Alanya. My first reaction was 'Oh My God, no thank you, I had been there before and I don't want to go there again', but they kept reassuring me Alanya has become a much nicer place since my previous visit and I would give it another try.
Since I had nothing better to do then, I decided to accept their invitation and check out the town for a second time. Maybe the sunny, mild climate of mid-March does make a difference to the steaming hot sun of September, but Alanya in March is actually quite a nice place for a short visit ..............
The harbour of Alanya where boats leave for an 1-hour excursion of nearby coves and beaches. Unlike the Aegean coast, tourist season in Alanya lasts throughout the year. Average temperature in March is already 20 - 25 degrees Celsius during the day, which makes it the best time of the year to visit. Mass hordes of tourists will begin to arrive in April, reaching the peak in the summer months.
The town has a natural deep water harbour and a pictursque setting. During the summer months, there are weekly high-speed ferry to the port of Girne, Northern Cyprus, from Alanya.
Cleopatra Beach, Alanya: 傳說中 Alanya 是安東尼送給埃及艷后克麗歐佩特拉的結婚禮物,兩人還在此地渡蜜月, 這片海灘因此而得名.
Most European holiday makers come to Alanya for the white sandy beaches and the warm sea. One of the most well-known destinations is the Cleopatra Beach (picture above), named after the Ancient Egyptian Queen. Legend has it that Alanya was the wedding gift presented to Cleopatra by her lover, Marcus Antonius, and both of them spent their honeymoon in Alanya. Hence the name 'Cleopatra Beach'. What is also true is that the Egyptians hacked off most of the forests in the mountains near Alanya and ship the timbers back to Egypt.
Apart from the famous Cleopatra Beach, Alanya also has some ancient monuments, the most well-known of which are the hill top fortess and castle that perched high above the rocks overlooking the sea, and
the Red Tower, located right at the sea near the harbour front at the old town centre.
Nice view of the harbour front and the sea from a roof top tea garden in the centre of Alanya.
I am not sure if I had missed it out completely the last time I was in Alanya, but it seems to me Alanya this time round has plenty of green parks and open spaces in the town centre that allow people to stroll around and enjoy some fresh air. Did they build all these parks after 2004??? How come I did not remember seeing all these nice parks during my previous visit???
Another nice seaside tea house and public park ran by the Municipality of Alanya, which I obviously missed out too the last time round. Really, I must admit, I am quite impressed....
Local residents admiring the sea view in the afternoon.
It might look very hot in this photo, but in reality the temperature was just about right: 24 degree Celsius, sunny and blue sky yet it was not humid at all. Really nice to have a cup of coffee at one of the seaside tea houses.
A road-side open air music bar near the hotel where I stayed. In the night you can enjoy live music while sipping some freshly made lemonade.
Copyrights 2008. Text and all photos by YC Cheng. All Rights Reserved.
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