The Red Tower (Kyzyl-Kule) is a remarkable example of a medieval fortification. It was built to defend the port and shipyard, which were of strategic importance for the expansion of the territory of the Koniysky Sultanate in the Middle Ages.
While the Fortress of Alanya is more ambitious, it is the Red Tower that is the symbol of the city and is even depicted on its flag. Sultan Ala ad-Din Kay Kubad began to build the Red Tower to defend the port in 1226, the next year after the capture of Alanya. These lands were won from Byzantium, and a little earlier the Sultan captured Sinop, a port on the Black Sea. So the sultanate got access simultaneously to both seas.
The tower was built of red brick with a very strong mortar by a Syrian architect Ebu Ali Reha al-Kittani. It has an octagonal shape and is connected to the shipyard by a fortified wall. Its height reaches 33 meters, with diameter of 29 meters. Totally, the tower has 5 floors, which housed a garrison for defense and later artillery. Now there is a museum devoted to the history of the city and tower on the first floor.
