ALARA AND ALARA HAN

The caravans travelling from Alaiye to Antalya and Konya have been staying at Alara Han (Inn) from the Middle Ages until recent times. The quadrangular caravanserai, with dimensions of 38x50 metres, located on the first plain to the eastern bank of Alara Creek, was built of dressed stone blocks with symbols visible thereon, except for the eastern walls. The Inn was reinforced by triangular and quadrangular struts on three façades. To the north is a portal embellished with lion’s head relief, crowned with a depressed arch. On the inscription consisting of six lines over the portal, after many attributes exalting the Sultan Alaaddin the date of 1232 is given. One passes through the courtyard behind the portal to the bedrooms and a large courtyard with a masjid and fountain. The chambers have a ceiling formed of cradle vaults with a light hole. Travellers used to sit and chat in the exedras, which had pointed arches. Stables in the form of vaulted galleries encircle the inn on three façades. Small windows were opened on the rear walls of the chambers where passengers could talk to their servants or see the animals. In the inn are the only examples in Seljuk architecture of oil lamp consoles with the form of a lion’s head carved on the face.

The entrance to Alara Han, two small quadrangular towers built on both sides of the portal, had oil embrasures and shields on the walls for security. The great hall of the inn, which is ornamented, is covered with star shaped vaults. Today the caravanserai has been restored true to its authentic original and touristic Turkish Nights are organized. THE ALARA FORTRESS was built on an elevation of 300 m in the eastern direction at the point where the creek abandons the valley during the Byzantine Era. This Acropolis Fortress built to control the passageway connecting Central Anatolia to the Mediterranean was seized by bandits and used as a centre of plunder during various epochs. Hidden galleries descending down to Alara Creek through the Castle are visible. Touristic canoeing and rafting tours are organised on Alara Creek today. The area is well-known for its banana plantations.