Site name:

Coast
of the
Pirates



by:

Roberto
Piperno

Alanya in Asia Minor (today's Turkey), between the two historical regions of Panfilia and Cilicia. The coast is protected by a high range of mountains (Taurus), which in the past made reaching the coast from the Anatolian plateau very difficult. In the past it was the main harbour used by pirates and Pompey made it a Roman colony named Coracesium. Alanya lies on a short rocky headland between two long sandy beaches. The headland protects a little harbour. In the XIIIth century Coracesium, renamed Kalonoros (beautiful mountain) by the Byzantines, was conquered by the Seljuks, Turkish nomads, who had invaded Anatolia in the XIth century. The Seljuk Sultan Kaykobat I Ala ad-Din set here his winter residence and renamed the town Alaye. (more).

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