The Byzantine Churches in Castle of Alanya

Abstract

Alanya, which used to be called Korakesion in the Antiquity, is a frontier city between Pamphylia and Kilikia. Having an appearance of a citadel situated on a steep rock, the city is surrounded by Antalya and Side in the west, by Silifke in the east, by Mediterranean Sea in the south and by Kapadokya in the north. We do not have much information about the early Christian period of the city. However, it is known that the castle of Alanya was restored and remended against the Arabs, who were dangerous enemies of the Byzantines in the 7th century. Within this castle, there are three Byzantine churches having survived up to the present, one in the inner castle, one in the central fortress and the other in the ciivardo nose. The old church in the inner castle is built of a four-leaf trikonkhos shape. Sound and strong today, the church has two entrances, one from the west and the other from the north. The trikonkhos branches covered with semi domes surrounding the central dome extend outwards from the sides. The second church is built of the ciborium plan in a battlement of the Hellenistic period in the central fortress. The last building discovered in the castle is the Ciivardo Nose Chapel. Built on a rather steep rocky field, the church has, not unlike the Arabic Evliya, a ciborium plan. All three buildings are made out of rubbles. Although we do not have any exact knowledge as to the building dates of them, it would be reasonable to place them within the period from the late 7th century, when the castle was restored, to the early 13th century when the Seljuks gained the control and command of Alanya.