"THERE MUST BE 40 HERITAGE SITES"
Stating that some countries in Europe use their time very well regarding the World Heritage List, Günay said, "If you look now, Spain, France, England, and Italy have around 40-50 places on the list. We were stuck at 9. When I took office in 2008, the number was 9. Our Ministry had not even proposed any new areas since 1998. I never forget, while touring Pamukkale, a Chinese guide said to me, 'There are 9 world heritage sites in your country.' I said, 'Yes.' He said, 'It should be 30.' A foreigner said this. And I believe this; it should be 30 or 40. But we are late. We have rolled up our sleeves in recent years to compensate for this. I received the news that the Selimiye Mosque and its complex entered the World Heritage List in 2011 during the elections, and I was happy because I thought it was more important than the elections. This year, Çatalhöyük, one of the oldest agricultural settlements in the world, was included. The number became 11."
"SHIPYARD AND CASTLE TO BE INCLUDED IN THE LIST"
Minister Günay, stating that they have prepared a new file for the World Heritage List, said, "We have many sites. Alanya is next in line. I hope very much that the Alanya Shipyard and Castle will be included in the list. Ephesus, Pergamon, and the Diyarbakır walls are in line. Santa Claus is waiting for his turn. Hacıbektaş can be included very easily. Many places can enter the list. The Mevlana Complex can be included. We have many sites from the Roman, Seljuk, Ottoman, and Beylik periods. We increased the number from 9 to 11. God willing, I will complete a dozen within my term of office and will have brought this work to a significant level." (Source:Yeni Alanya)
ALANYA CASTLE: Located on a peninsula that rises up to 250 meters from the sea, Alanya Castle has walls reaching a length of 6.5 kilometers... The settlement on the Alanya peninsula, also known as Kandeli, dates back to the Hellenistic period, but its surviving historical texture is a 13th-century Seljuk work.
The castle was built by the Seljuk Sultan Alaaddin Keykubat, who took control of the city in 1221 and had it rebuilt. The castle has 83 towers and 140 bastions. To meet the water requirements of the city settled within the walls during the Middle Ages, nearly 400 cisterns were constructed. Some of these cisterns are still in use today. The walls were built in a planned manner, descending through Ehmedek, İçkale, Adam Atacağı, Cilvarda Burnu Üstü, Arap Evliyası Bastion, and Esat Bastion, passing through Tophane and the Shipyard, and ending at Kızılkule. At the summit of the peninsula lies the İçkale, which is utilized as an open-air museum. Sultan Alaaddin Keykubat had his palace built here.
Settlement in the castle continues to this day. Silk and cotton weaving is performed on wooden stalls in front of historical wooden and masonry houses, gourds are painted in various figures, and authentic food service is provided in small gardens. Additionally, there are restaurants and cafeterias on the road leading up to the castle and on the slopes overlooking the harbor. The castle is open to vehicle traffic. It can be reached on foot in approximately 1 hour.
SHIPYARD : Construction began in 1227 near the Kızılkule, six years after Seljuk Sultan Alaaddin Keykubat conquered the city, and was completed in one year. The shipyard, consisting of five arched bays, has a seaside facade of 56.5 meters and a depth of 44 meters. The location selected for the shipyard was planned to maximize the use of daylight. The inscription on the shipyard's entrance gate bears Sultan Keykubat's coat of arms and is decorated with rosettes. Alanya Shipyard is the first shipyard of the Seljuks in the Mediterranean. Having previously commissioned the Sinop Shipyard in the Black Sea, Alaaddin Keykubat earned the title "sultan of two seas" with the Alanya Shipyard. A prayer room is located on one side of the shipyard, and a guardroom is on the other. One of the bays contains a well that has become obscured over time. Entry to the Shipyard, which can be reached by boats from the sea or by walking from the walls next to the Kızılkule, is free of charge.
(Source: Tourism file)