Alanya is situated on a small peninsula to the east of the Taurus Mountains. Located at the historical border between Cilicia and Pamphylia, it belonged to one state or the other in the tumultuous times of the past. The city has a long tradition, although the exact date of its founding remains uncertain. It is believed that even in prehistoric times, cave dwellers spent their holidays here. This is evidenced by bone and fossil finds in a cave near the village of Oba, dated to the early Stone Age, between 20,000 and 17,000 BC. At that time, there were hardly any permanent settlements; early humans roamed the land in search of food and favorable weather conditions. When exactly the first people took advantage of the beauty and richness of this region to found a settlement at the site of present-day Alanya is not known. The first mention is found in the 4th century BC by a Greek named Scylax, who wrote about a city called "Coracaesium." Then, the city disappears again for a long time in the darkness of history until the then well-known historian and chronicler Strabo, who lived between 63 and 24 BC, described the city as a difficult-to-access and impregnable settlement. "Travel reports" from the region come from various centuries by Strabo, Piri Reis, Seyyep, Ibn Battuta, and Evliya Çelebi. When Antiochus III invaded Cilicia in 199 BC, he unintentionally established the long tradition of pirates in Coracesium. The inhabitants had no intention of surrendering to the conqueror but turned towards the sea and made the Mediterranean unsafe. Probably for this reason, the siege failed, and Antiochus III abandoned the conquest and destruction of the city. Nearly 10 years later, he was defeated by the Romans. During this time, a political vacuum developed in the coastal cities, making the area a notorious rebel and pirate stronghold. One of these feared pirate captains, Diodotus Tryphon, declared Coracesium his headquarters. He used the caves, which are now popular with many tourists, as treasure troves and also held his hostages until ransom was paid. In 142 BC, he declared himself king of the Seleucids and ruled for 3 years before being abruptly deposed by King Antiochus VII, who was apparently quite resentful. In 75 BC, the pirates made a decisive mistake: they kidnapped Caesar, which he must have considered a brazen act, because after the ransom was paid, he immediately launched a retaliatory campaign. But it was not until 70 BC that the general Pompey received an extraordinary command and, for the first time, sufficient ships, soldiers, and powers to put an end to the madness. He conquered Coracesium in a short time and, as punishment, had the city walls demolished. With the murder of Caesar in 44 BC and the division of the Roman Empire, Marcus Antonius took control of the Eastern Roman Empire. In 41 BC, one of the most famous love stories of antiquity began, which also had a direct influence on the area around Alanya: that of the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra and Marcus Antonius... Four years later, Marcus Antonius made the city Cleopatra's wedding gift. Their honeymoon reportedly lasted 100 days in Coracesium. However, afterwards, Cleopatra had the densely forested region cleared and transported the valuable cedar woods to Egypt for the construction of her war fleet. After the lost war and the suicide of the couple, Octavius took over control of the entire region.
