Turkey's Alanya Castle looks to enter UNESCO list

ANTALYA, Turkey

A 13th-century castle in Alanya district of the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya is looking to land a spot in the UNESCO World Heritage list.

The Alanya Castle site, surrounded by 6 kilometer long walls, was mentioned in the UNESCO Tentative List of World Heritage in 2000.

According to the UNESCO website, Alanya Castle was built in 13th century by Seljuk Sultan Alaaddin Keykubat, who did great service to the development of the town.

"The peninsula of Alanya surrounded by city walls was named "Karakesion" during the Hellenistic period went under the hegemony of Romans and Byzantines, followed by the Seljuks," said the UNESCO.

It features a Seljuk cistern, a Byzantine church, the Keykubat Sultan Palace and the ruins of a Seljuk era traditional urban bath, the website said.

Osman Eravsar, dean of the fine arts faculty of Akdeniz University, told Anadolu Agency excavations have been ongoing at the site since 1988.

"The view of the castle and itself are fascinating," Eravsar said.

At least 140,000 people visit the castle per month.

Reporting by Mustafa Kurt:Writing by Faruk Zorlu