Kızılkule, a unique example of the 13th century medieval Mediterranean defense structures; It was built by the builder Ebu Ali Reha el Kettani from Aleppo by the Seljuk ruler I. Alaaddin Keykubat in order to protect the port, shipyard and Alanya Castle against attacks from the sea.
Red Tower; It has attracted attention with its majestic appearance in the past as well as today and has taken its place in many books. Evliya Çelebi, one of the 17th century travelers; He states that Alanya Castle has a solid octagonal tower on the sea side, this tower took 2000 men during the siege, and the second castle guard sitting here had 40 soldiers.
Since the building was built on a bedrock on a sloping land, its height is 33 m in the east and 3 m in the west. Regularly cut and assembled rectangular limestone was used on the lower body walls, and classical column bodies were used as spolia material, and red brick was used in the upper sections.
On the outer north wall of the building, there is a four-line construction inscription written in the name of Alaaddin Keykubat at a height of 10 m and below it, indicating the construction date as April 1226, and another construction inscription on the southern wall. The master inscription on the wall to the right of the entrance door states the name of the master who built the building. A total of 56 crenellated windows on the facades of Kızılkule; There are 22 boiling pitch and water pouring openings and 6 gargoyles, which are arranged in an order that the enemy is repulsed with boiling pitch and water, making it impossible to escape.
Having an octagonal plan, Kızılkule has a complex interior plan, contrary to its plain exterior. Red Tower; It has five floors: ground floor, first floor, mezzanine, open floor and open terrace.
Contrary to the majestic appearance of the building, probably for military purposes, the ground floor is reached through a small and modest entrance door and a narrow corridor. A vaulted corridor surrounds the octagonal elephant foot in the center. According to İbrahim Hakkı Konyalı, in the early days of the building, there were flat wooden rooms on the ground and first floors, stretching from the beginning of the corridor vault to the top cover, for the castle guards to lie down and rest, the traces of which can only be seen today. The ground floor is currently used as an exhibition space.
A large water cistern is placed on the upper part of the pillar in the center of the 1st floor, which is reached by a high stone-stepped staircase. The mouth of the cistern, which is still in operation today, is on the open floor.
At the base of the corridor close to the cistern, a ventilation shaft was placed in the middle of the octagonal sides. The door located in the northwest of the floor, which is used as an exhibition space today, opens to the outer walls. A large ship graffiti can be seen on the fortification wall on the right.
There are boiling pitch and water pouring openings on the mezzanine floor, which is in the form of a narrow corridor.
In the middle of the open terrace, there are 16 ventilation shafts in two rows in and around the mouth of the cistern. The light entering through these chimneys reaches up to the first floor.