Tersane Beach

The small stretch of shore right beside the historic shipyard, within walking distance of Kızılkule. It is stone and pebble here rather than fine sand; even the landward ends of the shipyard's bays are partly pebble and partly rock. Swimming at the foot of eight-hundred-year-old vaults is a different day out from a crowded beach. Some of our boat trips make their first swim stop right on this water.

What makes this shore special is the building behind it. The five bays of the Seljuk shipyard open onto the sea, and once you are in the water you are looking straight into the mouths of eight-hundred-year-old vaults. The shipyard's entrance faces the old harbour to the north-west, and the five-line inscription above its door names Sultan Alâeddin Keykubad sultan of the land and of the two seas.

The official records say little about the beach itself. Alanya Municipality's page on the shipyard notes that its landward side is pebble and rock, but mentions no separate beach, and no shore of this name appears on the Blue Flag list. So this is not a resort beach but a stony swimming spot in the town's historic corner. Water shoes help.

The shipyard stayed in use until the 1960s, and today it is open as the Ship and Maritime Museum. After a swim you can go in and see from the land side the same bays you looked at from the water.

Our relax boat trip makes its first swim stop right in front of the shipyard. The pirate boat trip passes Kızılkule and the shipyard as it leaves the harbour and makes its swim stops at Cleopatra Beach and Ulaş Bay.