Alanya Underwater: The Diving Scene, the Blue Cave, the Phosphorescent Cave, the Pirate Cave Boat Tour, Underwater Archaeology, and the Eastern Mediterranean Dive Sites
The Alanya underwater route covers the Alanya diving scene and the dive site variety, the Blue Cave accessible only by sea, the Phosphorescent Cave with the luminescent microorganism effect, the classic Alanya pirate cave boat tour, and the underwater archaeology of the ancient harbor area.
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Alanya Blue Cave: The Signature Sea Cave
The Alanya Blue Cave (Magara) in the sea cliff on the west face of the Alanya promontory, accessible only by small rowing boat through the low cave entrance at calm sea conditions, is the most photogenically intense single sea cave on the Turkish Mediterranean coast where the indirect light reflected from the sandy cave floor turns the interior water the most luminous cobalt blue. The cave interior is large enough for the small rowing boat to enter completely and the blue light effect strongest between 10am and 2pm when the sun angle maximizes the floor reflection. The Alanya pirate cave boat tour departs from the harbor and visits the Blue Cave, the Phosphorescent Cave, and the Lovers Cave on the same promontory circuit.
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Phosphorescent Cave: The Bioluminescent Water
The Phosphorescent Cave (Fosforlu Magara) in the Alanya promontory cliff produces the most dramatic single bioluminescent light effect accessible in Turkey when the microorganisms in the cave water glow green-blue in the darkness after the boat extinguishes its engine and the cave is left in complete darkness. The bioluminescence effect requires the darkest single cave environment to be visible and the Phosphorescent Cave boat tour operator switches off all lights for 2 minutes to allow the bioluminescent microorganism colony to become visible. The cave tour departure from the Alanya harbor dock is the most theatrically presented single natural phenomenon tour on the Turkish coast.
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Alanya Diving: The Underwater Cave Network
The Alanya underwater diving scene is the most developed single diving destination on the eastern Turkish Mediterranean coast with the local dive centers offering the cave diving, the wreck diving, and the reef diving within the Alanya bay and the promontory base. The most popular Alanya dive sites include the underwater cave system at the promontory base (maximum depth 28 meters), the Byzantine anchor field in the harbor approach where Byzantine period anchors still lie on the harbor floor, and the wall dive on the south face of the promontory where the vertical limestone wall drops to 40 meters with the sponge and the gorgonian coral decoration.
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Boat Tour Circuit: The Classic Alanya Excursion
The Alanya pirate cave boat tour - the classic Alanya excursion that every resort guest takes - is the half-day wooden boat circuit around the Alanya promontory visiting the cave sequence, the Seljuk shipyard viewed from the sea, the promontory castle walls from the water, the designated swimming stop in the promontory base bay, and the return to the harbor with the onboard Turkish music and the fishing demonstration by the boat crew. The boat tour operates from the Alanya inner harbor from 10am to 4pm daily from May to October and is the most complete single introduction to the Alanya promontory geography available.
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Alanya Underwater Archaeology: The Harbor Floor
The Alanya harbor floor archaeological survey conducted by the Turkish Institute of Nautical Archaeology has documented the Byzantine and the Seljuk-period anchor collection, the ceramic amphora fragments, and the architectural stone blocks from the harbor wall construction that lie on the harbor floor at 4 to 8 meters depth and are visible from the glass-bottomed boat tours in the most accessible single underwater archaeological survey available to the non-diving visitor on the Turkish coast. The harbor archaeology reflects 2,000 years of continuous Alanya harbor activity from the Roman period through the Seljuk and the Ottoman to the contemporary fishing port.
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Alanya Sea Fishing: The Charter Tradition
The Alanya sea fishing charter from the harbor, the half-day or the full-day fishing boat from the inner harbor taking 6 to 10 passengers to the fishing grounds 5 to 15 kilometers offshore, is the most popular single active water sport outside the beach on the eastern Riviera. The target species from the Alanya fishing charters include the dentex, the sea bream, the grouper, and the octopus in the bottom fishing, and the bonito, the bluefish, and the mackerel in the surface trolling season from September to November. The charter captain cooks the catch aboard for the most directly satisfying single sea-to-table experience on the Turkish Riviera.
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More in Alanya
Alanya History: The Seljuk Conquest and Alaeddin Keykubad, the Alanya Shipyard, the Byzantine Kalonoros, the Ottoman Incorporation, and the Banana Agriculture of the Sheltered Microclimate
Alanya Practical: Antalya Airport Transfer, Bus and Shuttle Connections, the Beach Choice, Accommodation from Budget to All-Inclusive, the Best Season, and the Departure Summary
Alanya to Antalya: Aspendos the Best Preserved Ancient Theatre, Perge the Pamphylian City, Termessos the Unconquered Taurus Fortress, and the Antalya Province Ancient Heritage
Alanya Essential: The Seljuk Red Tower, the Fortress on the Promontory, Cleopatra Beach, Damlatas Cave, the Turkish Riviera Resort Character, and the Dim Cave Day Trip
Eastern Riviera Circuit: Side the Apollo Temple on the Beach, the Manavgat Waterfall, the Side Roman Ruins, the Seleucia Pieria Ancient City, and the Full Eastern Riviera Day Trip
