Контрасты contrasts

We stayed at the Alaya hotel (sometimes "Cleopatra" is added to its name, probably not to be confused with others. Alaya is the old name of Alanya and a lot of things around are called "Alaya"). Hotel in Cleopatra beach area. Compared to downtown, our side was quieter, cheaper and cleaner. And to the center, if necessary, walk 15 minutes. The bus is faster, you can stop it anywhere (not necessarily at the bus stop), the ticket is 2.5 lira.
The hotel has 4 stars. The hotel is clean, the room was two-room, but small. in our room they did tidying up and changed towels every day, the maid laid out new patterns from sheets every day. The food was good and varied. We only had breakfast at the hotel. The choice was great - and traditional porridge and cereal, and English breakfast, and Turkish sweets, salads, yoghurts, jams, fruits. Everything is fresh and in great quantity. All hotel staff are courteous.
When we moved in, the air conditioner was malfunctioning in the room, they fixed it within half an hour after the complaint. The beach is across the road, which is not particularly annoying. Our hotel sold us tickets for sunbeds and umbrellas for 50 Turkish kopecks cheaper, a trifle, but nice. One umbrella and 2 sun loungers 10.5 lira. The beach is very clean, the water is blue. Even during the strong surf, there were no pads or plastic bags in the water.

What was not very pleasing, the windows overlooked a bar in a neighboring hotel, in which noisy music played until late. But we were so exhausted during the day that we still fell asleep.
You can go to the fortress (Cale) on foot, taxi drivers offer their services at every step, but it makes no sense to use them within the tourist zone. We went for a walk around 3 times, each time along different paths, very interesting and picturesque, there are ancient ruins all around, there is something to see. Entrance to the fortress itself is 10 lire. Apart from the stunning view of Alanya and Cleopatra Beach, there is nothing to see.
Nothing remained, were disappointed. On the mountain around the fortress there is more to see and absolutely free. Bus number 4 goes to the mountain itself, if you are too lazy to walk to the top.
Excursion to Side and Aspendos bought on the street. For two, they paid the same price as for one from a representative of our company. Of course, it was not without visiting the jewelry center. But on the other hand, we saw amazing amphitheaters and other ruins of Roman times. They were very satisfied.
Food is a separate conversation. We were looking for authentic Turkish cuisine. All cafes in the tourist area offer about the same thing, and as it turned out, not very Turkish. You can also eat shawarma here. And the quality leaves something to be desired...
We found a cool cafe, not far from the tourist zone, across the street from our hotel. Family business, husband and wife cook, children serve as waiters. No campaigning and intrusive service. From the outside it looks like an ordinary Soviet cafe, only clean.

And the food was so delicious. We went there for dinner every evening until the end of the holiday. We were fed like family. Everything is freshly cooked right in front of you. The owner does not speak a foreign language, only a few words in German, but you can explain yourself. The uncle is very colorful, spitting image of Andriano Celentano. Every day they will slip a plate of fruit, then soup, then salad for free. And then you are already finishing your portion, and he will come up and slabs, pour more meat. And all this was not included in the bill. In general, food came out more than 2 times cheaper than cafes on our street. If anyone is interested in Turkish food, I highly recommend going there. The cafe is located on one of the wide streets leading to the center and the fortress, across the street from the line of hotels, Saray Mahallesi (district), Yunus Emre cad (street). 46/B. It is called Sivas Koftecisi. The owner's name is Mustafa. Very soulful people. One evening he took us to the fortress, to the mountain to take pictures against the backdrop of the evening Alanya. Absolutely free.
Such sincere people turned out to be very different from those who work there in shops and cafes in the tourist area. I highly recommend this cafe to everyone, cheap and tasty.
Negative - frank extortion of money for everything, even tips for toilets, not always clean.
You also need to be careful with the currency. Prices are in euros, liras, sometimes in dollars and even in Swedish kronor. They also "warm up" great on this.
Positive - I was surprised by the overall cleanliness. On one occasion, workers collecting garbage from bins were seen spraying air freshener on the garbage in a garbage truck.
Clean and warm sea, great weather every day. Very beautiful views.