Stephan Neven
Pirates of the Mediterranean
The port of Alanya, Turkey. A lot of pirate ships are docked here, just as they were during a long period in the history of the Mediterranean. From around 200 BC until far in the Middle Ages, piracy was wide-spread through the whole Mediterranean Sea. Alanya was a popular port for pirates. A sheltered bay, in geographically good place between important places of those days: Rome, Constantinople (Istanbul), Athens, Piraeus, Alexandria. Another pirate's nest was Crete, and from these places the pirates tried to steal goods, conquer and/or demolish ships from the Roman Empire and later Ottoman Empire.
Nowadays, these pirate ships are used as leisure boats: tourists can make a day trip on these boats through the region between Antalya and Alanya.
Pirates of the Mediterranean
The port of Alanya, Turkey. A lot of pirate ships are docked here, just as they were during a long period in the history of the Mediterranean. From around 200 BC until far in the Middle Ages, piracy was wide-spread through the whole Mediterranean Sea. Alanya was a popular port for pirates. A sheltered bay, in geographically good place between important places of those days: Rome, Constantinople (Istanbul), Athens, Piraeus, Alexandria. Another pirate's nest was Crete, and from these places the pirates tried to steal goods, conquer and/or demolish ships from the Roman Empire and later Ottoman Empire.
Nowadays, these pirate ships are used as leisure boats: tourists can make a day trip on these boats through the region between Antalya and Alanya.