Wender·Vista
Alanya
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileTurkey
on the Turkish Riviera, where the Taurus Mountains meet the Mediterranean

Alanya

— — the red tower the harbour has watched for eight hundred years.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“Alanya sits on a long promontory of limestone that pushes south into the Mediterranean, the Taurus range falling straight to the sea behind it. The Seljuk citadel still crowns the headland, and the Kızıl Kule, the Red Tower, holds the harbour. Bananas and palms line the avenues below the cliff. The light here in the late afternoon turns the brickwork the colour the tower was named for.

from the studio
Alanya
— bring it home

Alanya, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Alanya

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Alanya is a coastal city in Antalya Province on Turkey's southern Mediterranean shore, with a population of about 360,000. The old town sits on a 250-metre limestone peninsula crowned by the Alanya Castle, while the modern city spreads east and west along the coastal plain. The Taurus Mountains rise close behind, with peaks above 2,000 metres within twenty kilometres of the shore. Gazipaşa-Alanya Airport opened in 2010 about forty kilometres east of the centre, with Antalya International a longer transfer to the west. The Greek and Roman name was Coracesium.

— informed by Wikipedia
— the stone

The Kızıl Kule, or Red Tower, was completed in 1226 under Sultan Alâeddin Keykubad I, designed by the Aleppine architect Ebu Ali Reha el Kettani. The octagonal brick tower stands about 33 metres tall and 29 metres wide, built to defend the Tersane, the Seljuk shipyard cut into the rock below. The lower courses are cut limestone; the upper bulk is the red brick that gives the tower its name. Inside, five floors and a central cistern wind up to a battlement walkway. The tower is the icon stamped on the modern Alanya municipal seal.

— informed by Wikipedia
— the visit

Alanya Castle covers about 6.5 kilometres of curtain wall around the headland, with İçkale, the inner citadel, at the summit. The site is open daily and a cable car climbs from Cleopatra Beach to the upper gate. Damlataş Cave at the base of the cliff has been a registered therapy site for asthma since 1948. The harbour area below the Red Tower runs glass-bottom boat tours to Pirate's Cave and Phosphorus Cave. Cleopatra Beach, named for the queen who is said to have bathed there, runs two kilometres along the western shore.

— informed by Wikipedia
— where
Turkey · Alanya, Antalya Province
— position
36.5460° N · 31.9970° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
135 km W
Antalya
provincial capital
65 km W
Side
Greco-Roman ruin
60 km W
Manavgat
river town and waterfall
40 km E
Gazipaşa
airport town
N
Alanya
Antalya
Side
Manavgat
Gazipaşa
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Alanya — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Alanya is a Mediterranean coastal city in Antalya Province on Turkey's southern shore, about 135 kilometres east of Antalya. The Taurus Mountains rise directly behind the city and the Cilician coast runs east toward Mersin.

The Kızıl Kule was completed in 1226 under Sultan Alâeddin Keykubad I, designed by Ebu Ali Reha el Kettani of Aleppo. It has guarded the harbour and the adjacent Seljuk shipyard for eight centuries.

The upper section is built of red brick over a cut limestone base, and the brick warms further in the late afternoon light off the harbour. The colour read across the bay before any flag did.

No. The Greek name was Coracesium and the modern name comes from Alaiye, the title under Seljuk rule. Cleopatra Beach is named for the queen by local tradition, said to have bathed there during her visit with Mark Antony.

April through June and September through October give warm sea, lighter crowds, and afternoon light that flatters the headland. July and August are hot and busy. Winters are mild but the sea is cool.

Gazipaşa-Alanya Airport sits about forty kilometres east with seasonal European charters. Antalya International handles long-haul flights through the year, two hours west by road. Coach services and rental cars run from both.

— about the piece in your home

It reads well for travellers who have walked the Red Tower or anyone with family in Antalya Province. The Medium hangs cleanly in a hallway and a Coaster Set works for a smaller offering.

The warm brick, limestone, and Mediterranean blue sit comfortably with Mediterranean Modern, Moorish-inflected interiors, and Coastal Maximalist rooms. The piece also reads well above a kilim or against a lime-washed wall.

Yes. Current Mediterranean-modern leans on warm clay tones, lime-washed walls, and a single anchor view to the sea. A single Large above a console reads as that view, and a four-tile Mural can fill a longer wall.

A single Large reads from across the room. A four-tile Mural fills a standard sofa wall, and a nine-tile Mural sits above a long console or low credenza as the room's focal point.

Yes, in Dura Satin or Matte. Both finishes resist scratch and hold up to steam, splash, and daily wiping. The Glossy finish is reserved for framed wall pieces kept away from direct water.

A soft microfibre cloth and warm water handle normal dust and splash. For stubborn marks, a drop of mild dish soap. Avoid abrasive pads and ammonia-based cleaners on the surface.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to the studio. Reid Wender chooses the place and the image, the artwork is hand-finished in Knoxville, Tennessee, and nothing is licensed from outside the studio.

— if this one stayed with you

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