Article by Ionuţ Iordache, Sergiu Alexandru – Published Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 7:02 p.m. / Updated Wednesday, January 28, 2026 7:02 p.m.
What does the place look like where the captain of the national team, Ianis Hagi, wants to restart his career? Alanya is a city that does not resemble anything we knew about the “Land of the Crescent”: an oasis of peace, with an atypical cleanliness for Turkey and thousands of northern retirees. Here, football seems like a relaxed hobby rather than a fanatical religion, as it is in Istanbul
I arrived in Alanya after 12 days in Antalya, with all the prejudices “in the carrier”: I expected the chaos of honking horns, suffocating bazaars and that contrasting mixture of kitsch luxury and real squalor, so typical of the neighboring resorts.
I thought that the landscape of Antalya — with 5-star resorts surrounded by high walls so that customers could not see the hundreds of dilapidated greenhouses and the pervasive poverty next to them — would be repeated in Ianis' new “fiefdom”. We were wrong.
GSP report from Alanya, the city of a thousand rooftop suns
Just 130 kilometers away from Antalya, a completely different world was revealed to us. The first impact hits you directly in the retina: cleanliness.
The wide streets, flanked by manicured palm trees (like the ones on the seafront leading to the port), seem swept by the hour. There is no garbage, no traffic chaos.
Looking up at the chic blocks of flats, I noticed the visual “signature” of the city: roofs dotted with solar water heaters and metal tanks. It's an army of cylinders that shine under the 300 days of sunshine a year. Here, hot water is free, provided by nature.
The fortress, the mountains and the silence that lulls you to sleep
Alanya is dominated by two visual forces. On one side, the Mediterranean Sea and the famous Cleopatra Beach. The name is not just tourism marketing; legend says that the Roman general Mark Antony would have given this city to the queen of Egypt as a wedding gift.
It is said that the queen liked the unreal blue bay so much that she bathed here every day, and Mark Antony would have brought fine sand precisely from Egypt to create the perfect beach.
On the other side, the imposing rock on which the Seljuk fortress of Kale, the ancient nest of pirates, now watches over the most peaceful Turkish city. On the mountain, the sign “I love ALANYA” watches over the modern constructions that climb to the top. In the background, the Taurus Mountains rise majestically, their snow-dusted ridges defying the palm trees of the seaside.
In this wonderful setting, however, life flows at idle. In neighborhoods like Oba or Mahmutlar, I saw dozens of retired German, Scandinavian or Dutch couples out for their morning walk. They are in no hurry. In fact, at the hotel where we stayed, we were by far the youngest guests, although we are no longer in our prime.
The luxury sanatorium: “No gallery, just a talkative man”
If in Istanbul football is a matter of life and death, here the atmosphere is that of a luxury sanatorium. At the cup match I attended, the spectators could easily be counted: only a few hundred, without any organized gallery.
The only spot of local 'colour' was a garrulous man giving directions throughout the match, reminiscent of the volcanic Turkish fans on 'Ali Sami Yen'.
I felt the authentic pulse only in the small side cafes. There, locals still smoke hookahs and drink black tea, politely ignoring the invasion of Europeans who have bought half the town.
Vacation money pays Hagi's salary
Ianis Hagi landed in this landscape of “slow living” for a restart of 800,000 euros per year. The situation is paradoxical: his salary is basically paid by these relaxed pensioners who chose the warm south over their cold countries.
The main sponsor, Corendon, is the tourism giant that brings them on charters and puts them up in hotels in the area. The vacation money of Europe's grandparents indirectly finances the return of Romania's “decar”.
With 14 games and just 2 goals this season, Ianis still seems to be struggling to find top gear in a city that refuses to step up.
Is this the ideal environment for Ianis?
Alanya was a pleasant surprise, but we couldn't think if it was the ideal environment for Ianis. He needed Hagi jr. 27 years from a city that seems built for rest after a life of work? Did he need a mediocre team, where the conditions and atmosphere are far from the claims of the “Prince” and his father?
The respect of the Turks for the name Hagi is immense, the salary is good, the climate is mild. But this silence can be a golden trap. Big football feeds on tension, not on the contemplation of the sea.
We will find the answer on March 26, at the tie with Turkey, and, hopefully, in the summer, at the World Championship!
4 unique details of Alanya
1. The name was “wrong” by Atatürk. The city was historically called Alaiye. In 1935, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk received a telegram in which the name was misspelled, “Alanya”. He liked the sound of it so much that he decided to make it the official name.
2. The unshakeable fortress. Alanya Castle has 6.5 km long walls and 140 towers. It is the only Seljuk fortress that has been so well preserved, being located on a rocky peninsula that offers a spectacular view of the Mediterranean.
3. The healing cave. Damlataș Cave, accidentally discovered in 1948, is famous for its atmosphere. The air here, rich in carbon dioxide and with 95% humidity, is said to have healing properties for those suffering from asthma.
4. The “banana” microclimate. Thanks to the protection provided by the Taurus Mountains, Alanya is one of the few places in Turkey where bananas, papayas and dragon fruit can be grown on a large scale.
