Shells from the Alaya Boatyard (Tarsaná)

Shells collected from the tarsaná of Alaya Castle, the city’s historic boatyard. Inside the monument, graffiti depicting boats and ships survive, bearing witness to the region’s long-standing shipbuilding tradition.
The tarsaná, built in 1221 by the Seljuk Turks, is an impressive medieval dock basin measuring 57 × 40 m, with five vaulted bays and pointed, equilateral arches.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the tarsaná retained a pivotal role in Alaya’s economy and maritime activity:
• it functioned as a principal site for repairing small and medium-sized merchant vessels,
• it supported the city’s active shipping and trade network, linking the Asia Minor coast with Cyprus and the islands of the Aegean,
• it provided technical expertise through artisans who passed down their knowledge from generation to generation,
• it served as a hub for shipyards and workshops, stores of materials, rope and timber, and as a gathering place for the region’s merchants and shipowners.
The preserved shells constitute material evidence of the marine ecosystem that developed around the tarsaná, as well as a silent testimony to the continuous shipbuilding and commercial activity that characterised Alaya up to the expulsion.
They were donated to the collection of the Alaya Association and are exhibited at the ALAYA Cultural Centre.