Alanya’s 60-Year-Old Park Has Become History

Barış Manço Park in Çarşı Neighborhood Demolished Today as Part of Alanya Municipality’s City Square Project

Barış Manço Park, which witnessed the childhood and youth of many generations in Alanya, was demolished today within the scope of the city square road project initiated by Alanya Municipality. Located on İzzet Azakoğlu Street in the Çarşı Neighborhood, the park is one of the city’s iconic areas. It was originally transformed from a cemetery into a public space in the 1960s by then-District Governor İsmet Hilmi Balcı.

Alanya researcher, historian, and author Oğuz Korum shared information about the park’s history: “The park was named after Barış Manço due to his love for children. The park’s first gardener was Kır Muhammet, who planted many roses there — those roses date back to that time. Together with the nearby Sulu Park, it became one of Alanya’s important social areas and served as a meeting point for locals for many years. In the area where the tea garden now stands, Alanya’s 'Şam Bülbülü' (Sham Nightingale) Mehmet Kiraz used to mesmerize listeners every evening by reciting the poem ‘Makber’.”

The planned square project aims to ease traffic in the area and provide citizens with a wider resting space.