In 1221, Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad I besieged the seemingly impregnable fortress of Kalonoros for 60 days. The castle's walls were thick, its position unassailable from three sides by the sea, and the Byzantine defenders were well-supplied. His generals advised abandoning the siege.
But the clever Sultan devised an unconventional plan that would echo through history.
Under cover of darkness, he ordered 15,000 goats gathered from surrounding villages. Torches were tied to their horns. As night fell, his men drove the goats up every path leading to the fortress from all directions.
From within the castle walls, the defenders watched in terror as thousands of moving lights ascended through the darkness from every direction. How could any army climb those cliffs? It must be an army of djinn! Demons sent by Allah himself!
By dawn, the Byzantine commander Kyr Vart sent envoys to negotiate surrender. The castle fell without a single drop of blood being spilled.
Sultan Alaeddin renamed the city "Alaiye" (Alanya) after himself. As for the goats? They were returned to their owners as heroes of the conquest. The castle is still sometimes called "Keçi Kalesi" - the Goat Castle.