Side @ Travel Turkey

The old town of Side is set on a peninsula with sandy beaches to either side, surrounded still by the ancient city walls. It boast an impressive Hellenistic theater, the largest in the area, with seating for 17,000 overlooking the sea; a charming museum and the stunning Temple of Apollo, a romantic spot at sunset.

The old town is limited by the walls and the sea which has been a bonus, meaning that the accommodation here is mostly pensions and small hotels. The long stretch of sandy beach a few kilometers outside the old town, known with good reason as 'Kumköy' or 'Sand Village' has become the center of tourism development in the town and is now home to large four or five star hotels and good quality self-catering accommodation.

Side has something for everyone: great beaches, history, an abundance of shops, lively nightlife and a good choice of restaurants.

Settlers from Cyme (Cumæans) in Aeolis, an ancient region of northwestern Asia Minor, founded the city in the seventh century BC. Possessing a good harbor for small-craft boats, Side's natural geography made it the most important place in Pamphylia - the region in the south of Asia Minor between Lycia and Cilicia, from the Mediterranean to Mount Taurus. This location made Side one of the most important trade centers in its time. Today, as in yesteryear, the ancient city of Side is situated on a small north-south peninsula about 1 km long and 400 m across.

Ruins

The great ruins are among the most notable in Asia Minor. They cover a large promontory where a wall and a moat separate it from the mainland. During medieval times, the wall and moat were repaired and the promontory houses a wealth of structures.

There are colossal ruins of a theater complex, the largest of Pamphylia, built much like a Roman amphitheater that relies on arches to support the sheer verticals. The Roman style was adopted because Side lacked a convenient hillside that could be hollowed out as in the usual Greek fashion more typical of Asia Minor. The theater is less well preserved than the Aspendos theater, but it is almost as large, seating 15,000 - 20,000 people. With time and the shifting of the earth, the scena wall has collapsed over the stage and the proscenium is in a cataract of loose blocks. It was converted into an open-air sanctury with two chapels during Byzantine times (5-6th c.)

The well preserved city walls provide an entrance to the site through the Hellenistic main gate (Megale Pyle) of the ancient city, although this gate from the second century BC is badly damaged. Next comes the colonnaded street although the marble columns once there do not exist anymore. All that remains is a few broken stubs near the old Roman baths. The street leads to the a public bath, restored as a museum displaying Roman period statues and sarcophagi. Next is the square agora with in the middle the remains of the round Tyche and Fortuna temple (2nd c. BC), a periptery with twelve columns. In later times it was used as a trading center where pirates sold slaves. The current remains of the theatre, which was used for gladiator fights and later as a church, and the monumental gate date back to the 2nd century. The early Roman Temple of Dionysus is near the theater. The fountain gracing the entrance is restored. At the left side are the remains of a Byzantine Basilica. A public bath has been restored

The remaining ruins of Side include three temples, an aqueduct, and a nymphaeum. Side's nymphaeum - a grotto with a natural water supply dedicated to the nymphs - was an artificial grotto or fountain building of elaborate design.

Turkish archaeologists have been excavating Side since 1947 and intermittently continue to do so.

Side Article on Wikipedia

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