ANCIENT CITY OF SIDE

REGION OF SIDE

Side, which is always preferred for summer holidays and has always been worth discovering because it is a town from ancient times, is among the regions that should be visited and spent time in. Side, whose history can be traced until the 7th century BC but is thought to have a much older history than this, was dominated by many empires such as Lydia, Persia, Rome, and Seljuk.  Since the word side means "Pomegranate", it is a settlement that is thought to date back to the Hittites with the research made on this region together.

According to a legend, the goddess of nature and fertility, Side, and her daughter go to the shores of Manavgat (Melas) to collect flowers. Side, who plucked a flower with very eye-catching colors for her daughter, cannot move at once, and her feet turn into tree roots. It is rumored that the flowers picked by Side belong to a goddess who is the protector of people. Understanding her mistake, Side said, “I will give fruits the color of blood and become the symbol of life “. According to legend, Side has turned into a pomegranate tree, and the symbol of the region has been a pomegranate for centuries.

Ancient City of Side 

Many buildings have survived from the ancient city of Side to the present day. For this reason, hundreds of thousands of people come to visit the city every year. This location, which is not crowded and hosts very few people off season, welcomes hundreds of thousands of people during the season.

Nymphaeum

Nymphaeum, which is also known as 'Nine Streams' at the entrance of Side Antique City and whose source is the Manavgat Stream, is a very imposing structure. It is estimated that this building, which was built to have a height of 20 meters, shrank to 12 meters as a result of earthquakes in the region.

 Side Ancient Theater

Side Antique Theater is one of the structures that even people who did not go there heard the name of from afar. It is known that this structure, which is encountered after passing the fountain and arches while entering the ancient city, has a height of 20 meters and a capacity of 15 thousand people. When typical ancient theaters were built on a mountain or a mountain rear in Turkey, the Side Ancient Theater was built on aqueducts. One of the main reasons for the construction of these theaters with special methods was the idea of ​​protecting the audience in the struggles between gladiators and wild animals.

Apollon Temple

At the end of the building called Columnar Street during the ancient Side tour, there is the Temple of Apollo. This temple, named after Apollo, known as the god of light, beauty and art, is thought to have been built in 150 A.D. On the one hand, this temple is located in the middle of the Byzantine Basilica, and it is thought that a part of the temple was deformed or dismantled during the construction of the basilica. The damaged building was restored afterward. In addition to the temple, which attracts great attention from those who want to watch the sunset, especially in the evening due to its location by the sea, it is possible to see the temples previously dedicated to the Mother of the Gods, Kybele, and the Moon God Men in this region.

Temple of Athena

For Athena's sake, known as the chief goddess of Side, there are six columns on the short side and 11 columns on the long side of the structure located east of the harbor. This structure, which is larger in size than the Temple of Apollo, was renovated in 2 A.D. for the goddess Athena, the ruler of the city and sea trade.

Ancient City of Lyrbe (Seleukeia)

This ancient city, which should be visited by those who want to explore a different history with a wonderful view of nature, was established in the name of the Syrian King Selevkos Nikator, who was the successor of Alexander the Great. There are two Hellenistic mosaics in the city, whose ruins were unearthed in the 1970s. Most of the historical buildings in the city belong to the Hellenistic and Roman periods.

The  Mosaic of Seven Sages

The mosaic, which is located in the Lyrbe Ancient City and is preserved in the Antalya Museum, is very valuable both because it reflects the craftsmanship of the period in the best quality and because it has portraits of many famous philosophers. There are many people who go to the Antalya Museum after the Lyrbe Ancient City trip just to see this mosaic.