Side...
Was an ancient harbour
whose name means pomegranate. Today Side is a picturesque resort filled
with fascinating ruins, beautiful sandy beaches, shops and wonderful
tourist accommodation.
Just imagine sitting at a beach side restaurant gazing out at the clear
azure sea. Side has a multitude of Turkish crafts – some of which you
can see in the making. Beautiful leathers and of course our renowned
gold. Come and see the magnificent ancient theatre built in colonnaded
arches – the largest in the area. Also the Agora – The Temple of Apollo,
next to the sea. The famous Roman baths, now a museum, houses one of
Turkey’s finest archeological collections.
To the East of Side are the resorts of Sorgun Titreyengol (blue flag)
and Kızılagac with beautiful sandy beaches and glittering blue sea.
To the West is Kumkoy and Colakli offers sun, sea and ancient ruins.
Side
In Mythology
One day, Accordinkes to
the Anatolion Mythology, The God Taurus takes her youngest daughter
Side, who had been The Goddes of nature and abundance, to the valley of
the Rıver Manauwa (Manavgat) for picking up flowers and making wreaths
with the Nymphes (water-fairies) While picking up flowers and dancing
with the Nymphes, Side, suddenly sees a tree with thin branches having
shiny leaves and colourful flowers and breaks off a branch, to take it
to her little daugther. As she breaks the branch off it starts bleeding.
Accually, Side realizes that the tree is not a real one it is a Nymphe
who has escaped from some wicked human beings and taken the shape of a
tree. She is so sorry and so scared that she wants to go away, but she
can't. She is stuck and she feels that her feet are bried in ground.
Then her body changes into a from of a tree. The Nymphes are sad and
they start crying. The Nymphes are sad and they start crying. The fresh
roots of Side are watered with the of Nymphes. Side says that it was her
fault and ask the Nymphes to take a message to her little daugher The
message is as follows; From now on I'll be the symbol of nature, life
and abundance with my blood-red rich fruit, I ask you to take my
daughter here from time to time, to play in my shade. And warn her not
to pick flowers and never damage trees on earth; because any of those
trees could be a Goddes. This is why the peninsula of Side full of
pomegranate trees.
Historical Monuments
In Side
The City Walls :
The walls of Antique Side surrounds the city all around the peninsula.
The length of the walls with the inner ones is about 6 km. The width of
the walls on the sea-side is nearly 3 m.some points. The height reaches
10 m. When the walls on theland-side in the North-East are taken into
consireadion, and on the walls there are 13 semi-circular and
rectangular towers for watching and defence.
The Great Gate Of The City : The main entrance, The GREAT GATE, was built in the
North-East. The oldest entrance of the Antique City, now in ruins, had
been restored many times. The last form of the Gate was given in Roman
times. It was built as two storeys on an arched base. For defending the
gate there were two towers on each side where the soldiers were on
guard. These towers are about 10m high.
The Eastern Gate
: The secont Great Gate of the City was built in the East. The Gate was
buried in sand for many years. It has lately been cleaned up and is
being exhibited. It had been built with conglomerat type of
block-stones. You can walk to the Square of protocol passing two
circle-arched corridors behind the door on which there are two
rectangular watch and defence towers. The base of The Square which is
50m wide had been decorated with mosaics during Byzantium times.
Water Arches : In
Antique times the water needed in Side was brought from the river
Manavgat by means of water-arches which were built between the village
Sevinç of today and Side. The length of the waterway is 30 km and the
height reachs 25 m at some points. Some parts of the waterway was carved
in rocks.
The Grand Monumental
Fountain : The Grand Monumental Fountain was built nearby The
Castellum Aqua, which could be seen at the end of the waterwayon the
arches that brought water to the city from the River Manavgat. It stands
opposite the Great Entrance Gate in the North West of the city. The
fountain seems to have two storeys todey; but it is supposed to have
been built in three storeys with the dimensions 5 m height and 35 m
width.
Kolonnel Street :
The street that starts at the door protocol which was built in between
the Great Entrance Gate takes you to the Square of Agora in the south
direction is 250 m long with coloumns on both sides. It was given the
name "Kolonnel Street".
Houses : The ruins
of the Antique Houses on both sides of the Kolonnel Street in general,
were built as diateas (living-rooms), lined-up around the big inner hall
named Atrium, There was usually a fountain in the middle of the inner
hall, and all the floors of the rooms were decorated with mosaics.
Agora : The Big
Agora of the city takes place in front of the theatre which was built at
the end of The Kolonnel Street. It has the dimensions 92x92 m (outher)
and 65x65 m (inner). Entrance to the Agora is supposed to be through the
monumental gate in the west. The Agora is surrounded by granite columns
and was called Portiko. You can reach the Portiko, which is 4 m wide,
walking up two stairs. There are dekorated marble blocks on 100 Chorint
and lon headed clumns. In the middle of the Agora you can notice the
ruins of a temple (as it could be found in all Antique Cities) with 12
lon and chorint headed columns surrounding it and it had belonged to The
Goddess of luck and commerce called Fortuna. People from different
social classes could have discussions in the Agoras and orient the
crowds and set them in motion. The Agora in Side was connected to the
stage building of the theatre by means of a passage and both places were
used for slave trading, in B.C 100.
The Monumental
Library And The State Agora : You can reach the square State Agora
after a short walk about 50 meters along a story road in the East
direction from the Commercial Agora. The Portika of the Agora is
surrounded by double columns on all sides and was used for offical
purposes and protocols and around it there were official buildings.
The Palace
Of The Bishop And Its Basilica : The Palace and the Basilica seen in the
complex of a building takes place near by the Eastern Gate. In the
middle of the courtyard between the Palaceand the Basilica there is the
martyrion and you can enter the complex of the building from the western
side. The rooms of the complex have many sections and they have arches
made of bricks. In the middle of the complex there is a square planned
place with three sections for sitting. The Schabel of the Bishop that
can still be seen in front of the platform obsis has the characteristics
of Byzantian construction. The Great Basilica of the Bishop in the
Eastern part of the complex was probably built in A.D. 600 and had a
trancept plan. The obsis of the Basilica in the Eastern direction has a
spherical plan inside and a triangular one from outside.
The
Fountain Of Vespasianus : The front side of the one-arched (15 m high and 7 m
wide) fountain was covered with Marble. It was situated between the
museum of today and the Western end of the Agora near the Theatre. This
fountain with one tap attracts with its marble frescos.
The
Fountain With Three Pools : Opposite the Fountain of Vespasianus there stands the
Fountain with three Pools on one side of the Agora Bath facing the
street with coloumns. The fountain was probably built in A.D. 300 m. On
the front side of the fountain there were Korenth headed collumns and
today you can only see the three pools covered with marble.
Theatre : Theatres were important places for the activities of groups of people in
Antique times. Struggle with the nature was also the most significant
thing in those days. People started showing their feelings towards the
events they faced and the productions that came out as s result of their
struggle with the nature by symbolizing them with festivals. At the very
beginning, human-begins who had disclosed their feelings by celebrating
such events by singing and dancing, lately. And the first dramas came
out of those celebrations. Carving rows of seats in slopes in Antique
Cities and making circular areas in the middle in B.C. 500 were the
first steps taken in the architecture of Theatres. Highly tolerated
actors could even make fun of The gods and the Emperors in their plays.
The players could also start a discussion with the andiences after the
dramas in which they criticise the things related with their country.
When the plays were approved a great applause could be heard and when
they were disapproved the andiences would protest by hitting the stone
of the marble seats with their sandals. In the two epigraphies which
were discovered in excavations it was written that Modesta, who was one
of the richest man of Side, had financed fights between Gladiators. The
two epigraphies are being displayed in the Museum of Side. During the
raids of Arabs in the 8 th Century the theatre was burned down and
destroyed and later on the building of the stage collapsed on the place
of the orchestra because of an eartquake. The excavations and the
explorations in the theatre are still going on.
The Temple Of Men
: In the north of the Great Harbour Bath there is the Temple of Men. The
temple was built in the name of the Anatolian Moon God, Men and it had a
semi-circular podium. It is supposed that the Temple was built in B.C.
500 and was restored twice; first in the times of Alexander the Great
and then in the Byzantian period.
The Temple
Of Bacus
: The ruins of the Temple of Bacus today was situated in the North end
of The Square just in front of the Entrance of the Theatre of Side. Only
the stairs and the marble podium of the temple can be seen today.The
temple was constructed in the name of The God of wine and entertainment,
Bacus. In front of the entrance there were four columns made of red
granite with Korenth heads. And you can walk up to the front area going
up 7 marble stairs with five half columns on each side. The plan was a
Pouseudoperipteros one. It was discovered that the temple was built near
a small Theatre before the construction of the Great Thestre of Side in
B.C. 300.
The Great Harbour
Bath : The Bath complex with four big Halls parallel to each other
and three rooms built next to them was constructed in the South of the
Side Theatre just behind the Harbour Walls. The Bath, which was found
out to be built in A.D. 300 and had several restorations in different
times, had a rectangular shape 60 m., long and 40 m. wide. In later
years two GYMS. were added to tje complex. You can enter the Bath trough
the changing-room in the North named Apoditerum.
The Temple Of Apollon
: The two temples which were built next to each other within a
Peripteros plan were situated in the Southern end of the peninsula Side.
The one in the East belonged to Apollon and the one in the west to
Athena. During the period of Paxromana, the Goddess of Anatolia, Kybele
and The God of Moon, Men were purified and sanctified with The Head Gods
of Side, Apollon and Athena and this was why the people of Side built
those two splendid temples. The temple which was built for the God
Apollon, who had been sanctified as The God of light, beauty and art had
a rectangular plan with the dimensions of 17x30 m. On top of it there
are columns with Korenth heads. 8,90 m. high and a row of 6x11. The
cloumns around the temple had bases with holes in the middle on stylobat
: and this shows us that there were pieces of iron underneath on which
the columns were situated.
The
Temple Of Athena
: This temple was built next to the Temple of Apollon in the form of a
peripheros plan with the dimensions 20x35 m. It is a little bigger than
the Temple of Apollon and has columns similar to it. The block on the
columns attracts attention with its decorative reliefs.
The Harbour Of
Side : That the harbour was at the south of the peninsula was very
important for Side which was a maritine business center. The harbour was
surrounded by a breakwater made of konglemerat stones.
The Harbour Bath
: During the period of Paxromana, with the growth of trade Bath was
built behind The Harbour in order to cover the need.
The Side Museum : With little restorations in the recent years The Side Museum wasfounded
on the complex of the Bath which was built in the period of Romans. You
enter the museum through the door in the East direction. Then you go
into the stony courtyard which is known as the second tepidorium of the
Bath.when you cross the courtyard you enter a big garden. Around the
courtyard and in the garden you can see tombs, columns, busts,
inscriptions, statues, pedestals and reciefs which were excavated from
the city Antique Side, The garden of the museum is actually the
courtyard is the Gym. The most important monument in the marble floored
courtyard is the serial of friese which has the mythological tales of
Poseidon, The God of Seas on the Northern Wall. In these stories the
relation of The Gods and The Goddesses with the nature is being
described. In the passages between the setions of the Bath there are
coloured faiences
