Side

Overview

At the tip of a narrow peninsula, white marble columns stand against the sea. In the evening, the sun drops behind them, and the people on the rocks stop to watch. Behind you, a resort town of shops and cafés fills the streets of an ancient port. This is Side, where Roman ruins and holiday life share the same small piece of land. Our Side and Manavgat tour stops here, and so does our Perge, Aspendos and Side tour.

Come for the beaches, and you find a theater, a temple and a museum on your way to dinner. So walk the old town slowly. Its best ruins sit just a few minutes apart, so you can see them all in one walk. Choosing one? Read Side or Alanya.

Side, a Temple Town on the Sea

Side lies on the coast of Antalya province, about 7 kilometers (4 miles) southwest of Manavgat and about 75 kilometers (47 miles) east of Antalya. For the rest of the coast, see our guide to the Turkish Riviera. The ancient city covers a small peninsula, 350 to 400 meters (1,150 to 1,300 feet) wide. City walls once enclosed it.

Today, the modern town is part of the municipality of Manavgat. Its main street, Liman Caddesi, runs past the museum and the theater, so the whole town is easy to explore on foot.

From Pamphylian Harbor to Holiday Town

The city of the pomegranate

Greek settlers from Cyme in Aeolis founded Side, probably in the 7th century BC. Its name is older, though. In the local Anatolian language, it meant “pomegranate.”

Pirates and Romans

In 334 BC, Alexander the Great took the city without a fight. Later, Side could not hold off the pirates of the coast and had to open its harbor and markets to them. In 78 BC, the Roman commander Publius Servilius cleared out the pirates, and Side joined the Roman world.

Roman wealth and a long sleep

Under Rome, the main port of Pamphylia reached its peak in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. Most of the ruins you see today date from this time. Tribonian, a 6th-century jurist at the court of Justinian, came from Side. However, the city declined from the 4th century, and Arab raids hit it again in the 9th and 10th centuries. By the 12th century, the town was known as “Burnt Antalya,” and its people had moved to “New Antalya.”

In the early 20th century, migrants from Crete built a village among the ruins and named it Selimiye. Later, tourism turned that village into the resort you see today.

Ruins Among the Streets of Side

The Temple of Apollo at Side

At the end of the peninsula, a row of marble columns with a carved beam stands on the edge of the water. They belong to the Temple of Apollo, which stood beside a temple of Athena at the harbor entrance. Come at sunset, when the marble turns gold.

The theater

The great theater is Hellenistic in plan and Roman in technique. Part of its seating rests on arches and vaults, so look at its outer walls as well. In the 5th century, chapels were built inside it, and the theater became a holy place.

The agora

Beside the theater lies the agora, the city’s old market square.

The Side Museum

Across the street, the Side Museum fills a restored Roman bath. It was the first museum in Türkiye to open in a village. Inside, you see statues, busts, sarcophagi and reliefs from the excavations.

The gate and the colonnaded street

The main street of the ancient city starts at the Great Gate in the northeast. From there, the line of the old colonnaded street leads past the theater toward the sea.

Side in the Evening Light

Side is a resort town, so the old town is full of shops, bars and restaurants from spring to autumn. In the evening, the sun drops behind the Temple of Apollo, and its columns turn gold above the sea.

Eating in Side

Restaurants around the harbor serve fish and meze (small dishes shared at the start of a meal), often with a view of the sunset. For a simpler local meal, try piyaz and köfte, or gözleme. Look for pomegranates in autumn, since the fruit gave the city its name.

How to Visit Side

Getting to Side

• From Antalya: about 75 km (47 miles) east on the coast road, past the turn for Aspendos.
• By bus: intercity buses run from Antalya to Manavgat, which is a short ride from the town.
• Combined trip: see Perge and Aspendos on the way, then end the day at the Temple of Apollo.

Local tips for Side

• Walk the old town early, in the cool of the morning.
• Come back for sunset at the temple, the classic end of the day.
• Spend a day inland rafting the turquoise river of Köprülü Canyon.
• The museum and the theater open every day. We arrange your entry to the theater and the museum of Side and time them to their hours.
• Cool off at the falls: the Manavgat Waterfall lies just west of Manavgat town, close to Side.
• Stay in Antalya instead if you prefer a city base, with day trips from Kaleiçi.