Side: the city of many columns!
The columns of the Temple of Apollo. A photo spot for absolutely every tourist who visits Side!
…and to all the regions, and to Sampsama and the Spartans, and to Delos and Myndos, and Sicyon, and Caria, and Samos, and Pamphylia, and Lycia, and Halicarnassus, and Rhodes, and Fasilis, and Cos, and Sida, and Aradus, and Gortyn, and Cnidus, and Cyprus, and Cyrene.
1 Maccabees 15-23
1 Maccabees 15-23
Ruins of ancient cultures. Some people go to Turkey to swim and sunbathe, others to drink and overeat on an all-inclusive basis, some admire the swan-shaped towels on their beds, and still others rent a car and drive around the country, exploring its various interesting sights. The most interesting thing is that even the famous Turkish delight in Turkey varies: in the coastal areas, in tourist shops, it's one way, but in small shops away from the tourist areas, in the same packaging (!), it's completely different—more delicate and delicious.
And, of course, there are those in Turkey who explore its ancient cities. Well, not the ancient cities, of course, because "Turkey" and "antiquity" are highly relative concepts, but the cities of the ancient Greeks and Romans, who felt at home in Asia Minor and left behind a multitude of extremely curious monuments after the collapse of their ancient civilization. Two ancient wonders of the world—nowhere else can you find so many. One of each, no more. And only in Asia Minor are there two! So there's plenty to see there…
Today we'll be heading to the city of Side, located 70 km east of Antalya and approximately 7 km west of Manavgat. Side itself is a popular tourist resort, attracting tourists from all over Europe, including Russia. Moreover, the city is also famous for being mentioned in the Bible, in the Old Testament, in the First Book of Maccabees, under the name of Side.
The historian Strabo called Side one of the oldest known Greek colonies in Anatolia, founded by people from Aeolian Cyme in the 7th century BC. The word "Side" in the local language meant "pomegranate," which was considered a symbol of abundance. Moreover, the inhabitants of the Side settlement continued to speak and write in the local Sidetic language even after their colonization by the Greeks. This is supported by archaeological excavations, which have uncovered Sidetic inscriptions dating back to the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC. Therefore, it was most likely the colonists from Cyme who began speaking and writing in the local language. However, the historian Arrian, recounting the exploits of Alexander the Great in Anatolia, explicitly wrote that the Greeks in Side forgot their native language and began using an unknown local dialect. That is, there were most likely not very many settlers, and they had good relations with the local residents, so it was not they who assimilated the locals and adopted their language and culture, but the locals who assimilated them.
In the sixth century BCE, after the collapse of the Lydian Kingdom, the city of Side, along with the region of Pamphylia, became part of the Achaemenid Empire and… began minting silver coins featuring Athena, Apollo, and the pomegranate—the city's symbol—indicating significant economic and possibly political independence. In 334 BCE, the city surrendered to Alexander the Great and became one of the main centers of his empire, minting his coins. He left a garrison in the city under the command of Nearchus.
In the 3rd century BC, the city came under the control of the Ptolemies, under whom bronze coins began to be minted in Side. From the Ptolemies, the city fell into the hands of the Seleucids, after which it came under the control of the Kingdom of Pergamon.
Once again, the city of Side gained virtually unlimited economic freedom and began to prosper. Along with its developed economy, the city also acquired autonomy, resulting in it becoming a recognized center of trade, science, and culture in its region by the 2nd century BCE. It was then that the city began minting silver coins again. And in the same 2nd century BCE, the future Seleucid king Antiochus VII Sidetes spent his youth here, where he was raised and educated.
But at the beginning of the first century BCE, Side's period of prosperity ended. The city, along with all of Pamphylia, was then captured by pirates coming from the mountainous regions of Cilicia. The city became a center of the slave trade. Moreover, the pirates themselves operated under the strong protection of the Pontic king Mithridates VI Eupator and enjoyed his support. In 78 BCE, the Romans defeated them and liberated Side and other cities of Pamphylia. In 25 BCE, these lands became a Roman province, and Side became a Roman provincial port city.
Under Roman rule in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, Side, having received the status of a municipality and the capital of the Roman province of Pamphylia, experienced its greatest period of development. The city was adorned with numerous statues and became a center of culture and learning. Minting of its own coins continued. But at the end of the 3rd century, when the city was again attacked by mountain tribes, the city's golden age began to wane. During the reign of Emperor Julian II (361-363), the mountain tribes surrounded Side and besieged it. Fortunately, they were repelled this time. The city was surrounded by a new defensive wall, which bears the name of Philip Attius, as it was built under his supervision.
In the 4th century, the city's inhabitants converted to Christianity, after which Side became the center of the Eastern Pamphylian Diocese. But the new faith did not save it from ruin. In the 7th century, regular raids by Arab pirates began, seriously complicating the lives of the Sidi. And in the 9th and 10th centuries, the city was gradually plundered and destroyed, as evidenced by archaeological excavations that have discovered ash and traces of fires in layers dating from that period. However, the location was convenient due to its harbor, and pirates once again favored it. The Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (d. 959) also wrote about Side as a pirate lair in his treatise "On Themes." The Arab geographer al-Idrisi also wrote about it, writing in 1150 that Side was once a populous city, but was later completely burned, and its inhabitants moved to Attalia.
By the 12th century, only ruins remained of the city. Then the Seljuks arrived, and in 1391 (and finally in 1442), the Ottoman Turks took control of the entire region. After this, the area of Side remained uninhabited until the late 19th century. Only in 1895 did immigrants from Crete build the small village of Selimiye here, which eventually developed into a resort town. Archaeological excavations began here in 1947.
The city boasts many interesting ancient monuments. These include the Temple of Apollo, of which several columns remain, and the city's fortified wall with its battlements and internal arches. A Roman theater, which could accommodate over 20 spectators, has been excavated—incidentally, the largest Roman theater in Turkey. The city's main street, which takes you across the peninsula to its westernmost tip, has also been cleared.
Beyond the city walls are numerous necropolises—various types of graves and tombs, from temple-like to very modest burials, without reliefs, resembling simple sarcophagi. Marble sarcophagi stand in niches within monumental mausoleums. So this city, too, is worth a visit if you have the chance.
the main street
The main street is striking in its length and abundance of columns!
Агора
Columns of ancient Greek temples
Paved street
Gate Arch in Side
Basilica in Side
What remains of the statues…
The foundations of residential buildings. Amphorae containing grain, wine, and olive oil were once stored here.
Cesspool
Pool in the Roman bath
Bath
Bathtub
Plumbing made of ceramic pipes
The slope of the floor and the drain on it clearly indicate that this was... a shower!
Simple but beautiful mosaic on the floor
Museum building and ruins of buildings
Another surviving temple
Information