Side is a popular resort of 75 km from Antalya.
This is a good resort, all for tourists - and hotels, and bars, and clubs, and beaches. The beaches extend here 10 km to the west, and this is the most popular zone, but from the east from Side beaches less leaving. Side, like many Turkish cities, can boast a long history.
In this place, people settled in the 7th century to our era. And all, because the weather conditions for life are beautiful, the soil fertile, the sea under the side. By the way, even the name of the resort is translated from Turkish as a "grenade". Not without legends: Each Guide will tell you that in Side somehow came to Svadanka Cleopatra and Mark Anthony. Actually, about these two here there are many fairy tales here, and each island or sandy spit wants to certainly observe the place of their secret meetings. The historical monuments of Side and the surroundings are also rich.
Agora
Agora is a market square in ancient Greek policies. It held urban meetings and exhibited their goods artisans. Usually this area framed galleries with masterfully, temples or statues.
Agor Side can be found next to the Side Museum. Today, only columns and the foundation of the temple remained from the past beauty. Once in the prosperous Side there were as many as two agors, because at that time the city was a major shopping center, in particular, he was famous for his slave market. Agora is almost merged with the scene of the theater. Columns stand around the perimeter, not all, and already very destroyed. Some columns have retained the remains of the decorations at the top. In four corners of Agora, you can see the posts for statues (EXEDR). An interesting thing is for one of these Ekedr - there is a semicircular design under the roof residues - this is a toilet (LATRIUM), and perhaps the only good preserved in all of Anatolia. Toilet with marble walls and mosaic on the floor - with 24 seats.
Under the toilet is something like sewage, and nearby - an outdoor vodokanal with fresh water. Once in the agor, this one could go through two gates (now you can come from either side practically). This wonderful area was built, probably in the second century AD. Next to one of the sides, the road is running, which once led to the second Agora. At the edges of the street previously stood shops.
In the center of Square Agora, the ruins of the Temple Tikh are the goddess good luck. It seems like, this goddess is the rules of the destiny of the city and in general was extremely respected. In general, the place is just fascinating. Stand there, where everything lived and breathed 19 centuries ago - this is an indescribable sensation.
Arched gate.
Ancient Side welcomed its guests with a high city gate - they were built in 71 to our era, in honor of the emperor Vespasian, who has ruled Side for about 70 years. The gate in height is about 6 meters. Of course, today - these are only ruins, but still, you can imagine how majestically they looked many years ago. On the sides of the gate were towers and niches with arches, where they placed the statues of the emperor and important people. Over the gate - an ancient area and a nymphum fountain. These are looking for these in the north of Side, in the historic part of the city.
Side fortress walls
At the city of Side more than once attacked enemies, so, the city had to defend. That is why he was surrounded by the fortress walls. From the side of the Tower and the walls, they reached our days in a good condition, despite the earthquake - in height they are 10 meters. But the walls on the part of the sea turned into ruins over time. These walls built somewhere in the 2nd century to our era. Since after different attacks the walls were spoiled, they were constantly completed and repaired. So, archaeologists have discovered that they are made of stones of various periods. Walls with braces and 13 semicircular and square turrets stretched for six kilometers. In the width of the wall were rather thick, under three meters in some places.
Palace of Bishop and Basilica
These buildings are located at the crossroads of the Street Column (which stretches from the main city gate) and the streets from the oriental gate of Side. Basilica erected somewhere in the 6th century to our era, and this is one of the oldest buildings of the country. Basilica in the Byzantine style with three nefs and columns in two rows. The whole basil consists of several rooms. In one of them you can see the marble large baptismal pool, in other neighboring halls, two semicircular pools are smaller.
Unfortunately, the basilica in a terrible state, but it looks still impressive. Palace is south of the Basilica. It consists of two rooms of different shapes, between which - the Marton (tomb). Impressive corridors of facilities and arches of the roof of the palace. Near the palace you can see a small chapel. Once these buildings and the garden between them surrounded the high walls. By the way, the whole complex covers an area of about 9700 square meters. m.
Antique Side Museum
The city museum stores archaeological finds of different periods of history, which found in this territory. A completely amazing place. Here are reliefs, statues, and sarcophages. By the way, most statues without heads. There are but a separate head of Apollo from White Marble. An interesting collection of children's sarcophages, decorated with drawings: dogs, crying parents, butterflies, birds. And here there is an amazing statue of bronze, Artemis, with an arrow in his right hand and onions in the left. True, the back of beauty broke and lost.
In one of the halls of the museum, weapon bas-reliefs of the Hellenistic period, a satellite and sundial.
In the friend of the Roman period. Well, much more. The amphitheater is also part of the museum, as well as Agora, and Roman baths, and necropolis, and other facilities.
Temple of Apollo
Located in the south of Side, the shores of the sea. Once there were two temples - one in honor of Apollo, another, Artemis. The rectangular temple of the apollon with the base of 30 meters at 17 meters and the columns of 9 meters in the past century looked, apparently impressive, and today it is only a few columns (previously there were six rows of columns, at eleven in each row). The Temple of White Marmara erected here in the 2nd century BC. Naturally, about this temple there is another legend that he, they say, was built in honor of the love of the commander Anthony to Cleopatra.