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ALL TURKEY TOURS |
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INFORMATION |
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SIDE;
Turning off the highway from Antalya to Alanya at kilometer
66 takes us to Side four kilometers away. Side is situated
on a peninsula that is a kilometer long and four hundred
meters wide.
Although the geographer Strabo tells us that Side was
founded by the inhabitants of Kyme, a city located near
present-day Izmir, in what would be the 7th century B.C.,
the word side in the
indigenous Anatolian language means "pomegranaten", from
which we may assume that the city's origins are much older
than that. Though Side became a Lydian . possession in the
6th century B.C., the Persians captured it in 546 and it
remained in their hands until taken by Alexander the Great
in 334. Following his death, it was ruled by the Ptolernies
and then by the Seleucids. Although the kingdom of Pergamon
founded .
Antalya in the 2nd century B.C. after a naval battle that
took place off Side in order to gain control of Pamphylia
(southwestern Anatolia), Side never came under Pergamene
rule. Side enjoyed its greatest period of prosperity in the
2nd century but by the end of that period, it fell under the
control of pirates and was not delivered from their
domination until the pirates were defeated in 72 B.C.
Servilius Isauricus, a Roman consul, who also added Side to
the Roman Empire.
As Roman authority in Asia Minor waned in the early part of
the present millennium, Side became the target of raids and
attacks by tribes coming from the mountainous region to the
north around the middle of the 4th century and for this
reason, a fortifying wall was built across the peninsula,
dividing the city in two, and the northeastern half of the
city was abandoned. Side suffered steady impoverishment and
decline. It became the center of a diocese in the 5th and
6th centuries. Following the Arab attacks in the 10th
century and the later influx of pirates to Side, most of the
people moved to Antalya and the city was abandoned. The
present village was founded on the site of its ruins in this
century.
Excavations at Side were first undertaken by Professor Arif
Mufit Mansel and they were later taken up by Professor Jale
Inan after Mansel's death. The work is still in progress.
After leaving the main road we enter Side through the main
gate of the 2nd century (B.C.) land walls surrounding the
city. This gate resembles a Hellenistic period gate in
Perge. It is protected by towers set on either side forming
a semicircular courtyard. Opposite the gate by the roadside
is a big monumental fountain with three large niches. This
originally threee-story structure is from the 2nd cuntury
A.D. and is magnificently decorated. Today only the first
story remains. The fountain's water was brought here by
means of aqueducts from the Manavgat River.
One can drive up as far as the theater. Let us park there
then and start our tour of the ruins.
On the right-hand side of the road are the 5th century Roman
baths that are now used as the local museum. On display here
is an excellent collection of Roman-period statues, busts,
and sarcophagi that were turned up in the course of
excavation. The statuary is in very good condition and
depicts such mythological figures as Hermes, Herakles, and
Nike.
The broad area before the museum and to the east of the
theater is Side's commercial agora. Built in the 2nd century
AD., it measures 90.80 by 94.00 meters and is surrounded by
a portico of columns that contained shops. In the the center
was a temple dedicated to Tyche. A well-preserved public
lavatory in the northwestern corner of the agora could seat
twenty-four patrons. The state agora of Side was located by
the sea. The wall that we see on our right as we approach it
is the 4th century wall that reduced the size of the city.
The state agora consisted of a courtyard surrounded by
colonnades seven meters in breadth and three large rooms on
the east. Measuring 69.20 by 88.50 meters, this structure
was surrounded by columns in the Ionian order. As we may see
from the eastern section, which remains standing, the hall
was richly decorated with columns and statues. Originally a
two-storied structure, the building appears to have been
reserved for the emperor's use on ceremonial occasions.
The main gate through which we entered leads to the city
through two gates. These 2nd-century streets are lined with
Corinthian columns. The street running south is overgrown
with weeds. On the left side of this street is a 5th century
Byzantine basilica . Opposite it is a small Byzantine church
from the 8th century. This street leads to a small road that
passes the state agora.
Retracing our steps to see the theater, we first come upon
the fountain of Vespasian (now-restored) alongside the
monumental gate . This structure originally stood somehere
else in the city and was later brought here and converted
into a fountain. The area also contains the remains of two
more fountains.
The monumental arch was blocked up in the 4th century with a
wall containing a smaller door. Passing through it we come
to Side's magnificent theater . This theater is from the 2nd
century AD. The two-tiered structure measures twenty meters
in width and is constructed on barrel-vaulted galleries. It
could seat 15,000. The stage of the theater consisted of
three tiers and was richly decorated with statues and
mythological reliefs. The auditorium is divided into twelve
sections by means of eleven sets of stairs. During late
Roman times, the orchestra was surrounded by a wall to
protect spectators when the theater was used for
gladiatorial shows and fights with wild animals. In the 5th
and 6th centuries AD., the theater was also used as an
open-air church.
Alongside the road passing by the theater is a temple to
Dionysus . This temple is set on a podium measuring 7.23 by
17.55 meters and is 65 centimeters high. It is from the
early Roman period (1st century B.C.)
The colonnade street leading past the theater in the
direction of the village reached as far as the seashore. It
is the continuation of the street we saw entering Side but
today it lies below the village Following the route of the
street we come to a Byzantine basilica on the right while on
the left fare the ruins of baths and the remains of a house
from the Byzantine period . At the point where street ends
there is a semicircular temple in the Corinthian order
between the: street and sea walls. Set on a podium that one
ascended by steps, this temple is believed by some to have
been dedicated to Men, the Anatolian moon god. The podium,
which still survives , measures 2.20 meters in height. To
the south of this temple is a Byzantine fountain. On the
harbor side of the plaza there were two temples, one
dedicated to Athena and the other to Apollo. Before the site
of the temples is a Byzantine basilica, a 5th century
structure that was built on the foundations of the earlier
temples. In the 8th or 9th century , a small church was
built in the nave of the ruined basilica.
The southernmost of the two temples was dedicated to Apollo.
It was in the Corinthian order, had 6 by 11 columns, and
measured 16.37 by 29.50 meters. The 6 by 13 columned temple
to Athena , measures 17.65 by 35.00 meters: From the temples
one reached the harbor, which is now filled in by
sand.Behind the main harbor are the remainsn of 2nd century
baths. Ancient Side also possessed an acropolis located
outside the city 'walls. The western part of the necropolis
is where the modern-day motels are most heavily
concentrated. The eastern necropolis contains a number of
monumental tombs and is located behind the beach. |
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