Things to Do in Side

In ancient times, Side was an important trading port on the eastern Mediterranean and by the sixth century BC, hundreds of Greek merchants had settled in the coastal town. It was still flourishing when the Romans gained ascendancy in the Med, and many of the ruins now excavated in Side date from around 100 AD–199 AD, bearing both Greek and Roman architectural characteristics.

Today it is a small beach resort sandwiched between its hillside Roman theater and a recreated Temple to Athena, whose columns stand guard by the harbor. Side Museum is located in a Roman marketplace and baths complex that was built around the fifth century AD and converted into a museum in the 1960s. The ancient finds of weapons, sculpture – including torsos and animals dating from Greek to Byzantine times – sundials, tombs and mosaic fragments are all beautifully displayed in a series of halls that once housed the various steam rooms and pools of the Roman baths.

Along with the classical Greek remains uncovered at Seleukeia, there are further Roman ruins in the region including vast stone theaters at nearby Olukköprü and Selge, plus a 30-km (18.75-mile) water system complete with aqueducts and tunnels.