It is wonderful to start the new year with a sunny day, on the seashore, in the embrace of peace and bliss! May the year be filled with magical experiences, fabulous journeys, shared moments with the people we love and beautiful memories! Good memories are a priceless treasure that we must constantly enrich. They influence our hopes and create meaning in moments of happiness, love, delight. The colorful palette of our life.
With an impressive walk to the beautiful ancient city in Southern Turkey – Side, we begin the collection of exciting memories for this year. I wish you more happy memories!
Side is a picturesque seaside town located in southern Turkey, near the city of Antalya. Here you can clearly feel the atmosphere of Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire.
Side is one of the most important cities in the region of Pamphylia (Greek: Παμφυλία, an ancient region in a fertile lowland on the southern coast of Asia Minor). It was founded on the west side of the nearby Melas River (today Manavgat) and quickly gained importance due to its favorable location as a port city. Moreover, some inscriptions exhibited in the Side Museum prove the existence of a local language "Sidetan". This was the language of the Luwians, who inhabited southwestern Anatolia during the Bronze Age. The word "Side" itself meant "pomegranate". The city also minted its own coins with the image of the goddess Nike wearing a laurel wreath on her head. Side came under Persian rule with the rest of Anatolia in the 6th century BC. Later, the city was captured by Alexander the Great. Ruled by the followers of Alexander the Great, the city fell under the rule of the Ptolemies and later the Seleucids. With the decline of Seleucid rule in the Mediterranean, Side regained its freedom, but opened its port to piracy, which in turn made it wealthy. The city fell under Roman rule in 67 BC by the great general Pompey, who came here to deal with piracy. During Roman rule, Side was at its peak, when it also became the capital of the region. It was a major center of trade and entertainment. During the period of Roman rule as a port, the city had a cosmopolitan population. In addition to the pagans with their various religions, Jews and early Christians lived here. Saint Paul probably visited the city during his travels. From the 7th century AD, due to Arab raids affecting Mediterranean trade, the city began to lose importance and became smaller. When the region was conquered by the Seljuk Turks in the 13th century, the city was abandoned. At the end of the Byzantine Empire, which also left its cultural mark, and after several strong earthquakes in these lands, the city was finally destroyed. It was rebuilt only at the end of the 19th century by Turkish refugees from the island of Crete. Due to the rebellions against the Ottoman rule of Crete and the annexation of the island by Greece, the Turkish population fled the island. Some of the refugees were settled in Side by the government, and the newly established settlement was called Selimiye after the son of the Sultan. Later, when the settlement became a municipality, it regained its name Side.
At the very beginning of the ancient city stretches the spectacular Nymphaeum fountain (tr. Anistal Çeşme, Nymphaeum), dating from the 2nd century AD. The fountain itself is made up of a three-story high facade decorated with columns, niches and sculptures. Water flowed into the basin below from spouts in three niches, which depicted mythological scenes of the city's most important festival, called "Epibaterios" (the beginning of the merchant sailing season). The festival procession meets in front of the fountain, then enters the city, continuing along the colonnaded street. The procession then enters the theater and finally arrives at the temples of Athena and Apollo, located by the harbor.
The street leads to the Agora – the ancient square, the center of public life in antiquity, where the ruins of the round towers of the Temple of Tyche and Fortuna (from the 2nd century BC) are located, as well as a peripterium of 12 columns. Here is also the commercial part, which at one time served for the slave trade.
The State Agora It was built in the 2nd century BC and measured about 88 x 69 meters. Official ceremonies were held here.
Vespasian's Gate
The triumphal arch is located in the northern part of the city, which leads to the historical part of Side. The gate was erected in the 1st century AD in honor of the Roman Emperor Vespasian.
Right next to it are the remains of a fountain, in the niches of which stood the sculptures of the Roman ruler and other statesmen.
Right next to the gates of Vespasian is located Side Museum, located on the site of a former Roman bath. The ancient bath opposite the Roman agora (market) was restored and converted into a museum in 1959-1961. The museum collection includes works from the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods. The exhibited artifacts were found during the excavations of the ancient city of Side and include: sculptures, torso portraits, relief sarcophagi and ash urns, inscriptions in Greek and local languages, altars, amphorae, frieze columns, column capitals, pediments, architectural elements, coins belonging to the cities of Pamphylia and Pisidian, and others.
Ancient Amphitheater
Perhaps the main attraction of ancient Side is the impressive ancient amphitheater. The ancient theater is one of the most unique buildings in this region with its rare features. Built in the 2nd century on the site of an ancient Greek amphitheater, it was the largest in the Pamphylia region (between 15,000 and 20,000 seats). The building has the shape of a semicircle and inherits the tradition of the Hellenes in terms of plan, but has Roman architecture in terms of construction techniques.
The stage building of the theater (Scaenae Frons) consists of three floors. The part of the rows of seats (cavea) are made in the form of a wide semicircle with a diameter of up to 120 meters. The horizontal passage divides them into two parts, 29 rows dug in and the upper 22, placed on stone arches. The two-story building, where the actors' dressing rooms were once located, is decorated with frescoes. The ancient Side theater, considered baroque during the Antonine period, bears traces of its architecture, laid with the Pompeii theater in Rome. On the podium of the first floor, a frieze stretches with scenes from the life of Dionysus, the god of wine and the ruler of the theater, told chronologically from west to east, ending with the Gigantomachy at the eastern end. The story goes that in the Roman period the theater was a place for spectacles, holding gladiatorial fights, and later, from the 5th to the 6th century, the theater was used for outdoor church services. Between the stage and the audience was located an orchestra, which at one point was separated from the audience by a wall that protected the orchestra from accidents during the escalating entertainment. The wall allowed this space to be filled with water to show scenes of sea battles. This became a very popular theatrical trend at that time due to the success of the theater in Side. The walls of the theater have beautiful and intriguing carvings.
Even today, numerous opera concerts are held in the amphitheater, as it has excellent acoustics.
Right next to the ancient theater, remains of templeа of Dionysus.
Храмът на Аполон
Храмът на Аполон се смята за визитната картичка на древен Сиде. Построен през II в. в чест на бог Аполон храмът представлявал правоъгълна сграда, заобиколена с 34 колони с височина 9 метра, изработени от бял мрамор. Легендата твърди, че тук Антоний е срещнал Клеопатра и ѝ е подарил храма като знак на любов и преданост.
Temple of Artemis in Side
The second patron saint of Side is Artemis, personifying the Moon. A temple was also erected in her honor. The height of the columns is 9 meters, but the area is significantly larger than in the temple of Apollo. Only five columns, made of marble in the Corinthian style, have survived to this day.
The coastal street is dotted with cozy restaurants where we can try impressive Turkish specialties and enjoy a wonderful view of the sea. Along the steep cobblestone streets are small shops selling souvenirs and delicacies.
Every moment of this wonderful day will be warm in our memories!
And here are some shots from the hotel TUI Magic life Jacaranda and New Year's Eve in it.
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