Destination Guides Turkey

Side

Side is one of the best-known classical sites in Turkey, and was an ancient harbour whose name meant pomegranate. Side is a resort town on the southern coast of Turkey, near the villages of Manavgat and Selimiye, 75 km from Antalya in the province of Antalya. It is located on the eastern part of the Pamphylian coast, which lies about 20 km east of the mouth of the Eurymedon River. Settlers from Cyme (Cumæans) in Aeolis, an ancient region of northwestern Asia Minor, founded the city in the seventh century BC.Possessing a good harbor for small-craft boats, Sides natural geography made it the most important place in Pamphylia – the region in the south of Asia Minor between Lycia and Cilicia, from the Mediterranean to Mount Taurus. This location made Side one of the most important trade centers in its time. Today, as in yesteryear, the ancient city of Side is situated on a small north-south peninsula about 1 km long and 400 m across.