The Evolving History of Side

The storms and cooled nights of Cirali already seem a long way behind us: since arriving in Side we’ve stepped back into summer with unbroken sunshine and temperatures which have tipped 30 a couple of times but are consistently in the upper 20s. The crystal clear waters of the Mediterranean at East Beach are a constant draw.

Several weeks ago, back in Selcuk, we commented to one of our new found friends, how much we love the fact that the ancient monuments are so accessible, providing the freedom to wander amongst the history rather than view it from the other side of a fence. His reply was that, with so many hundreds of treasured sites, Turkey as a nation is one giant nationwide museum rather than a country seeking to protect its few jewels, and so does not need to be quite so precious.

Side is living proof of his comments. It’s rare to find a town where the historical remains are so extensive and so effortlessly absorbed into modern ways. Remains of the city walls, sections of buildings, inscribed pillars, all lay around every corner, sometimes merely standing in places such as traffic islands or between shops. Boulders beneath trees are, on closer inspection, the building blocks of the ancient city, bearing inscriptions in unfamiliar text.

The greatest concentration of remains are strewn across the sand dunes between the old town and East Beach, including the largely intact remains of an impressive Greco-Roman theatre, which is the only part of the entire site which is pay-to-enter. Standing proudly above the harbour are the textbook, photo-perfect remains of the Temple of Apollo, so delightfully preserved.

Perhaps just as startling as the ancient remains within the modern environment, are the walkways of the streets of the old town. At regular intervals the paving gives way to glass panels, and as you step warily across these, the walkways of ancient times are visible below your feet, sometimes still with beautifully intricate and remarkably well preserved mosaic floors. 

• 

• 

Walking around these sites is so interesting that you can almost ignore the constant banter of shopkeepers and restauranteurs imploring you to “just come look, if you no buy, it’s not problem”. Almost.

Apparently the provision of finance by central Government for further excavation here is sporadic, which perhaps explains why so many of the ancient ruins seem to simply lay untouched. Whatever the reasons, it makes the older part of Side a visually stimulating location.

Side is said to have been founded by the Greeks in the 7th century BC, but evidence suggests that an existing indigenous population already occupied the site, evidence which is borne out by text on coins and carvings which even historians have not been able to decipher. The current thinking is that the incoming Greeks adopted the local dialect instead of imposing the Greek language on the locals.

The position of the town, on a narrow promontory, made for both easy protection by the city walls and creation of a safe harbour, so developing Side into one of the most important trade centres in Pamphylia. Alexander The Great took the town in 333 BC prior to a succession of different peoples taking Side by force, before the Romans moved in and restored some kind of order.

However its remote location made Side a target for less respected trades as well as the legitimate ones, and both piracy and slave trading were rife here for centuries. Eventually though, an irresistible combination of attacks by highlanders, invasions by Christian zealots and Arab fleets, plus the inevitable earthquakes, brought about the city’s decline.

It wasn’t until the end of the 19th century that Side was re-inhabited, this time by Turkish Muslims coming in from Crete. These were the guys who built the new town (now, of course, the “old town”), over the top of the ancient remains, which is how we now come to view the ancient streets below those glazed panels. Somewhat ironically though, the Cretan buildings are what today decorate the very attractive cobbled streets, and are a quaint and pleasing sight in their own right.

Nowadays Side is made up of three separate and very distinct parts: the long run of large scale package hotels and seafront restaurants along the town beach; the quaint old town occupying the promontory site of ancient Side; and the residential town just inland of these, going about its everyday business away from the tourist area. 

Not surprisingly there are three different price level economies to match. 170 lira in the residential town buys you the same meal and drinks for which you will ship 480 lira just a few hundred yards away in the old town. At about 10 lira to the £, you can do the maths! 

Side has seen riches and it has seen desertion and decline. In the last forty years or so it has seen a recovery of wealth brought about by tourism. Whatever your feelings about that, it is simply the most recent chapter in an evolving story. As, of course, is all of history.

• 

• 

• 

• 

•