Excursions from SIDE
The baddest people in the world live in Side
The baddest people in the world live in Side
This is how Strabon* once described the inhabitants of Side in his work 'Geographica'. The reason for this claim was the origin of the wealth of this city and that was the slave trade. In the 1 year v. BC Side was one of the most important ports for the slave trade in the Mediterranean.
But thank God that was a long time ago. Side has evolved over the centuries into a fascinating Mediterranean city intertwined with its rich history.
Oh, by the way, Side means “pomegranate” in Luwian. Luwian is one of the oldest languages of Anatolia. You can read more about Side's history below.
* About 63 BC at Amaseia in Pontos; † after 23 AD) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer.
This is how Strabon* once described the inhabitants of Side in his work 'Geographica'. The reason for this claim was the origin of the wealth of this city and that was the slave trade. In the 1 year v. BC Side was one of the most important ports for the slave trade in the Mediterranean.
But thank God that was a long time ago. Side has evolved over the centuries into a fascinating Mediterranean city intertwined with its rich history.
Oh, by the way, Side means “pomegranate” in Luwian. Luwian is one of the oldest languages of Anatolia. You can read more about
Side's history below.
Sights around Side:
It is one of the few rivers whose volume of water is fed from one of the longest underground streams in the world, but also from a single source (smoky spring; Oymapınar remained in the reservoir). It has two dams. Dams Oymapınar and Manavgat. Its turquoise waters are clean and clear and rich in minerals. If you wish, you can swim in these green and cool waters or make small discoveries in a canoe. The river is home to many species of fish and birds. (With fish such as trout, carp, mullet, sea bass, blackfishhttps://excursions24.com.; birds such as waterfowl, ducks, geese, kingfishers, various species of herons, seagulls and freshwater turtles). There is a rich variety of plants along the river. Trees such as willow, sycamore, poplar, mulberry, elmhttps://excursions24.com., small macchia bushes and herbaceous plants such as blackberries, currants, oleanders can be seen, but also freshwater turtles sunbathing on dry tree trunks. Along the rich riverbed are citrus groves and greenhouses that fill the fertile soil. The Manavgat River also hosts daily boat trips and domestic and foreign tourists thanks to the rapidly developing tourism in recent years. Although it is not a big river in terms of length, it is one of the rare rivers with a high flow rate on which transportation can take place in Turkey. In addition, the water of the city of Side was fed from the Manavgat River in ancient times. For this reason 30 km from today's Sevinç Village to Side. A long aqueduct was built. This waterway is 25 m. goes over the arches in height. Part of it was carved into the rock. Some parts are still standing today. (Source: Emin Öz - www.side-manavgat.com)
MANAVGAT WATERFALL:
3 km away from Manavgat town. The waterfall to the west bears the same name as the district. Although it gushes from an astounding height, its raging flow creates a sight to behold over a wide expanse. Right next to the waterfall you can have a picnic in nature and eat fresh fish in the surrounding restaurants. It is an ideal place to integrate with nature in a corner away from the city noise. Transport can be done by minibuses from Manavgat.
MANAVGAT RIVER ESTUARY:
The place where the Manavgat river meets the sea… As you know, Istanbul is not like the Dardanelles strait. It tastes like the Red Sea. A line in the middle… Arms open to both sides, a river flows on one side and the sea on the other. Even the glitters are different. The sun paints all around with its blush. Being away from tourism is another beauty. She poses well. It has a hidden square in each corner.
You can also find fishermen at the river mouth which is the beauty of Manavgat's Sorgun district. The beauty of the sunset can only be compared to another day.
As it is a wetland, you can encounter the harmonious dance of the dragonflies. On the reed edges, boats awaiting their owner's next arrival are a reminder of the beauty of the past.
How to get there: If you don't have your own vehicle, you can easily get there by minibus "Sorgun-Bogaz" from Ma
reach navgat from . With your own vehicle on the ring road, turn from the bus station crossing to the bus station side. Straight ahead, turn left at the sign "Titreyengol". This road will take you straight to the strait where the Manavgat River meets the sea.
TITREYENG OIL:
Titreyengol has an area of 3000 m2. Titreyengol, which has 22 facilities and a bed capacity of 18,000, is home to many birds, from the cormorant to the Peking duck. Titreyengol, on the other hand, has an interesting history. According to legend, an old fisherman lives by the lake and feeds the birds.
When the birds saw the old fisherman at the lake, they flapped their wings and came towards him. One day hunters hunting in this lake shoot ducks on the water. The old fisherman confronts the hunters and tries to stop them from hunting. The hunters push the old man and try to get the hit ducks out of the water. Meanwhile, the other ducks take off together, creating a whirlwind with their wings and kidnapping the predators. After this incident, the lake begins to tremble again and again. Locals comment on these tremors as the birds call out for the old fisherman.
OYMAPINAR DAM:
The Oymapınar Dam, the third largest dam in Turkey, was built on the Manavgat River and opened in 1984.
It is of concrete arch type. It consists of 4 turbines, each generating 135 megawatts of energy per hour. Its total output is 540 megawatts per hour. Its height from the foundation is 185 m. With a lake area of 470 ha, the dam has a storage volume of 300 million m³. 1.2 billion kWh of energy are produced annually in the dam.
BRIDGE GORGE:
Koprulu Canyon National Park is 60 km from Manavgat and 40 km from Antalya. It can be reached via the 40 km long road leading to Taşağıl and Beşkonak, departing from the northeast, and lies at the foot of the Taurus Mountains. The area of the national park is 37,000 hectares. Located in the east of the park, Mount Dipoyraz is 2980 m high. high and its slopes are covered with forests. Köprü Stream, Village of Bolayan and BeÅŸkonak
between 120km. long and 100 m. It lies between valleys and gorges covered with deep cedar forests. The river valley in the park is 14 km long. Length, in places 400 m. It has the shape of a canyon with steep walls in height.
After the end of the gorge, the tea flows out of a wide bed surrounded by greenery. The Köprüçay River is one of the most beautiful natural recreation areas in Turkey. In addition, many archaeological resources such as the historical town of Selge in the mountainous land west of the river, the riverside castles and aqueducts, Roman-era bridges and historical roads make KÖPRÜLÜ CANYON NATIONAL PARK one of the most valuable places to see.
SELEUKELA:
12 km from Manavgat towards the Taurus Mountains in a northwesterly direction. Afterwards, in the village of Şıhlar, the ruins of the ancient city of Seleukeia are reached. 4 km from the village of Sihlar. Located to the northeast and an hour's walk away, this ancient city was founded by the Seleucids.
The city that 300 BC. Founded on a hilltop as a protective Acropolis city in the 13th century BC, with its steep slopes and deep valleys, it exposes the whole plain and the sea. The fact that there is farmland in the urban area, the surrounding area is well supported by water and the history of a trade route from which it runs confirms this thesis. The two-storey agora, the basilica, the cistern and the sewers can be counted as indicators of the city's development. The mosaics uncovered during the excavations of the city are now exhibited in the Antalya Museum.
SELGE:
It is located on the southern slope of the Taurus Mountains, near Köprüçayı, 950 m from the sea. Founded at high altitude, Selge is an ancient Pisidian hill town. Selge can be reached via a steep and winding 4 km road after the Köprülü Gorge. The road to Selge passes through the Köprülü Gorge, which is very rich in natural beauty. On road; In Ürgüp and Göreme, there are sculpted rocks that look like fairy chimneys that cover the entire mountainside.
Selge is said to have been founded by Kalches. The city, associated with Pisidia, was later included within the borders of Panfilya and remained under the rule of Lydia, Persia, Alexander and Rome. Its theater with 5 doors and 45 steps to the north is the most important and best preserved monument. The stadium and gymnasium are to the south of the theater carved into the rock, and to the west the Ionic temple looms, its ceiling decorated with eagle motifs. To the south of the stadium are a fountain and an agora, to the north of the walls stretching southwest of the city are the temples of Artemis and Zeus. west
Near these temples are water cisterns, to the north sarcophagi and richly decorated funerary monuments and a necropolis.
ALARAHAN:
If you drive west to Manavgat, after 9 km you will reach Alarahan. 13th Century It was built by the Seljuks to establish a trade link between Konya and Alanya, the capital of the south coast. In this caravanserai, travelers and merchants find safe and comfortable accommodation and rest. Merchants can safely store their produce, feed their animals, use the kitchen, take a bath with hot water, and attend to their religious needs in the small mosque. The beautiful and preserved valley of Alarahan was also built next to an old bridge. There is a small mosque at the beautifully designed entrance. The main courtyard is surrounded by many multifunctional spaces.
North of Alarahan, Alara Castle dominates the valley. This building, which you can enter through the kitchen garden, dates from the 13th century. It's also not easy to build. The ascent is worthwhile to enjoy the wonderful valley view. This section takes you to the top of the castle inside.
ASPENDOS:
The Aspendos Theater, built in the 2nd century at a distance of 44 km from Manavgat, has a capacity of 17,000 people and is today the best preserved and best preserved amphitheater. The mystery of perfect acoustics, created by a young man named Xenon, who lives in the region, is still not solved. In the 13th century, the Seljuks used the building as a caravanserai and reinforced the north side of the building with an arch in typical Seljuk architectural style.
After passing Serik on the Antalya-Alanya highway, turn north and join the 4 km long Aspendos road. History It dates back to the 5th century. JOB. Built in the 2nd century, the Aspendos Theater was used as a caravanserai during the Seljuk period and repaired from time to time. Along with its stage, it is one of the rare theaters that is best preserved to this day. Today it is used in various concerts, celebrations, festivals and oil wrestling. Agora, Basilica, Nymphaeum and 15 km. long arched waterways are structures worth seeing.
SIDE:
75km from Antalya. 7 km from Manavgat. from Side, about 400 m. width and 1 km. It is shaped like a peninsula. The name "Side" means "pomegranate" in the Anatolian language. This feature and the information gleaned from some inscriptions show that the history of Side dates back to the Hittites. But it is one of the oldest settlements in Anatolia.
It is also said that Side, one of them, was built before the 7th century BC. was founded. During Anatolian history, Side went through the same stages as the other cities of Pamphylia. Greeks v. VII century. They came to Side during the migration of peoples. According to the available inscriptions BC. Until the third century, they spoke a city-specific language. This not yet fully deciphered language is an Indo-European language.
When Side was proclaimed the Pamphylia metropolis (bishop's center) in the 5th century, it experienced its heyday in the 5th and 6th centuries. This development VII. IX. It ended with the Arab raids between the centuries. During the excavations, traces of a great fire and many earthquakes were found. Arab invasion, natural disasters caused the city to be abandoned. In the 12th century, the Arab geographer Ä°drisi shows this place as a dead city and defines it as "burnt Antalya". According to Ä°drisi, the people of the city migrated from Side around 1150, and Side was completely evacuated in the 12th century. In the 13th century the Seljuks came under the rule of the HamitoÄŸulları and in the 14th century Tekelioğulları and there was no settlement in those times. In the 15th century, it definitely joined the Turkic lands. However, since neither the Ottomans nor the Seljuks lived in Side, there are no artifacts from the Seljuk and Ottoman periods on the peninsula. In 1895 a village was established at the tip of the peninsula and immigrants from Crete settled here. The small village that forms the core of today's village has covered the entire peninsula over time. The coexistence of the village houses with their ancient structures and unique architecture played a big role in opening Sides to tourism, which later became " Selimiye". Side is a city with deep traces of history.
The Side Museum was established on the bath complex built in Roman times, with minor restorations in recent years. The museum is entered through a door facing east. After that
one enters a large garden via a courtyard, the floor of which is covered with stones and which can be understood as the second tepidarium of the bath. Around this courtyard and in the garden are sarcophagi, columns, busts, torsos, inscriptions, statues, statue bases, column capitals, friezes, reliefs and steles found during excavations in Side. The museum garden actually consists of the courtyards of the gymnasium and the palaestra of the Roman baths. The most important work in these courtyards, the floor of which is covered with pieces of marble, is the frieze series depicting the mythological stories of Poseido, god of the sea, on the north wall of the courtyard. Here the relationship of gods and goddesses to nature is presented.
THE SIDE MUSEUM:
It is located in Side Town in Manavgat District. 8 km from Manavgat. a way. The Bath of the Ancient Agora from the 5th-6th centuries Century AD opposite the Agora from Roman times was restored in 1960/61 and converted into a museum.
Most of the works exhibited in the museum were made by Prof. DR. These are the finds unearthed by Arif Müfid Mansel during the excavations in the ancient city of Side between 1947 and 1967. From Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine times; Inscriptions, weapon reliefs, statues copied from Greek originals from Roman times, torsos, sarcophagi, portraits, ostotes, amphorae, altars, funerary steles, column capitals and column bases are on display.
Page BC In the first half of the VI century, the Lydians, BC. In the years 547-546 it came under the rule of the Persians. The city developed under Persian rule. BC It was given to Alexander in 334. After the death of Alexander Antigonus (323-304). Ptolemies (301-215). After 215 BC it came under the control of the Syrian kingdom. BC II century. The city, which experienced its heyday thanks to the powerful war and merchant fleets of the Ptolemies, was rebuilt during this period and developed into a scientific and cultural center. BC Side, ceded to the kingdom of Pergamum by the Peace of Apamea in 188, maintained its independence along with the region of Eastern Pamphylia and prospered and prospered with its large merchant fleet. BC The city that was under Roman rule after 78 AD. II. and III. In the 19th century it became the commercial center of the region. It was a rich and bright time, made possible especially by the slave trade. II. It was a center of science and culture for a century. VII. of the Syrian kings. Antiochus was educated here before ascending the throne. When he became king (138 BC) he took the name "Sidetes". Until that time, Side people believed and worshiped many gods like Athena and Apollo, Aphrodite, Ares, Asklepios, Hegeia, Kharits, Demeter, Dionysus, Hermes. In the 4th century they began to become Christians.
Incidentally, we are very often asked about shopping facilities and other diverse options in the respective towns and cities. Since this topic is very extensive, we have set up the 'Insider Club' platform where you can find all sorts of information about shopping, events, activities, food & drink and much more.
