Sightseeing in Side

Side is the rare case where an ancient city and a beach resort occupy the same ground: the streets of the old centre run between colonnades, and the Roman theatre seating fifteen thousand stands a few paces from the cafés. At the tip of the headland the columns of the Temple of Apollo survive, and people come at sunset for the view of water framed by marble. Nearby sit the agora, the monumental gate and a museum housed in Roman baths. All of it can be walked in half a day, with separate admission for some sites.

The main day trip out of town goes to Demre, Myra and Kekova. The coastal road takes about three hours each way; on arrival you see Lycian rock tombs above the ancient theatre, the church of Saint Nicholas in Demre and the sunken town off Kekova island through a glass-bottomed boat. It makes for a long day and an early start, but it is the fullest excursion available from Side.

Closer targets exist too. The Manavgat waterfall lies about eight kilometres away, the Green Canyon with boat and lunch half an hour out, and the theatre at Aspendos, its stage building almost intact, some thirty-five kilometres off. The longest programme is the two-day Cappadocia trip with an overnight stay. Practical notes: the ancient quarter offers little shade and plenty of uneven stone, so closed shoes and water matter; in summer the ruins are best seen before eleven in the morning or after five in the afternoon.