The city-limits became the missionary centre during aboriginal periods of Christianity and new ramparts were added during the Pax Romana era. It was apparent to the invasions and plunders of thePerge Arabic raiders during the 7th century. Upon the Aksu river getting abounding with alluvia and acceptable clashing for amphibian transportation, appropriately bare of abyssal trade, the humans emigrated to added cities and alone Perge. The aboriginal of the city-limits charcoal that one encounters is the theatre anticipation to accept been congenital during the 2nd aeon A.D. 43 caveas of the theatre with a basement accommodation of 15,000 assemblage are disconnected into two through a diazoma in the middle. By architecture a arcade at the end of the apical cavea it was advised to optimize the acoustics. The actuality of careful walls amid the tiers of seats and the orchestra shows that the theatre was acclimated as an amphitheatre during the backward Roman era. The date architecture has two storeys, with its face bizarre with marble reliefs. Legends from the fabulous activity of Bacuss, God of ball and wine, are depicted in relief.

The a lot of arresting ones are the reliefs and embossings of Kestros, God of river, with Fortuna, Goddess of fate, continuing and the friezes depicting a boy bathed by three Pergean women in the river. The U-shaped Stadion amid adverse the theatre has a accommodation of 25 thousand humans and is a Roman era plan of art. The building, with ambit of 34 x 234 metres, was congenital aloft 50 annular arches and consists of 17 caveas. The façades of the arches adverse outwards were acclimated as sales food in age-old times and according to the inscriptions discovered, it is accepted that the best affairs appurtenances were the board statues of Artemis. To the North of the Stadion, one comes to a City Aboideau dating to the backward Roman era abutting two watch building 10 metres top and covered with slabs of marble. The walls abaft the aboideau access are aswell marble-faced, with 4 round-arched congenital niches anticipation to accept independent statues of deities. Through this aboideau one accomplish into Septimus Severus Square, 70 metres long. To the appropriate of the square, the charcoal of the agreement box are visible. On the larboard duke ancillary are the charcoal of a awe-inspiring fountain. The apparent of the fountain, which is 15 metres high, is formed with the reliefs of Artemis, Aphrodite and Nymph muses and is faced with slabs of marble. A little added ahead, one comes to Palaestra which is a anteroom acceptance to the Roman Bathhouse complex, paved with coloured mosaics on the floor, area gymnastics and angry sports were performed.

Opposite to this are a little bathrobe allowance with niches on its centralized walls and next to it, a Frigidarium/cold allowance with a algid baptize basin 1 accent deep. Further forth one passes into the Tepidarium/warming room, which was aswell acclimated as a sitting and comatose area, and Caldarium/hot allowance area the attic is marble-faced. This area was acrimonious from beneath via a Hypocaust/hot air system, a Roman invention. In the bend of the allowance the charcoal of the brick columns through which hot air anesthetized are visible. From this area one passes through a attenuated aperture to Sudatorium/steam and diaphoresis allowance area there are 5 aboveboard marble bathtubs, with marble-facing on all surfaces Going from Septimus Severus Aboveboard appear the acropolis, one can admission the Hellenistic Gate, the aboriginal aboideau of the city, adequate by two ample annular towers, with a little agreement cloister in the appearance of a ambit at the rear. It is anticipation that there were little board accommodation confined as dormitories for the watch keepers on the towers. It is accepted that the statues of assorted deities, primarily getting the Goddess Artemis and God Apollonius, and Roman emperors acclimated to absorb the niches in the centralized surfaces of the walls adverse the agreement aboveboard abaft the towers.

In foreground of the marble celebrating accomplished with three vaults area the aboveboard ends, the bronze of the Nun Plangia Magna, the wealthiest woman of the city-limits was erected. From there one passes to the Colonnaded Street. Abaft the artery is Stoa / Banal Way, 4 metres wide, with shops added behind. The a lot of arresting columns on the artery are the four marble columns with Corinthian capitals, 7 metres high, bizarre with reliefs symbolising Apollonius, Artemis, Calchas the hero and Fortuna, Goddess of luck. At the end of the Colonnaded street, Acropolis Nymphaeum/Monumental Fountain, 21 metres long, is visible. In the Acropolis, baptize cisterns of assorted sizes were congenital during the Byzantine era and it is anticipation that the acclaimed Artemis Pergeia Temple aswell existed here. The basal of the banal way in the Agora, amidst by bifold rows of granite columns with Corinthian capitals, is bizarre with geometrical motifs bizarre with coloured mosaics. Abaft the banal way are little shops in the anatomy of commutual cubicles. The attribute of anniversary boutique is formed in abatement on the marble on top of the access door. There is a annular architecture in the average of the Agora aboveboard and it is anticipation that this served as the benefactor of the baptize network. The Agora aboveboard is aswell advised as a amplitude where, in age-old times, the burghal folk, disciplinarian and humans of altered amusing classes met, spent their leisure time, occasionally played bifold amateur of assorted sorts and discussed the bartering – political problems of the city-limits and performed their accessible events. The charcoal of the city’s sewerage arrangement can aswell be apparent appear the South of the Agora square.

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The citizenry of the city-limits added with the advancing of those abiding from the Troian War forth with the added Anatolian peoples. Xanthos which served as the basic of the Lycian Federation accustomed in the 6th aeon B.C. was besieged by Harpago, the Persian Commander, in 540 B.C. Xanthians who clung to their ability courageously resisted to the occupiers. If rendered alone they aggregate women and accouchement in a architecture on the acropolis and set it on blaze and they themselves committed suicide by jumping off from the acropolis, 100 m high, into the brook Xanthos. 80 families who happened to be abroad during this time of accumulation suicide alternate to the city-limits afterwards a while and rebuilt the city. In 334 B.C. they resisted to Alexander, the Macedonian King, the way they did to Persians, however, in the end, they had to yield. Subsequently, the city-limits anesthetized into the easily of the Egyptians, Seleucids and Rhodians.

In 168 B.C. it was included aural the re-established Lycian Federation. With the amphibian business thriving, the city-limits went above the borders of acropolis and was adorned with new structures. In 42 B.C. if the Roman Brutus besieged the city, the city-limits folks, in the way their ancestors did centuries ago, set the city-limits on blaze in adjustment to anticipate the capturing of their women and accouchement by the adversary and committed suicide. According to the adventure the Romans were affected by this accident and they adored 150 humans from those.

In 41 B.C. Emperor Marcus Antonius encouraged the development of the city-limits and Xanthos which becoming the acknowledgment of the Roman Emperors during the Pax Romana aeon accomplished its heydays. The city-limits became the apostolic centre during the Byzantine era. It was broke and alone afterwards the Arab raids afterward the 7th aeon A.D. Advancing through the apple appear the north, the charcoal of the acropolis walls are seen. Climbing up from actuality one arrives at the agora of aboveboard plan. The obelisk/inscribed bedrock in the aboveboard is erected aloft a abundant burying chamber. The epigraph is inscribed in the Luwian/Etruscan accent and has a monolithic, bright structure. It has 250 curve and is inscribed on all four abandon of the massive rock. It is about the ballsy acts of Lycians in their war with the Persians.

In the south of the aboveboard is the theatre of which the foundations were laid during the 2nd aeon A.D.. It was congenital as it appears today during the Lycian era. Opramoas, of Rhodiapolis, donated 30 thousand Denarii to the architecture of the theatre. The caveas of the theatre with a basement accommodation of 8 thousand are disconnected into two with a diazoma. There are 16 tiers at the lower and 4 tiers at the top sections. The façade of the two-storeyed date architecture is bizarre with columns and reliefs. It has 5 date doors on the lower floor. Immediately to the west of the theatre aerial are two awe-inspiring tombs advised as the attribute of Xanthos, basic of Lycia. The aboriginal one of these is the Harpies Monument. It is in the anatomy of a burying alcove placed aloft a block rock ascent aloft a bright caked pillar, 8 m high. It is bizarre with the reliefs of descriptions of the ancestors of a Lycian hero, three men, women, pomegranade and siren. Their originals were banned to the British Museum in London and are on affectation in the anteroom of the aforementioned name there.

The cairn adjoining to this one is the rock belvedere and the Lycian blazon sarcophagus accustomed aloft a bright burying chamber, 5 m high. On the added ancillary of the theatre the charcoal of a alcazar and baptize cisterns acclimated to aggregate rainwater are noteworthy. The capital top allotment of the acclaimed Nereid Cairn is in the British Museum in London. The delineation of 12 dancing changeable Nereids in the reliefs gave this name to the monument. The city-limits has two necropolises with lion’s figures. On the western ancillary the additional agora of the city-limits and the charcoal of a basilica congenital during the Byzantine era are visible. Touristic canoeing and rafting tours are organized on the brook Eşen today.

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Ancient city-limits Tlos lie in the southern administration of the boondocks Kemer, aural the apple Kale. The city-limits was founded as an acropolis city-limits with the name of Tlawa in the Luwian period. It commands a appearance over the anchorage in the basin of Xanthos. Tlos which became a city-limits and was adorned with assorted structures during the Roman era was inhabited until the 19th century.

The springs of the brook Eşen breeze through abrupt and attenuated rocks average the abysmal valleys of the Taurus mountains from Altınyayla in the south of the age-old city-limits Tlos. On the coast into the apparent they run abolition down the sheer-cliffed attenuated basin which is alleged Saklıkent communicable the eye with its accustomed beauties. The basin is acceptable for rafting and carnival hiking. There are trout restaurants and barbecue sites at the access of the valley.

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The city is reached by passing the 2 m wide Moka Bridge, made of a single large arch and stone blocks. According to the Hittite inscriptions, the area is situated within the Pithassa/Pisidia region. The city folk reputed for their fighting merits and heroic acts sided with the Trojan King Hector during the Trojan War, exacted tribute on some cities and, during the Persian occupation, served as mercenaries for them. The most important historical event of the city is the war of Pednelisos waged against Pednelisos in the north in which the city retreated, accepting the heavy conditions of the war. Later they were subordinated to King Amintas of the Galatians, which was a Nordic tribe just like themselves, except that in every epoch they used and maintained their own language. During the Byzantine epoch Vikings within the Byzantine army rebelled against the Byzantium and upon losing the battle fought against the Byzantine army, they escaped towards the Selge area, thus causing their traces to disappear. Owing to the displacement of the overland trade route which gradually connected Central Anatolia with the Pamphylian littoral towards Kremna and Ariassos, and the pillages, the people abandoned Selge and settled down by the coastal cities. It is understood that Selge was encircled with walls all around and that between the walls it had a great city gate, guarded by watch towers on both sides. The most important remains are the theatre, where there were 30 caveas on the lower floor and 15 caveas on the upper floor, and passage between caveas was ensured by 12 steep stairs.

The spectators’ section is divided in the middle by a wide diazoma and the armchairs made of block stones on the diazoma are striking. According to the inscriptions, it is understood that competitions were organized here every 4 years and that the statues of the champion sportsmen were erected. In the godly space to the West are the remains of the chief god Zeus and his temples and in the south are those of the Temple of Sanda, Anatolian God of Masculinity and War. In the lower part of the godly space a water cistern used to collect rain water is visible. To the east of the ancient city was an Agora measuring 50×50 m in dimension, open on the southern side, with rows of shops on the other three sides surrounded by columns. The 120 m long structure to the north is thought to have been a basilica dating to the Byzantine era. Furthest east is the Necropolis of the city. On the northern slope of the Necropolis hill three great tomb houses are visible which have partly survived until the present time.

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The first of the remains are the city walls understood to have been built between two straits. It is understood that the walls were built at a height of 9 m, and the 5 m high city gate was located in the middle. There is a quadrangular agora behind the gate. In the southeastern part of the Agora is the odeon with 6 seating benches where, in addition to music concerts, the meetings of the administrative council of the city are held.

In the northwestern part of the Agora one can see a chapel with a single apsis with polygonal external apsis walls, understood to have been built during the Byzantine era. In the north of the Agora, 20 meters ahead, are the remains of a Temple of Apollon with a single cella and marble podium. It is understood from the stones of ruined walls in front of the temple that a further inner wall was built as a result of the dangers involved during the periods that followed. On the western slope of the land where the remains were found is a sacred cave where baptism rituals were carried out in ancient times, which still holds drinking water even today. To the west of the cave, on the slope are the remains of a Roman bathhouse complex with mosaic laid floor consisting of three main sections in the middle and various chambers at the sides. To the southwest of the bathhouse is a great basilica with coloured marble slabs on the floor under which are sarcophagi are found.

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Today, the most important relic to survive from the ancient city of Arykanda is the theatre with 20 caveas, built directly upon the natural ground during the 2nd century A.D. Classical music concerts are organized at the theatre every year. In front of the theatre is an odeon with a portico, paved with mosaics on the floor, and to the west are the remains of a bouleterion, gymnasium and a Roman bathhouse. In the eastern necropolis of the city are Lycian sarcophagi and house-type tomb chambers embellished with friezes. The rock tombs lie to the west. The area is well-known for its Arykanda water spring.

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About 2 km offshore from Kaş is the Greek island of Kastelórizo (in Turkish Meis Adásı).

Tourism:
The tourist industry is centred on the pleasant town of Kaş, but many other coastal towns and villages in the district have plenty of accommodation for visitors inluding Kalkan and Gelemiş. The district can be reached from both Antalya and Dalaman airports.

Kaş itself is a quiet pleasant town with its blue sea and narrow streets scented with jasmine flowers. There are plenty of little guest houses, quiet cafes serving home cooking, or small bars to relax after a day’s scuba diving. Kaş has an annual arts festival, jazz concerts in the Roman ampitheatre, and the Kiln Under the Sea arts collective have held underwater ceramics exhibitions here.

Kaş is one of the leading spots for diving in Turkey. There is a diving school, many places with equipment for hire and at the port local divers offer courses. If you decide to try diving in Kaş you can expect to see a beautiful array of fish and other sea creatures like octopus and possibly dolphins, and also the wrecks of some ancient ships.

History:
Although the Teke peninsula has been occupied since the stone age it seems Kaş was founded by the Lycians, and its name in Lycian language was Habesos or Habesa. It was a member of the Lycian League, and its importance during this time is confirmed by the presence of one of the richest Lycian necropolis.

The ancient Greeks later gave it the name of Antiphéllos or Antíphilos, since it was the harbor in front of the city of Phellos. During the Roman period, Antiphéllos was famous for exporting sponges and timber. Pliny the Elder refers to the town in the fifth book of his Naturalis Historia. After 395 the town became part of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine) and during the early Middle Ages was a bishop’s see - and as Antiphellus is still a titular see.
The town suffered because of Arab incursions, then was annexed (under the name of Andifli) to the Anatolian Sultanate of Rüm, led by the Seljuks. After the demise of the Seljuks, it came under the Ottomans.

In 1923, because of the Exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey after the Greco-Turkish War, the majority of the population, which was of Greek origin, left the town for Greece.

In the early 1990s tourism started booming in Kaş, with visitors mainly from the UK and Germany. This growth of tourism brought an explosion in apartment building (often without license), which is to seriously threatening the landscape and the environment. Particularly affected is the beautiful Çukurbağ Peninsula, west of the town, which now has luxury hotels built on it.

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The area is known to have been a human settlement since prehistoric times and was a part of the Etruscan/Luwian settlement unit around 3000 B.C. Due to the immigration of the Nordic tribes, that is, Turquoise/Isocates, which continued from around 3000 B.C. until around 700 B.C., urbanization began in the small Luwian settlement units in Anatolia and they came on the historical scene.

One of the foremost cities established on the Pisidian-Lycian-Pamphilian border by the Termil clan is Termeassa. Termessos, which started to urbanize and flourish after the 6th century B.C., opened onto the sea by joining Phaselis, which was another coastal Lycian city, located to the South of Mount Solym. Excavation research carried out in the area revealed canals carved in rocks running southwards from the hillsides of mount Solym towards the city of Phaselis. Through these canals, the wine and olive oil produced in the area were poured to Phaselis on the coast where jugs were filled and shipped to other countries. In the 5th century B.C., although almost all of Anatolia was occupied by Persians, Termessos was not seized by the Persians.

The Macedonian King Alexander who besieged Termessos in 337 B.C. met with the defense of the locals of Termessos and, seeing that he would not be able to capture it, turned towards the shores of Pamphilia. Termessos was the only city in Anatolia which Alexander could not capture during his trip to Asia. Termessos, which had established good relations with the Pergamonians who subsequently came to the area, developed these relations also with Rome which was the heir of the Kingdom of Pergamum, signing an agreement in 72 B.C. after which the city was enriched with various buildings and started flourishing. The city of Termessos, which fell in ruins and was destroyed as a result of the earthquakes which took place in the 5th and 9th centuries A.D. and could not be captured by any army whatsoever in its history, could not find any means for reconstruction and the city folk emigrated to the other cities of Pamphilia and Lycia by the seaside. Thus, the city remains have survived to this day. Tekeoğlu Turkomans who came to the area built a Caravanserai named Evdir Han at the Byzantine sacred site Eudokias situated in the valley in the east of the city. On the King’s Road leading to the antique Termessos remains there is firstly a main entrance gate with a Gymnasium Complex to the east of it. In the complex where, in addition to the teaching of philosophy and positive sciences, all kinds of physical sports activities and competitions were performed, it is understood that the most important lessons were war games and wrestling. Built leaning against the hillside, next to where the inner city walls face the Gymnasium square, Galleries can be seen, and it is understood that these used to have tiers of Stadion seats.

Southeast from the front of the Gymnasium there are 26 tiers of seats and a theatre which is thought to have a seating capacity of 6000 people. There are three temples in front of the Odeon and it is understood that the one in the West is Zeus Solymeus, the small one in the middle is Artemis and the one in the East is the Great Artemis Temple. There are shops behind the columns. One of the most important tombs there is the house type tomb with lion’s head relief constructed in the Lycian style and a large number of Lycian type sarcophagi are visible.

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The Turkomans who came to the area towards the end of the 11th century A.D. established a new settlement called Asar Village/ Tepe Village on the southern hillside of the Acropolis hill where the remains of the city existed. The most striking of the city’s remains are the southwest facing castle entrance gate and city walls of the Acropolis. The walls, of which the foundations were laid with Cyclopean stones, were subsequently reinforced with quadrangular block stones. There are various gates on the walls. The ground is paved with stone blocks from the entrance gate up to the city centre and the marks of carriage wheels are visible on them even today.

To the north of the walls there is a single-domed small mosque. To the east of the mosque a colonnaded street lined with shops and 3 buildings belonging to the statesmen can be seen. On the entrance gate of the buildings are some remarkable inscriptions declaring the official trading laws of the city in the Luwian language.To the south west of the remains are two fountains and buildings, which were originally court buildings but were converted into a basilica during the Byzantine epoch. To the east the remains of the side wall of a theatre, which has completely disappeared, are visible.

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As she is picking flowers with the Nymphs, Side comes across a tree with thin branches, bright leaves and colourful flowers and breaks off the tree branch to give to her little daughter. Blood starts to drip from the branch. At that instant Side understands that it was actually a Nymph, disguising herself as a tree in order to protect herself from the ill-willed humans chasing her, and becomes very sad. She wants to walk away quickly. Her feet get stuck in the ground, buried under the earth, and she cannot move. Starting with her feet, her body begins to form a thin layer of bark and to take the shape of a tree. The nymphs, becoming sad at this, weep and wet Side’s roots. Saying what she did was a mistake she tells the Nymphs: “I will hereafter be a symbol of nature, life and fertility with my rich fruit the colour of blood; do bring my daughter here often, so she will play under my shade. Let her not damage any tree. Maybe every tree or flower is a God in disguise.” So, the Side peninsula is filled with the trees of Side believed to have formed as such according to mythology.

It is known that the name Side means “Pomegranate” in the Luwian/Etruscan language. It is understood that the name Side, as written in the Gök Turk alphabet, is ış.ot.oğhu – ışık otağı/ışıklı otağ-Işotağ (light tent/lighted tent) which passed into French as “Chateau”, English as “City”, German as “Stadt” and Italian as “Citta”, and used to mean “city”. The fact that the origin of the language of Side includes Luwian characteristics testifies that the history of the city dates back to around 4000 B.C. It is thought that the people of Side were engaged in fishing and maritime trade on a small scale during this time. The population of the city increased with the immigration of the various Anatolian peoples returning from the Trojan War to Side.

The city which remained within the boundaries of western Cilicia of the Kizzuwatna Late Hittite principality during the 9th century B.C. joined the Lydian league in the 7th century and went under Persian sovereignty in 546 B.C. The city, which opened its gates to the Macedonian King Alexander the Great without resistance in 334 B.C., was forced to add Hellenistic cultural elements to daily life. Moreover, religious faiths also changed. Athena was identified with the Anatolian Mother Goddess, Kybele and Apollon with the Moon God, Men. The city passed to the Kingdom of Pergamum for some time and then, becoming a base for pirate attacks early in the 1st century B.C., the biggest slave market of the Mediterranean was established. Upon the clearance of the Mediterranean shores from pirates it was annexed to the Roman lands and during the Pax Romana era it reached the peak of its progress. After the 5th century A.D. it became the bishopric centre and some of the temples were transformed into Orthodox churches. From the 7th century onwards it was exposed to and ruined and destroyed by the Arab raids and the city people immigrated to the capital of the Pamphylian region, Attaleia. Because of the sand erosion advancing towards the eastern gate and the earthquakes of the 9th and 12th centuries the city was razed to the ground. The Turks who came to the area in 1207 settled down in the northeast of the ancient city. The area which remained within the Seljuk boundaries until the 14th century was annexed to the Ottoman lands in 1391.

The Turks who recently immigrated from the island of Crete settled down here and founded a village named Selimiye at the end of the peninsula. What is noteworthy upon entering the city are the remains of the city walls and entrance gate. The remains of the Aqueduct carrying water to Side are seen near the gate. In front of the remains are the ruins of a great, three-storeyed monumental fountain, 15 m high and 35 m wide, covered with marble embellished with geometrical and plant motifs on the façade. On the façade of the fountain are the niches in the form of oyster shells between the columns with Corinthian capitals visible. The Colonnaded Street, 250 m long, has today been asphalt-covered and the remains of the houses on both sides of the street are in the form of small chambers, fountain and toilet places lined around an inner hall. The great agora of the city lies at the end of the colonnaded street and has a square structure measuring 92×92.

To the South of the Agora surrounded by shops all around, in the middle of the place where the temple of Fortuna, God of Luck and Trade can be seen, is a Latrine/Public Toilet for 24 people with marble-facing and an arch made of brick. The Side Theatre with a seating capacity of 16,000 adjoining the Agora was constructed at the narrowest point of the peninsula. The seating tiers in semicircular form with a diameter of 120 m are divided into two sections by a diazoma. Connections for passage take the form of 12 steep flights of steps between the 29 caveas on the lower section and 22 caveas on the upper section. The protocol used to sit in the imperial box located in the middle of the upper caveas. With the lower sections of the caveas hollowed concavely in semicircular form it was intended to improve acoustics.

The orchestra of the theatre is in semicircular form with a diameter of 15m and a narrow channel is visible around the earth floor. Excavations are still under way in the theatre, which was ruined and destroyed as a result of the Arab raids during the 8th century A.D. and of which the stage building subsequently fell down onto the orchestra during an earthquake. The 9 chambers lined next to each other on the lower floor were closed with iron railings during the Late Roman Epoch and used as cages for wild animals and gladiators. The chambers on the upper floor, on the other hand, served as dressing and resting rooms for actors. The plane surfaces on the lower section were decorated with friezes depicting the mythological instants of Bacuss, god of wine and entertainment. This theatre was used for outdoor rites during the Byzantine era. To the northwest of the theatre is the single-basin Vespesian Fountain, 15 m high and 7 m wide, with the façade covered with marble facing and embellished with 8 Corinthian capitals. To the west side of the theatre, the temple of Bacuss with a cella measuring 12×6 m is visible. In the great port bathhouse to the southwest are 4 big halls, 3 small chambers and two gymnasiums. In close proximity of the great port bathhouse the Temple of Men, built in the name of Men, the Anatolian moon god, is located. Clearly, of the two temples with adjacent peripteral structures located at the southern end of the Side peninsula, the one in the east belongs to Apollon, god of light, art and beauty and the one in the west belongs to Athena, goddess of science, truth and virginity and daughter of Zeus.

The temple constructed in the name of Apollon measures 17×30 m and is of quadrangular form and has columns with Corinthian capitals, 8,90 m high and measuring 6×11, around it. So-called “triglyphical” friezes of lions’ feet are visible between the medusa heads on the marble block on the columns.

The Temple of Athena, on the other hand, has dimensions of 20×35 m and is encircled with Corinthian columns of the same height as the Temple of Apollon. It was believed that these temples protected and guided the Side port and Side ships. During the Byzantine Era a basilica was constructed to the North of these two temples, that is, on Temenos. The Port located at the furthest Southern end of the peninsula was of great importance for a city such as Side engaged in marine commerce. The bathhouse complex built during the Roman epoch was transformed into Side Museum as a result of the restorations of recent years, where sarcophagi, columns, busts, Torcho inscriptions, statues, statue pedestals, capitals, friezes, reliefs and stelae unearthed during excavations are visible. The section which is viewed as a garden today was actually the gymnasium / palaestra courtyard of the Roman Bathhouse. The most notable work of art in the courtyard is the series of friezes depicting the mythological instants of Poseidon, god of the sea. In a section close to the middle of the cold water pool in the bathhouse, also called Agora Bathhouse, there is a sun-dial placed during the Roman epoch. In the tepidarium hall, within 9 big arched niches there are statues of gods, emperors, women, men, children and torsos and busts. The most important of these is the statue of Hermes, 1.65 m high, the guardian god of merchants and thieves. 3 marble sarcophagi belonging to the Roman era are seen in the middle of the hall.

The combined marble statues of three beauties, depicting the mythological beauty contest between Athena, Aphrodite and Hera as causing the start of the Trojan War are also in front of the pool. The most important find in the museum is the inscription named Artemon and written in the Luwian/Etruscan alphabet. A large part of the city’s necropolis is underneath the sand. As a result of the excavation searches conducted during recent years it is understood that the two-storey building recovered in the eastern quarter was the Cosmas Hospital, which Justinianus ordered to be constructed during the Byzantine era in the 6th century and where patients with leprosy were treated. The first excavations around Side and its peninsula were started by Prof.A.Müfit Mansel in 1947 and continued by Prof. Jale İnan and excavation and restoration activities are still underway. Side has been taken under the protection of UNESCO.

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