The name of the ancient Greek city of Side in the Anatolian dialect means "pomegranate"
Little guests will be offered ice cream, animation programs, and rides. Adults can visit discos dedicated to Athena, go diving, or simply bask on the sand, sipping cooling drinks, and sometimes hot ones with ice.
Shopping lovers can stroll through souvenir shops. There is one secret: Turks simply love a good bargain and therefore inflate the price of goods by two or three times. Feel free to drop 50 percent of the stated amount and name your price to the seller. Gradually you will reach an incredibly pleasant sum. And do it with a smile – and you will be answered in kind. The main thing is not to be shy. Believe me, bargaining brings enormous pleasure to locals; it is the safest gambling game.
Side has become this way thanks to the efforts of local residents and numerous foreign guests who have been buying tours to Side for the last few decades. But before, there was only a fishing port here. One of the advantages of relaxing in this place is the universality of communication. You can even hear Russian speech. It is not surprising, because every year in winter and summer, spring and autumn, tourists come here from all corners of the world. Therefore, Turks have become polyglots. And they are also very friendly and easy to contact.
But Side is interesting not only for its local residents but also for its numerous attractions. Among them is the ancient theater, designed for 20,000 spectators. It hosted famous gladiator fights with predators, so one-and-a-half-meter walls were built around it. In addition, sea battles were staged, for which the stage was flooded with water. In some years, the theater turned into a Christian church.
Another interesting structure is the Nymphaeum fountain. It is believed to have been built in the second century AD. Originally it consisted of three floors, 5 meters high and 35 meters wide. Now one floor is lost. Water shimmering in the sun flowed through marble niches, and the fountain's bowl was decorated with frescoes. And although only separate fragments remain of many ancient structures of Side today, tourists are still seized with sacred awe when near a cult building.