Travel tours and vacation tips and tricks in Side Turkey 2023: If you’re looking for a mix of beach time and history, the resort town of Side is one of the best places to visit on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. Side may be all about soaking up the sun on the sand but for those who fancy a slice of culture with their sunbathing, the wealth of Greco-Roman ruins right in town are major tourist attractions. By 1000 BC Side, had its first settlement but it was in the 7th or 6th centuries BC, when Greek settlers established a colony and built a harbor here, that the town began to prosper. During the Roman era, this town became an important commercial center, and it was only when the harbor began to silt up in the 7th century that the town was eventually abandoned. At the tip of Side’s peninsula are the remains of the ancient town’s two principal temples, dedicated to Athena and Apollo. Although they are in no way complete, they have a dramatic location looking out over the Mediterranean and are especially atmospheric in the evening, when the ruins are lit up. Side harbor is a great place for a sunset promenade, with plenty of cafés dotting the shoreline near the ruins.
Experience the ancient, traditional Turkish baths done for 1,000 years in the Anatolian region with the Side Turkish Bath program. The Turkish bath is an excellent experience to relax after a long journey. The Side Turkish bath program is one of the best ways to relax. It has been popular among Turks for centuries. We will pick you up with our free shuttle from your hotel found in the Side region and bring you to the Turkish bath. The Side Turkish bath program will last approximately 2 hours. The sauna, Jacuzzi, bath glove, foam and aroma therapy massages are included in the standard program. At the end of the program, you will have a face mask.
Lonely Travel is a well known licensed travel agency in Alanya & Side. We organize travel services since 1997. We let our customers to save their time and money also providing them a high quality service. In our Travel Agency employees highly trained specialists that are licensed by the Ministry of Tourism of Turkey. We work 7 days a week to provide the best service to our guests. We organize more than 50 tours around Alanya and Side, each and every single excursion of ours is fully insured and maintained by our professional tour guides. Find more details at Side Jeep Safari & Rafting.
The Alanya Seljuk Shipyard stands south of the Red Tower. You can easily reach it on foot by following the 300 meter path. The Alanya Seljuk Shipyard was built by the Seljuks in 13th century. If you are into maritime history and medieval buildings, make time to visit the only remaining shipyard in Turkey from the Seljuk Period. The Alanya Seljuk Shipyard (Tersane) has been used for trade and protection purposes throughout history. Today, it stands upright back to back with Red Tower. The Alanya shipyard is the only shipyard that remains from the Seljuk reign, built in the first half of 13th century.
On your visit to the Dim River make time for the largest cave system in the Alanya area, carved out by water over millions of years but only discovered in 1999. The Dim Cave is 360 metres long, and worthwhile for its many concretions. Something to remember is that there are lots of steps and narrow walkways, so the Dim Cave isn’t accessible to all. As with the Damlataş Cave there’s high humidity at 75%, although the cave does offer respite from the summer heat, with a temperature never rising above 19°C. One of the things to love about this park is its location, right by the cable car station, tourist office, Damlataş Cave and archaeological museum, at the east end of Kleopatra Beach. Within a few steps north along Güzelyalı Cd. there are dozens of places to eat. As for the park, it’s somewhere to escape the heat for a few minutes, under a palm tree or one of the enormous ficuses. There’s a mini-golf course, a fishpond, flowerbeds and pieces of public art like a ceremonious statue of Cleopatra. This is also somewhere to witness Alanya’s affinity for its stray cats, which roam the lawns freely and have special wooden shelters and feeding stations.
This sleek resort is squeezed against the Gulf of Antalya by the dark slopes of the Taurus Mountains. The scenery is defined by a 250-metre-high promontory, sticking out into the Mediterranean and fortified since time immemorial. In Alanya, your days will be spent lazing on an enticing beach and adventuring through those lofty castle ruins, which can be reached by a cable car that opened in 2017. This is one of a few projects that have helped turn Alanya into a 21st century beach resort. The city is also a jumping off point for scuba diving, cruises and trips into the Taurus Mountains where you can hike in canyons, explore caves and bathe in cool mountain streams.
The word cini is used to define pottery art during Ottoman period. It became popular in 15th century. The word Cini is derived from the word Cin, which stands for China. The porcelaine that are introduced by Chineese tradesmen were combined with traditional Ottoman arabesque with Chinese patterns. Cini art started in the town called Iznik with cobalt blue under a colourless lead glaze tile and pottery products. In the 16th century the decoration of the pottery changed in style, Additional colours like Turqoise, Green, Purple and Red were added. Ephesus and nearby ancient cities like Miletus have been known with pottery making for many centuries. This art from is trying to be continued by a local entrepreneur nearby Ephesus Ancient City. Today cini is one of the dying art forms of Turkey. A visit to Efes Cini workshop can be added to your private tour of Ephesus.
You can plan a full day trip to see the ancient city of Side with the temples of Athena and Apollo, and the magnificent theater of Aspendos. The theater is one of the most distinguished representatives of Roman Age theaters today, with its well-preserved condition and architectural features. If you choose to make this trip with an organized tour, it will be either combined with the famous Manavgat bazaar where you can find many things such as souveneirs, clothes, spices, fresh fruits, and vegetables, or the marvelous Manavgat Waterfall. The itinerary depends on which excursion you book. Some have Side, Aspendos, and the waterfall, some have Side, Aspendos, and the bazaar. The weekly market days of the Manavgat Bazaar also make a difference.
The parts of the aqueducts starting from the east of the Saint John Pursuit Gate within the district, especially around the station, have managed to remain intact. Byzantine aqueducts passing through the district continue northward through the Şirince Strait. These arches supply the drinking water supplied from the water sources in the east of Pranga locality between Belevi and Selçuk, the Byzantine Period settlement in Selçuk Ayasuluk Hill and St. It was used to deliver it to the St. Jean Church. You can see reused marble blocks brought from Ephesus and Artemision at the feet of these arches, which reach a height of 15 meters around the station. Among these, Ionic capitals from the Archaic period are standing out. Find extra info on https://www.sideexcursion.com/.
Alanya is best known for its beaches. The sandy strips in town itself, and strung along the surrounding coast, are all about laid-back resort vacations and are usually packed out by a clientele of northern Europeans from June through August. There’s more to Alanya than its shore though. The high cliff of the peninsula is home to an ancient castle district, all surrounded by well-preserved, sturdy stone walls. Down at the harbor, more historical remnants survive, looming over a bay where yachts sit ready to whisk you out onto the sea.
Teleferik heading to Cleopatra Beach: The most scenic way to reach the Alanya Castle area is by hopping on the cable car that connects Cleopatra Beach with the lower castle district of Ehmedek. The cable-car operates between 11am and 9pm daily, and the trip over the cliff is great for capturing sunset coastal views, as well as a means of transport. The 900-meter ride offers excellent views over the forested cliff face leading up to the castle, the yawning strip of Cleopatra Beach’s sand and Mediterranean Sea below, as well as the dusky mountains in the distance. The lower station is just behind the beachfront, while the upper station deposits you just outside Alanya Castle’s main gate from where you can wander farther up the slope to explore the historic buildings and ruins.