Side Museumvisitor guide.

PIONEER OF THE MUSEUM: ARİF MÜFİD MANSEL Welcoming visitors inside a Roman Bath converted into a museum through restoration in the Ancient City of Side, the museum collection largely consists of artifacts unearthed during Side excavations directed by Ord. Prof. Dr. Arif Müfid Mansel between 1946 and 1966. Side Museum holds the distinction of being the first museum opened in a village in Türkiye. SIDE MEANS 'POMEGRANATE' IN THE LUWIAN TONGUE Side, the most prominent port city of the Pamphylian Region in Antiquity, lies on a peninsula 8 km from Manavgat. Dating back to the 8th century BC, the city's name signifies 'pomegranate' in Sidean, a language of the Luwian group. Coming under Lydian rule alongside all Pamphylia in the 7th century BC, Side was subsequently ruled by Persians and Alexander the Great. Frequently subject to pirate incursions terrorizing the Eastern Mediterranean, Side was annexed to the Roman Province with Pamphylia shortly after the creation of the Province of Asia. When Roman consul Publius Servilius cleared pirates from the region in 78 BC, Pamphylia became an independent province. Weakened from the 7th century AD onwards by Arab raids, plundering, and Crusader sackings, the Ancient City of Side was completely abandoned in the 12th century. HELLENISTIC, ROMAN, AND BİZANTINE ARTIFACTS ON DISPLAY Side Museum is housed in a 2nd-century Roman bath with 5th–6th century additions. Situated opposite the Roman agora, the ancient bath was restored between 1959 and 1961 and converted into a museum. The collection features Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine artifacts. Displayed works, largely unearthed during Side excavations, include statues, torsos, portrait busts, relief sarcophagi, ostothekes, grave stelae, inscriptions in Greek and Sidean, altars, amphorae, architectural elements such as architraves, friezes, columns, capitals, pediments, and coins of Pamphylian, Pisidian, and Sidean mints. WHILE YOU ARE HERE Köprülü Canyon National Park, featuring endemic forests, magnificent gorges, ancient Selge, the Köprüçay River, and Roman bridges and highways, must be experienced, including rafting along the Köprüçay. DOWNLOAD MUSEUM BROCHURE NEARBY MUSEUMS OLYMPOS ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE MYRA ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE PERGE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE SAINT NICHOLAS MEMORIAL MUSEUM PHASELIS ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE SIDE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE