The ancient city of Side, located on a green picturesque peninsula in the Mediterranean Sea, is considered one of the main tourist centres of Turkey. The word "Side" from ancient Greek translates as "pomegranate", a symbol of fertility.
It has long been known that Side is the truest example of an open-air museum city and the largest archaeological site in Turkey. Today, most of the very valuable finds discovered in the area of this city in different periods of time are in the City Museum, which is always ready to present these amazing exhibits to tourists. A large number of the exhibits on display of the museum were found in 1947-1967 during the excavations of this ancient city under the direction of Arif Mufid Mansel.
When exploring the halls of the Side Museum, you should not rush: after all, each hall hides the charm and mystery of a certain era. During the excavations Side, reliefs, sarcophagi and Roman statues were found. Most of the of the statues, unfortunately, are without heads, because the Christians were against idolatry.
A unique part of the collection are the children's sarcophagi with a picture of a dog peering out of a door, symbolising a grieving mother, a butterfly and a swallow - symbolic representations of children's innocent souls. Here you can also a bronze statue of Artemis. With her right hand the goddess takes an arrow out of the quiver, and with her left hand she holds a bow. Her hair is gathered at the back of her head. Also Apollo's head, made of white marble, is also represented. Divided in the middle of the forehead, the hair is combed back in wavy strands. The statue's forehead is shaped triangle, the nose is rather wide, but the mouth is slightly open. The back of the head of the head has been broken off and lost.
In the first hall of the museum you will find such unique exhibits as weapon bas-reliefs from the Hellenistic period, an altar from the Roman period and a sundial. In the second hall, torsos from the Roman period are on display. In the third room are amphorae, statues, bas-reliefs, inscriptions of the Hellenistic period, and in the fourth are tombs, statues of Athena, Hermes, Hygieia, Apollo, Nike, portraits and torsos.
Up to the present day in Sidhe there are the remains of an amphitheatre for sixteen thousand spectators, a statue of the emperor Vespasian, a temple of Fortuna, an agora, a fountain, Roman Roman baths (which currently house an archaeological museum), an aqueduct and a necropolis.
