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Side is an ancient city in the Antalya Province of Turkey with a rich history. The great ruins are among the most notable in Asia Minor and cover a large promontory where a wall and a moat separate it from the mainland. During medieval times, the wall and moat were repaired and this promontory still hosts a wealth of ruins of ancient structures.The colossal ruins of a amphitheatre complex, the largest of Pamphylia, built much like a Roman amphitheatre which relies on arches to support the sheer vertical dimensions. The Roman style was adopted because Side lacked a convenient hillside that could be hollowed out in the usual Greek fashion more typical of Asia Minor. The theatre is less preserved than the amphitheatre at Aspendos, but it is almost as large, seating 15,000 to 20,000 people. Over time the scena wall has collapsed onto the stage and the Proscenium is in a jumble of loose blocks. It was converted into an open-air sanctuary with two chapels during Byzantine times in the 5th through 6th centuries.
The well-preserved city walls provide an entrance to the site through the Hellenistic main gate of the ancient city even though this gate is badly damaged. Next comes a colonnaded street with marble columns are no longer standing but with ruins that are a few broken stubs near the old Roman baths. The street leads to the a public bath that has been restored as a museum displaying statues and sarcophagi from the Roman period. Next is the square agora with the ruins of the round Tyche and Fortuna temple from the 2nd Century BC. The remaining ruins of Side include three temples, an aqueduct, and a nymphaeum. Side's nymphaeum was a grotto with a natural water supply dedicated to the nymphs – an artificial grotto or fountain building of elaborate design. Turkish archaeologists have been excavating the ruins of Side since 1947 and continue to do so.
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