Side, Türkiye

Side (pronounced Cid-eh) feels like a truly unique town at this point of time. It is a very modern feeling resort town (one of the most modern we've seen anywhere), but also brimming with ancient Roman ruins. These two features are very much in conflict. New restaurants and boutique hotels are in the process of being built, but are halted as their foundations expose new ruins. The touristy beachfront Side is largely built on top of stilts as the new buildings are suspended over the ruins from 2,000+ years ago hang below. These ruins are exposed by glass bottom outdoor patios for restaurants.

We'll talk more about ancient Side soon, but for Modern Side it's a beautiful beach town. It's a peninsula with a very shallow bay. Walking out 50 yards still yields only waist high water. Walking west from the "old town" offers a long board walk with beach chairs and vendors. Also fresh squeezed Pomegranate juice for a couple €. Walking west along the board walk ends at a huge Roman forum called Devlet Agorası. In a few years, I could see it being a ticketed museum, but today you can just around it without supervision.

Side is an amazing confluence of new and ancient.Read more