© Lonely Planet Publications 397 Eastern Mediterranean Turkey’s Eastern Mediterranean means different things to different people. For holidaying EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN Europeans, it’s a radiant and razzle-dazzle beach paradise, with the calm ocean and high-rise resorts around Side and Alanya stretching further than the eye can see. Sometimes referred to as the Turkish Riviera, this part of the Eastern Med tends to fill up to an almost unbear- able degree during the high season. But arrive just before or after the crowds, and you’ll find largely empty beaches and discounted guesthouses. To get a feel for how the Turks themselves holiday, make your way through the rugged and twisting mountain range to the east and head towards the resort areas of Anamur and Kızkalesi. Visiting Turks – and Western archaeology students – treat this part of the country as an open-air museum, because of the massive amount of impressive ruins scattered about. Once the craggy mountain range flattens out into the wide-open Cukurova Plain to the east, the cities become much larger, more metropolitan and more imposing. Tourists are almost nonexistent in the large industrial cities of Merlin, Adana and İskenderun. However, those who do choose to brave the urban hustle are rewarded with rarely visited nearby sites, such as the Roman fortress city of Anazarbus, just northeast of Adana. The Armenian retreat of Yılankale is also close, as are a number of important Hittite and Christian sites. The vibe and energy of the Eastern Mediterranean takes on a considerable change south of İskenderun, due to the area’s proximity to the Syrian border. Here is one of Turkey’s most fascinating mixes of cultures, religions and languages. In towns such as Antakya you’ll find Sunnis, Alevis and Orthodox Christians living side by side, and spoken Arabic can still be heard on the streets. HIGHLIGHTS Visit Side’s romantic Temple of Apollo ( p399 ) at sunset Descend the 452 steps into the massive Chasm of Heaven ( p421 ), where the monster Typhon was said to have held Zeus captive Side Adana Kîzkalesi Swim or take a ferry ride out to Maiden’s Chasm of Castle ( p422 ) at Kızkalesi Heaven Antakya Visit Adana’s extravagantly beautiful Sabancı Merkez Cami ( p427 ), the country’s second-largest mosque Enjoy the first syrupy bite of an oven-hot piece of künefe with a çay (tea) and a chat with the locals in Antakya ( p436 ) 398 EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN •• Side lonelyplanet.com Bookwww.lonelyplanet.com accommodation online at lonelyplanet.com EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN •• Side 399 0 50 km EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN 0 30 miles night sky. Although the site is relatively To Karaman (25km); To Ankara To Toprakkale small, it’s also one of the most romantic and Lyrbe Akseki Hadîm Fevzipaša Konya (141km) (445km) ADANA Kozan (Seleukeia in Geriš (65km) Ceyhan OSMANÎYE Islahiye moving ruined sites you’re likely to encounter Pamphylia) Güzelsu E90 Taškent Bucakkîšla Yîlankale Erzin (Yešilkent) TARSUS Yenice (Snake Castle) in Turkey. Side D695 Gündoÿmus Göksu Manavgat Doÿankent Dörtyol Kuzucubelen D51 400-18 Köprülü Alarahan N Güzeloluk Kazanlî Hassa Festivals & Events e MERSÎN Payas (Yakacîk) h r Kîrobasî To Antalya (65km); i (ÎÇEL) Akyatan Îskenderun Aktepe Tickets for the Aspendos Opera & Ballet Festival Göktepe Ermenek Elvanlî (Güvenç) Isparta (170km) Mut Tuzla Gölü Körfezi Alanya Erdemli (%753 4061) can be bought at the Side mu- Uzuncaburç ÎSKENDERUN Kanlîdivane Karataš D400 Kîrîkhan seum or at the ticket office (%753 4061) outside EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN D715 Kîzkalesi Narlîkuyu Uluçînar the Roman theatre. For more information Demirtaš Atakent (Arsuz) E91 Gülnar 33-58 Silifke Olukbašî Serinyol see p395 . Göksu Delta Gazipaša 33-59 Tašucu Hîdîrbey Reyhanlî Aydîncîk E24 Çubukkoyaÿî Dana Adasî ANTAKYA (HATAY) Sleeping D400 Ovacîk Vakifliköy Harbiye Anamurium Bozyazî Çevlik (Daphne) Many of the hotels and pensions in Side are Anamur Samandaÿ Sinanlî Cilvegözü/ Baba al Hawa not operated and managed by their actual MEDITERRANEAN SEA Kîšlak owners, but rather are sublet for the tourist (AKDENÎZ) SYRIA Yayladaÿî season. You can probably guess what effect To Girne (Cyprus) To Girne (Cyprus) To Gazimaÿusa (Cyprus) this has on customer service. Try to find a (25km) (15km) (80km) place where the employees have been around EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN for a while. Also note that if you’re staying S İDE the time Alexander the Great swept through, on the road in from Manavgat. The Side In- in a hotel some distance from town, you’ll %0242 / pop 18,000 the inhabitants had abandoned much of their ternet C@fé (€2 per half-hour) is located on Nergis need to round up transport in order to reach If it were possible for a town to have an iden- Greek culture and language. Caddesi. Much better is the Internet café (Zambak Side’s ruins. tity crisis, the small city of Side (see-deh) Many of Side’s great buildings were built Caddesi) located upstairs in Ömür Restaurant & Pettino’s Pansiyon (%753 3608; pettino@superonline would undoubtedly be among the afflicted. from the profits of piracy and slavery, which Bar. There are ATMs on Liman Caddesi. .com; Cami Sokak 9; s/d €17/23; a) Aside from its After all, it wasn’t long ago that Side was flourished under the Greeks, only to be intimate outdoor courtyard where travellers essentially thought of as a worn-out fishing stopped when the city came under Roman Sights often congregate around a small fire at night, village, with little more to boast about than control. After that, Side managed to prosper The town’s most impressive site is easily its Pettino’s doesn’t have a whole lot going for a passable stretch of beach and a decent col- from legitimate commerce; under the Byzan- theatre (admission €6; h8am-7pm). Built in the it. The common areas are something of a lection of Hellenistic ruins. But things have tines it was still large enough to rate a bishop. 2nd century AD and Roman in design (with shabby mess; the same could be said for the changed, big-time. Side today is the sort of The 7th-century Arab raids diminished the the exception of a few barely noticeable Greek pension’s dog-eared rooms. Backpackers do flash Mediterranean resort town that many town, which was dead within two centuries. details), it’s one of the largest Greco-Roman flock here during the high season however, intrepid travellers love to hate. During the late 19th century it had a brief ruins in Asia Minor, and can seat well over so book ahead. Having long ago deserted its principle in- flowering under Ottoman rule when it was 15,000 spectators. Beach House Hotel (%753 1607; www.beachhouse dustry, fishing, Side has embraced tourist settled by Muslims from Crete. Next to the theatre and across the road -hotel.com; Barbaros Caddesi; s/d €17/36; pai) Un- harvesting with a vengeance. An astound- from the museum are the remains of an agora. less you’re dead-set on staying in a smaller ingly large number of souvenir shops have Orientation You’ll find a good number of columns, al- and slightly more intimate pension, this is monopolised the city’s main drag, as well as Side is set on a promontory, 3km south of the though a chain-link fence restricts access. The without a doubt the most relaxing and atmos- each and every alley intersecting it. You may east–west coastal highway. Vehicular access museum (admission €3; h9am-7pm) is a ruin itself; pheric budget hotel in Side. Readers consist- assume that in-your-face capitalism is the is tightly controlled; if you’re driving you’ll its rather impressive, if small, collection of ently sing its praises: a perfect location right name of the game here, 24 hours a day. almost certainly have to use the car park out- statues and sarcophagi resides inside the old on the beach, ocean-front rooms (some with Yet the experience of entering Side by car or side the village. Roman baths. decent-sized balconies), and free sun-beds bus, and watching from the window as Roman The main street, Liman Caddesi, cuts Take a left as you exit the museum for for guests. ruins nearly 2000 years old fly by, is simply through the village to the harbour, which is Side’s spectacular field of ruins, among them Yıldırım Pansiyon (%753 3209; yildirimpansiyon@ unforgettable. So is the almost indescribable fronted by a bust of Atatürk. On either side of a library, an agora and a Byzantine basilica. All yahoo.com; Lale Sokak; s & d €19) Located just steps feeling you’ll get in the pit of your stomach as the promontory are small beaches, although warrant some exploration, but be forewarned from the theatre, this exceptionally laid-back you approach the Temple of Apollo around the main beach is in the north of town. that this area gets scorching hot during the pension is conveniently located across the dusk, with waves crashing just a stone’s throw The otogar (bus station) is east of the arch- height of summer. street from a car park. Expect plain but ship- away. aeological zone. Follow signs for the tramway At the southwestern tip of Side Harbour shape rooms, and a beautiful silence after and you’ll find the main road. Turn left if you are the ruins of the Temples of Apollo and Athena, dark. History want to walk, or board the tram (€0.30). which date from the 2nd century. A number Yükser Pansiyon (%753 2010; www.yukser-pansiyon No-one knows how Side got its name, though of columns from the Temple of Apollo have .com; Sumbul Sokak 8; s/d €19/25; a) Tucked away it probably means ‘pomegranate’ in some Information been preserved and placed upright in their from the noise of the main drag but still ancient Anatolian language.