Side, which was the most important port city of Pamphylia in ancient times, was established on a 350-400 meter wide peninsula, located 80 kilometers east of Antalya and 7 kilometers southwest of Manavgat.

Side VII BC. century became a settlement center. VI BC. Century, together with Pamphylia, it came under the rule of the Lydian Kingdom, and after the fall of the Lydian Kingdom in 547/46, it came under the rule of the Persians. The city, which preserved its freedom to some extent in this period, minted coins in its own name. Side, which opened its doors to the Macedonian king without any resistance during the Anatolian expedition of Alexander the Great (334 BC), later became one of the great coin minting centers established by Alexander. After the death of Alexander, Side, which constantly changed hands between the Hellenistic period kingdoms, BC III. century, first under the rule of the Ptolemies and in the years 215-189 BC by the Seleucids. The city mostly had friendly relations with Antiochus III, provided the support of the kingdoms of Pergamon and Rhodes in the Syrian Kingdom, and took sides with the Seleucids with the Side fleet in the war against the Romans. When the Seleucids were defeated at the end of this war, Pamphylia and Side were given to the Kingdom of Pergamon according to the Peace of Apameia in 188 BC. On the other hand, Side regained its independence after a while and lived one of the brightest eras in history.

The fact that Antiochus VII, who took the Syrian throne in 138 BC and later took the nickname "Sidetes", was sent to Side to study in his youth, is an indication of how important the city is in the Eastern Mediterranean. This brilliant period of the city did not last long. Piracy, which started in Pisidia and mountainous Cilicia regions in the 1st century BC, jumped to Pamphylia and therefore Side, and the Sides, who could not cope with the pirates, had to open their ports and markets to them. Finally, after the Roman Consul Publius Servilius cleansed the region from the pirates in 78 BC, Side was attached to the Roman Empire like the other cities of Pamphylia. After 25 BC, Augustus turned the Pamphylia region into a state directly governed by an official subordinate to him. After this date, Side is a city in the province of Rome. MS II. and III. lived a bright period in the centuries Side, IV. century, it looks like a Christian city that got poorer. V. and VI. In the third and last centuries, the city became the capital of Eastern Pamphylia Metropolitan. IX. Byzantine emperor Konstantinos Porfirogennetos (913-959) mentions the city as a "nest of pirates" in his work "De Thematibus". The Arab geographer Idrisi, on the other hand, names Side (towards 1150) as "Burnt Antalya" and states that its people were settled in "New Antalya", which is two days away.

On the ruins of the Ancient City of Side, known as a trade and port city, the XX. Selimiye Village was founded by the Cretan immigrants in the early century. Side, built on a peninsula, runs along a monumental street that starts from the main gate of the city, as in other Pamphylia cities. The main street, starting from the "Great Gate" in the northeast, runs along the peninsula in an almost straight line except for the curve in front of the Theater and ends with a large square near the temples. The second major street of the city extends from the “Big Gate” to the south of the city. Both streets have columns, and on both sides there are porticoes with Corinthian capitals and a row of shops behind them.