By 1000 BC, Side had its first settlement, but it was in the 7th or 6th centuries BC, when Greek settlers established a colony and built a harbor here, that the town began to prosper.
During the Roman era, this town became an important commercial center, and it was only when the harbor began to silt up in the 7th century that the town was eventually abandoned.
At the tip of Side's peninsula are the remains of the ancient town's two principal temples, dedicated to Athena and Apollo.
