From Finike, we again tossed ourselves in the squishy back of our friends’ Jimmy Jeep to be whisked away to a part of Türkiye we definitely wouldn’t have seen otherwise… Side, one hour east of Antalya, and a terrific blend of Las Turkus with themed all-inclusive hotels, miles of sandy beaches, a polished Ottoman old town, some genuinely authentic ruins and a plethora of individuals representing Mini Moscow.  

You might guess that all-inclusive resorts are not our jam, which would be quite accurate. In fact, it’s the first in our 15-year relationship. However, Robin found a fantastic end-of-season deal that we couldn’t pass up for $39/night. Yes. For two people, all drinks 🍹🍺 🍷, all food, all everything…with beach access. So, we ended up tallying in UNDER budget for an all-inclusive resort, which is simply inconceivable. Yeah…so we decided to “suffer” through it for our last two nights in Türkiye 😂

After branding us with our obligatory bracelets, we checked in just in time to load our plates up for the lunch buffet. 

The pool at Side (pronounced see-day, like in Italian) Royal Paradise. It was actually surprising to see so many people there considering the end of season and horrible reviews!

Despite the reviews for the resort being quite abysmal, we were also surprised they actually had decent food options. We certainly weren’t complaining!

And Greg was in dessert heaven. Talk about the paradox of choice! The final contestants follow. Not sure about the Kool-Aid electric purple frosty blob. 

And for breakfast, yogurt as usual, but this time draped with irresistible honey from the comb! YUM!!!

Trying to decide if he prefers the red or the white wine. In this case, the red was a bit gaggable, so we stuck with white. Robin knew better and went straight with the white.

The entrance to this particular paradise was very desolate and dark, especially considering it was supposed to resemble a mosque. We think they were trying to save money, as half the lights were off in the facility. Meh.

For $39/night, our fifth-floor room was more than adequate. 

However, we were extra careful not to slam our balcony door too hard, for fear of further shattering the window. 😆 In fact, it was probably better to just avoid the windows à la Bates Motel altogether. 🤣

But alas, our $39/night also included an ‘80s retro night and magic show. Unfortunately, we thought it would be more fun to spend both evenings on the phone with our credit card company and Pegasus Airlines, but that fun story was still to come.

By the way, Feriha and Robin also brought along with a little friend. This is Larry the Baby Cat who was still being bottle-fed. 😻 We couldn’t stop chuckling at adorable little Larry because not only was he quite mischievous, he also shared his name with Greg’s baba (Turkish for dad). 

Double fisting. It’s not often we get gelato for “free” so we didn’t mess around. We managed about one hour at the pool, most of the time licking ice cream, until we got bored.

Time for drinks! Mandy grabbed a self-named Pinka Colada (it was a Pina Colada, but pink….what would you call it?)

We all then decided to walk to the beach down a pleasant 15-minute path. But, not to worry, there’s a shuttle to take you there should your feet not work. 

This entire section of chairs belonged to our resort. Lunch and drinks are also served there so you don’t have to walk back either. 

And in case you’re interested in chucking up said lunch, there’s lots of water sports like parasailing, banana boating and jet skiing to jostle your intestines.

Or, for the tamer ones, you can create ferocious beasts in the sand. 

Soaking up our last sunset in Türkiye. What an amazing three months it had been. 

And it was extra special to spend time with Robín and Feriha as well. 

Ancient City of Side

When we got bored at the pool, we had to venture out and look for something more stimulating. This led us easily to the ancient city of Side. One hour east of Antalya, it was first settled in the 7th century BC and quickly rose to importance because of its favorable situation as a harbor city, which became famous for its role in slave trading. No prehistoric remains have yet been identified in and around Side, but Side entered into Persian rule with the rest of Anatolia in 540s B.C. In 334 BC the city surrendered to Alexander the Great and entered into Macedonian rule. 

“Look at the cute statue I found!” says Mandy at the Temple of Apollo, built around 150 AD and dedicated to the Greek and Roman god of music, harmony, light, and beer. (Greg added the last one.)

This ancient theater is the greatest of the preserved historical buildings of this magnificent city. It was built around the same time as the Temple of Apollo.

Only in Turkey do you see traffic going through a magnificent Roman keyhole arch. 

The word “Side” means “pomegranate fruit” in the ancient language.

Side old town is scattered with ruins everywhere you look…

…and the country’s unofficial mascot.

Like soldiers standing guard at the shoreline. 

The Temple of Apollo. It has some of the grandest and most towering stand-alone columns we’ve seen in Türkiye.

One of the most important monuments of the city was the Nymphaeum, or Monumental Fountain, built in the 2nd century A.D. According to inscriptions and mythological scenes, the most important festival of the city called “pibaterios” (The start of the commercial sailing season) started here. The procession of the festival would meet in front of the fountain then, enter the city and follow the colonnaded street to the Temples of Athena and Apollo. 

The waterside of Side.

This is where Side’s authenticity started to shift a bit as we entered what seemed to be a DisneyTurk Ottoman old town. Polished, gleaming, and new made to look old, the tourist industry is ripe with shopping, cafes, restaurants, and lots of families.  

Ah, yes. But Disney certainly doesn’t have 2000-year old ruin excavations happening in real time!

Need a shoe polish? We wish we could have given this man business!

The contrast of ruins and rugs.

This view was especially interesting because you could see layers of history as if it were a geologic timepiece. At the top, a house, perched above the foundation, perched above the rock, perched above Roman Ruins, surrounded by a pool of a mosaic tile floor at the bottom nearly 15 feet down. Fascinating.