Didim
General Information
District: Aydin, State: Aegean Region, Turkey
Area: 402 km²
Languages Spoken: Turkish
Long Distance Code: (+90) 0256
Best Time to Visit: May to August
International Access: Izmir Adnan Menderes International Airport (ADB)
Description
Geography Didim is located on the north shore of the gulf of Güllük opposite the Bodrum peninsula villages such as Torba, Türkbükü and Yalikavak. The district consists of Didim itself, a coastal town of 26,000 people and a number of small towns including Altinkum (which means golden sand), Gümüskum (silver sand) and Sarikum (yellow sand). Tourism is the main source of income for the area, especially in summer, but agriculture is also an important contributor, the main crops are wheat and cotton. Animals, especially sheep and goats, are raised mainly for local consumption. History See Didyma for a full account of this ancient city. The area was settled in the neolithic period, established as colony of Crete and then Mycenae in the 16th century BC and subsequently possessed by Lycians, Persians, Seleucids, Attalids, Ancient Romans, and Byzantines as part of the province of Caria. The area came into the hands of Turks following the defeat of Byzantium at the Battle of Malazgirt in 1086. The town was captured again by the Byzantines in 1098, by Mentese in 1280, then Aydinids in 1300. Didim was brought into the Ottoman Empire by Mehmet I in 1413. Etymology Didim takes its name from ancient Didyma, sited close to the town. During the Ottoman Empire the town was known as Yoranda or Yoran and under the Turkish Republic was called Hisar (meaning castle) and following its destruction in an earthquake in 1955 was rebuilt and renamed Yenihisar (new castle). The town was part of Söke district until 1991. The area became the district of Yenihisar and was later given the ancient name Didim to distinguish it from other places in Turkey called Yenihisar in 1997. Tourism This coast has become a very popular holiday resort and is genuinely attractive with its long sandy beaches, clear blue sea, ancient ruins to visit, and its own microclimate, benefitting from hundreds of days of sun a year and warm winters, allowing residents to enjoy the famous beaches and watersports even in January. Perhaps the most attractive bays are the smaller quieter ones further from the centre, such as Haydar, along a dirt road around the shore of Akbük (white bay). Recent renewal of main roads means the area is easily served by Bodrum and İzmir airports. As Didim is so well-situated in the 1980s people from large cities around Turkey, especially Ankara, began to buy holiday homes, apartments, and villas in the area. Most of these were built as cooperative housing projects with private beaches. The attraction of the area is proved by the number of Ankara families that have now been going to Didim for two or more generations, and even today you will see many cars with Ankara (06) numberplates in Didim in summertime. Property values are now rising dramatically and the building boom continues as foreign buyers, especially the families of Turks living and working in Europe, follow their lead. The growth of Didim in the 1980s was enhanced with the building of hotels to accommodate visitors, originally from Britain but now from Turkey itself, on cheap package holidays. Since about 2001 British people have begun to buy holiday homes in Didim, establishing themselves as a visible community of many thousands, to the extent that utility bills in the district are now printed in English as well as Turkish. You will see the Union Jack and other British flags all around Didim, especially in the bars. Didim town has hotels, a weekly market, a waterpark and the antique temple of Apollo nearby. Didim is also close to a number of other ancient towns and natural wonders: Lake Bafa national park is nearby, along with the Büyük Menderes River and historic sites such as Miletus and Priene. In the evenings, visitors try to find somewhere quiet to sit by the sea and look at the lights of other towns across the water. For those of a more energetic nature, Didim has a number of discothèques, smaller bars and clubs, some with live music, mostly Türkü (Turkish folk music). However, Didim is mostly a quiet, family resort with a great coastline, and visitors looking for nightlife would be better off in Bodrum. Summers in Didim can involve sitting on the balcony drinking raki, playing volleyball, sitting on the beach, or wandering along the seafront while eating sunflower seeds or Pistachio. The local station, Didim TV, is an amateur project by a television repair shop owner and neighbourhood councillor (muhtar), and is mostly advertisements for local shops and hotels. The new fifty million dollar Didim Marina (D-Marin Didim) was constructed by Dogus Group and became operational in 2009 with berths for 8m to 50m boats, 400-ton boat lift, dry docks, hangars, maintenance yard, yacht club, shopping mall, restaurants and visitor facilities. The new marina is expected to encourage further tourism and rising property prices in the area.Location
Didim, home of the antique city of Didyma with its ruined Temple of Apollo, is a small town, popular seaside holiday resort and district of Aydin Province on the Aegean coast of western Turkey, 123 km (76 mi) from the city of Aydin.Climate
Didim (Aydin) has a Mediterranean climate consisting of very hot, long and dry summers with an average of 34°C (93°F) in the daytime, winters are cool and rainy with a daytime average of 14°C (57°F).
Milet Museum, located in the ancient city of Miletos, 40 km. from the Söke district of Aydin, was opened to public in 1973. It is designed to display the archeological findings from Millet in general. It consists of a hall with a pool and one large and one smaller hall which open up to this area. Mycenae ceramics dated back to XVth millenium B.C. and items from Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman periods are on display.
Milet
It was an important Mycenean colony around the middle of 2000 B.C. and a considerably well developed commercial and cultural center. Milet sustained this status and thus its importance during the Roman period, and lost its commercial significance when the Latmos bay filled up during the time of the Byzantines. It was turned into a Turkish Balat by the Mentese Dynasty in the 13th century and enjoyed a brilliant period as the capital of Menteseogullari Dynasty.
Coming from the Söke direction, moving on the road turning towards the historical site of Milet, the first thing one notices is the theatre and the Byzantine castle above it. Walking through the theatre, the ancient the caravansary in front of it, the Faustina Bath, Ilyas Bey Mosque, Serapis Temple Bouleterion, Sacred Road, Ionic Stoa, Northern Agora, Delphinion, Hanikah, Port Monument and St. Michael Church are the major sites to be seen.
Prienne
Near the Güllübahce settlement, 15 km. from the center of the Söke district. It is laid out according to the plan of famous urban architect Hippoddamos from Miletos and shows Hellenistic characteristics. Prienne, which has reached our times in a well preserved state, was under Roman and Byzantine dominance after the rule of the Pergamon Kingdom.
Sites worth seeing are Prytaneum, Bouleterion, houses, Athena Temple, Grand Church, Baptisterium, Theater, Upper Gymnasium, Egyptian Temple, Sacred Stoa, Agora and the Temple of Alexander the Great along the Main Street or the Sacred House.
Didim
It is 55 km. from the central city of Söke district. "Didymaion" means twin and the fact the area is thus named may be seen as evidence in support of the claim that Appollo and Artemis, later the daughter of Titan and the Chief God of the archaic world, Zeus and former the son of Leto, were twins.
Approaching the Appollon Temple before reaching the shops along both sides of the sacred path, there is the small Artemis Temple where excavations are still in progress. It is not yet open for visitors. The archaic Didymaion was built towards the end of 8th century B.C. The temple, which enjoyed some importance in Ionia, became even greater when the city of Miletos gained general renown. In later years, the Appollo Temple was demolished by the Persians. During the times of Alexander the Great, the demolished temple was replaced by a larger temple with 124 columns.
Remarks: Address: Milet Örenyeri Balat Köyü Didim-AYDIN Tel: +90 256 8755562
Milet
It was an important Mycenean colony around the middle of 2000 B.C. and a considerably well developed commercial and cultural center. Milet sustained this status and thus its importance during the Roman period, and lost its commercial significance when the Latmos bay filled up during the time of the Byzantines. It was turned into a Turkish Balat by the Mentese Dynasty in the 13th century and enjoyed a brilliant period as the capital of Menteseogullari Dynasty.
Coming from the Söke direction, moving on the road turning towards the historical site of Milet, the first thing one notices is the theatre and the Byzantine castle above it. Walking through the theatre, the ancient the caravansary in front of it, the Faustina Bath, Ilyas Bey Mosque, Serapis Temple Bouleterion, Sacred Road, Ionic Stoa, Northern Agora, Delphinion, Hanikah, Port Monument and St. Michael Church are the major sites to be seen.
Prienne
Near the Güllübahce settlement, 15 km. from the center of the Söke district. It is laid out according to the plan of famous urban architect Hippoddamos from Miletos and shows Hellenistic characteristics. Prienne, which has reached our times in a well preserved state, was under Roman and Byzantine dominance after the rule of the Pergamon Kingdom.
Sites worth seeing are Prytaneum, Bouleterion, houses, Athena Temple, Grand Church, Baptisterium, Theater, Upper Gymnasium, Egyptian Temple, Sacred Stoa, Agora and the Temple of Alexander the Great along the Main Street or the Sacred House.
Didim
It is 55 km. from the central city of Söke district. "Didymaion" means twin and the fact the area is thus named may be seen as evidence in support of the claim that Appollo and Artemis, later the daughter of Titan and the Chief God of the archaic world, Zeus and former the son of Leto, were twins.
Approaching the Appollon Temple before reaching the shops along both sides of the sacred path, there is the small Artemis Temple where excavations are still in progress. It is not yet open for visitors. The archaic Didymaion was built towards the end of 8th century B.C. The temple, which enjoyed some importance in Ionia, became even greater when the city of Miletos gained general renown. In later years, the Appollo Temple was demolished by the Persians. During the times of Alexander the Great, the demolished temple was replaced by a larger temple with 124 columns.
Remarks: Address: Milet Örenyeri Balat Köyü Didim-AYDIN Tel: +90 256 8755562