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According to myth, "After God created men,
he shook off the scrap clay from his hands; and the pieces of clay fell on the
Aegean Sea. The islands and shores of this region are so awe inspiring because
they have been created from the same clay with men." With its thousands of
islands of which some are not even shown on the maps and with its curved shores,
Aegean Sea couldn't possibly be described in a better way!..
Didim is set on this fantastic geographical
part of the world. It is 175 km south from the Turkey's third largest city
İzmir; 70 km from Kuşadası and 110 km from Bodrum, which are the
two important touristic resorts of the country.
We will talk about the advantages of this
position later on. Now, let us first tell you the means to come here. Of course,
it would be very nice to come to Didim with a yatch from the sea. But if you
don't have a yatch or enough time, you can always come by plane. Milas-Bodrum
airport is only 73 km from Didim and it takes approximately 80 minutes by coach;
İzmir-Adnan Menderes Airport is 175 km. The Turkish people normally prefer
to travel by motorway to Didim, because then they have the privilige of seeing
some marvelous sights and ruins on the way.
Didim is one of the peninsulas surrounding the
Güllük Gulf (the other is the Bodrum Peninsula). It has a coast of 53 km in
total full of bays. Almost all the bays have sandy beaches and allow people to
sunbathe and swim freely. Among these bays, the most important one is of course
Altınkum (meaning the golden sand), which lies right in front of the hotels
region and which is one of the most beautiful and worldwide famous beaches of
the Aegean coast. With its very fine sand and its clear blue waters, it highly
deserves its reputation.
Though it is in quite a hot climate and on a
peninsula, either for its air of very low humidity or the breeze which mildly
blows from the land towards the sea all day long, or for the sea which covers
your horizon, Didim creates a feeling of infinity and eternity, as well as a
feeling of limitless freedom in every visitor. Don't you believe? Then come and
live it for yourself!...
There are about 200 touristic accomodations
with an approximate 25.000 beds totally, in Didim. Within wide range of
different classes of accomodations varying from boarding-houses to hotels, and
from camping areas to holiday villages, you will be able to find a place to suit
your expectations. Some of these properties work with holiday makers and some
are independent and most have pages on the internet.
You may spend your days swimming in any part of
the coastline, cruising on a boat in the magical Agean blue waters, doing water
sports or joining the daily trips to the nearby archeological or natural sites.
You may spend your nights eating delicious foods of the international or turkish
cousine in one of the restaurants, and enjoying yourselves in bars and discos
where you'll find different types of music and drinks. Of course you have other
choices like; shopping at Dolphin Square or after watching the sunset in Mavişehir,
eating "mantı", "gözleme" or "İzmir lokması"...
Have you ever seen a forest of stone? We are
not talking about rocks in mountany areas, but a man-made "stone
forest". Would you like to see it? Then come to Didim and visit the Temple
of Apollon. Those columns erected by people who lived 7-8 centuries before
Christ and who did not yet know how to mix sand, pebbles and cement to make
plaster, have been standing almost for 3000 years.
You will surely experience one of the most
special moments of your life. Because at that moment, you will not only be in a
foreign country, surrounded by foreign people but also you will be standing in a
place shared by different civilizations for 3000 years. And from that moment on
you are one of those who shared it. You are in the third greatest temple of the
ancient world. That temple is the architectural twin of the Artemision, which is
one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
Artemision is no more there to see, but Temple
of Apollon still exists with all its majesty. Besides, if your holiday coincides
with the festival in Didim, you can even watch a concert here at night time. We
have mentioned that Didim is very adventageous because of its position. In fact,
many settlements of the Aegean, thus the ancient world, is close enough to visit
by daily trips.
For example, the ancient "city of the
philosophers", Miletus is 20 km from Didim. One of the seven philosophers
of the ancient world, Thales; Anaksimandros who drew the first world map to be
known; philosopher and historian Hekaitos; city planner and architect Hippodamos
have all lived in Miletus. The city which was originally by the sea, is now in
the middle of a plane, due to the earth carried by the Meander River. And that
plane is so huge that, the local people, in situations requiring patience and
serenity say that "to endure all this, one must have a heart as wide as the
Balat Plane".
Another "work" of the Meander River
is the Bafa Lake, 30 km from Didim. Once beeing a Gulf of the Aegean Sea, again
by the earth that the river carried throughout the ages, it is now a lake. You
can swim there or watching the many islands on it and the surrounding forests
you can eat fresh fish. 15 km from Didim is the pretty holiday resort, Akbük.
The green of the forests mix with the blue of the sea to create a picture from
heaven. Its coast of approximately 11 km allows all sorts of water sports to be
enjoyed. Not over yet! There is the ancient city of Priene, which was a
bishopary in the Bizantium period; old Greek village of Doğanbey, with its
interesting stone houses; a natural wonder, Karina; another natural wonder Kazıklı
bay; Haydar's bay, which makes a foreigner exclaim, "Where am I, in
Acapulco?"; and many more, still untold of...
The last but not the least, two more sites to
discover: first, Pamukkale (meaning cotton castle) famous for its calcium
terraces which really looks like made from cotton. You will admit that nowhere
else but in a scenery of snow you can see this much white all around. And the
glamorous final! Ephesus, home of the temple built for the goddess Artemis which
is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. With its roads, anfitheatre,
library, houses, baths, agoras and even its brothel, Ephesus welcomes you, as
vivid as its ancient times. We tried to describe a "picture of Didim"
for you.
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