Didim is a touristic district of Aydın. It is in the form of a peninsula bordered by Muğla provincial border and Güllük Bay and Akbük Bay in the east, the Aegean Sea in the west and south, Bafa Lake and the Menderes River in the north, its surface area is 402 km. According to the 2000 Population Census results, there are 3 affiliated municipalities and 5 villages in the district where 37,395 people live.
The first settlement traces of Didim district date back to the Neolithic Period (8000 BC). B.C. In the 16th century, the presence of Mycenaean, Cretan and later Aka colonies is observed. After the Persians, Romans and Byzantines, after the 1071 Battle of Malazgirt, the gates of Anatolia were opened to the Turks and this region, which was first called Caria, was captured by the Turks. After the 1st Crusades, it was captured by Byzantium again. With the establishment of the Menteşe Principality in Caria after 1261, Didim and its surroundings were included in this principality.
During the Ottoman Empire, it continued its existence with the name “yeronda – tired”. After the earthquake of 1955, YORAN, which was previously known as “HiSAR” by the public, moved to the disaster houses built by the state and became “YENiHiSAR”. Afterwards, it was renewed as “DIDIM”, which comes from “DIDYMAION” as a root, which is only blunan somewhere in the world in order not to incline the name resemblance.
While Didim and its surroundings were a part of Söke district until May 9, 1990, with a law published on that date, Akbük, Ak-Yeniköy townships, Balat, Batıköy, Denizköy and Yalıköy villages and Akköy, which was taken from Milas district, became a district. In 1999, the name of Yenihisar district was changed to Didim.
County economy is based on agriculture and tourism. Wheat and cotton rank first among field crops. Livestock is enough to meet the consumption need, especially sheep and goat breeding.
The economy is positively affected in the district, which is visited by a significant number of tourists during the summer months.
The plan of the Temple of Apollo is extraordinary and even unique in various aspects. The structure in the Ionic order shows a “dekastylos dipteros” plan, that is, it is surrounded by two rows of columns containing ten columns on the short sides. There are twelve more columns in the pronaos that is like a forecourt. Thus, the total number of columns is 120. Between the pronaos and the sacred section, there is an anterior chamber with two columns. This front room is not found in other temples. Three doors from the front room lead to the steps leading down to the naos. Naos: It is the sacred area where the cult statue is located. The building has never been covered with a roof because of its huge size. On both sides of the pronaos, an inclined corridor connects the pronaoso to the naos. This is a unique arrangement. In Greek temples, the cult (worship) statue is usually located close to the back wall of the naos, but due to the open top of the temple of Apollo, a small temple (naiskos) was built in the middle of the naos for the Apollo statue. Only the foundations of the bilicilik spring are in the naiskos that have survived to the present day. Another extraordinary feature of the temple is the stairs on both sides of the front room and reaching above the naos walls. The temple has a rich variety of motifs. You can see these motifs in our photo gallery. Especially Medusa relief is much more beautiful than similar ones.
The temple of Apollo shows significant success in terms of prophecy and quickly gains fame and wealth. One of his prophecies was the prophecy that Alexander would win. As a cognition, the priests never gave definite answers and always gave open answers to interpretation. So everything that happened was somehow coming to what the priests said, and because they constantly talk to guests from far and wide, they know almost all political secrets, and this information was very useful, especially in political prophecies. Biling was not the only activity in Didyma. The Great Didyma Festivities, which are held every four years, were in great demand during the Roman Empire period. Apart from the usual sports competitions, oratory, music and theater competitions were also held. Part of the festival was held in Didyma and another part in Miletos. Maybe weird, but most of the competitions were held in the garden of the Temple of Apollo instead of the magnificent theater in Miletos. The stadium in Didyma is still standing. It is located south of the temple and so close that the steps of the temple were used as seats. There are inscriptions on the lower steps showing that each of the seats is reserved for a specific person. Approximately 200 separate names can be read, it is observed that some of them are carefully engraved and some are roughly scratched. Names are concentrated in the first row, which is considered the best place. All of them are names belonging to persons with individual or community status. No place has been allocated to any state official due to his status. The starting place of the running races is at the east end of the stadium and can still be seen today. One of the interesting features of the Didyma Apollo temple is that it is carved into the walls and steps in various parts of the building.
Where is Didim
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