Didim

Settlement type	District
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name
Timezone	EET
Utc offset	+2
Map caption	Location of Didim within Turkey.
Timezone dst	EEST
Utc offset dst	+3
Official name	Didim
Population total	37395|population_footnotes=

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 Aydın Province on the Aegean coast of western Turkey, from the city of Aydın.

Geography

Didim is located on the north shore of the gulf of Güllük opposite the Bodrum peninsula villages such as Torba, Türkbükü and Yalıkavak. The district consists of Didim itself, a coastal town of 26,000 people and a number of small towns including Altınkum (which means golden sand), Gümüşkum (silver sand) and Sarıkum (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.

Didim is divided into the following areas;

Yalıköy - West Mavişehir - West Mersindere - West Cumhuriyet - Central Efeler - Central Yenimahalle - Central Çamlık - South - 3'rd beach, main beach and D-Marin Didim (new marina) Altınkum - South - main beach and 2'nd beach Fevzipaşa - south - where the new Golf Course is planned Yeşilkent - South/East

History

See Didyma for a full account of this ancient city. The area was settled in the neolithic period, established as colony ofCrete 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 Menteşe in 1280, then Aydınoğlu 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 rakı, 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 Doğuş 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.

Places of interest

For many the most dramatic feature is the ruins of the Ionic Temple of Apollo with its columns pointing up into the sky, and its legend of the romance between Apollo and Daphne. The original temple and home of an oracle was destroyed during the Persian Wars and the one we see today was rebuilt following the victory over the Persians of Alexander the Great.

Nearby Miletos, the ruins of the ancient city including a well-preserved antique theatre, stadium, baths of Faustina, temple of Serapis and much more.

Bars and clubs include:

Garden Bar (with its happy hour and loud pop music).

the huge Medusa discothèque, one of the largest in Turkey.

Ali Bar, Didim's rock music locale.

Atelier Cafe Olive Painting exhibition open all year round in the village of Akköy, a 10-minute bus ride to Didim town center. Mrs.Sara Ilguzer's paintings from the village Akköy of local scenes of the country-side of Didim Turkey.

Mosquito Bar&Music; Club, locating right next to The Garden at the Altinkum Beach, is a fantastic place with exclusively good music and cocktails, open between 8pm-3am.(Yali St. No:19)

Big Ben on the Altinkum Beach is recognisable by its clock tower and friendly waiters, known for its floor show on party nights, has menus of English and Turkish style food

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Didim is twinned with:

Atlanta, GA, USA

Chittagong, Bangladesh

Kano, Nigeria

Gibraltar

Bryansk, Russia

Nordkapp, Norway

Sarh, Chad

Chegga, Mauritania

Bata, Equatorial guinea

Bo, Sierra Leone

References

External links

Didim, Altinkum Information Didim, Altinkum Info

Explore Didim Photo Galleries of Altinkum, Akbuk, Didyma, Miletos and Priene

District governor Altinkum Guide DidimGuide Photos of Didim

Local Didim news in English

D-Marin Didim

Didim City

Category:Populated places in Aydın Province Category:Aydın Category:Turkish Riviera Category:Populated coastal places in Turkey