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Maybe some of you know and maybe some of you don't. But a lot took place in this area before it became the growing holiday resort it is today. A little history tale about this beautiful area and one of its most important landmarks:

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Didyma was actually a sacred site and not a city, in it's centre a great temple was built in the name of the sun god Apollo. In later times the area was covered with tabacco fields.
What we know now as the TEMPLE OF APOLLON is one of the largest masterpieces of Hellenistic architecture.

The Apollon Temple now stands beside the main road and is surrounded by a fence next to 'boxes' of modern Mediterranean houses.

Apollo is the son of Zeus and he has a twin brother Artemis. According to the legend their mother, Leto, gave birth to the twins in the Ortega woods north of Kusadasi. The word "Didymaion" means "twins" and this is the reason why the place the Temple of Apollon stands is called so.

The Ionians built the temple in Didyma as the second oracle centre, and they constructed it with such care that it was one of the most magnificent temples of the times. The temple flourished under the guardianship of the city of Miletus. Pausanius, a writers of the 1st century informs us that the cult seen in this region existed long before the Ionians arrived in Anatolia.

A sacred road, paved with stones was built stretching from Didyma to Miletus and it was covered in four days of walking by those who wanted to visit the temple of Apollo or to appeal to the oracle. On both sides of this sacred road, there were marble statues of Brankhids (priests) sitting and Lions.

Twelve statues, namely 8 men, two women and two lion statues were taken to the British Museum in 1858. Another group, found at a later time, today decorate Louvre, Berlin and Istanbul Archaeological Museums. Four smaller samples of statues are to be found in Miletus Museum.

The temple was completely destroyed during the Persian attacks to 494 B.C. Its treasures plundered, and the valuable Apollo statue, was taken to Ekbatan. The remains of the temple we see today are the remains of the building which was constructed on a larger scale during the reign of Alexander the Great and during the Hellenistic period.

The Temple of Apollo was a major monument is it's day, however now not much of it's sanctuary can be seen.

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Now most of the people know this area as Altinkum however that is such a small part! Nevertheless Altinkum (= Golden Sand)  is considered one of Turkey's best natural beaches. The whole shore (all the way past Akbuk) embraces little islands of which some are not even shown on maps, and with its curved shores it is hard to describe it's beauty to those who have never seen it. Beaches, coves, quiet and cristal clear waters, makes this a resort with endless potential and waiting to be discovered.