Day 100, Didim, Turkey
- Erica Johns and Charlie Wheeler-Osman
- Jul 19, 2017
- 2 min read
Most people travel to Turkey for the sandy beaches and the guarantee of scorching weather from the beginning to the end of their holiday. What people often miss is that Turkey is a country full of history and culture and that if you venture as little as 15 minutes away from the coast you can find absolute gems, just like the historical ruins of the Temple of Apollo. The name itself isn't unique to these ruins in Turkey as there were many created in the name of mythological god across the region.
The ruins themselves aren't the biggest we'd ever seen but certainly one of the most beautiful. The bright white stones shining in the 40 degree heat looked magnificent. It was clear to see that these had been here for years and years and that they hadn't just worn away and lost their use over time. An earthquake wrecked the original structure in approximately back in 494BC, what is now left is what had been refurbished shortly after that, yet this reconstruction was never completed and the Temple of Apollo lay here in ruins since then.
Ruins are often closely monitored and on many sites you aren't allowed to even touch the closely preserved stones. However, here in Turkey, once you pay to get through the gates you are free to roam the entire ruins, climbing the stairs in the inner courtyards and slipping underneath the fallen pillars that still lay here like massive dominoes. Smaller in size than many of the other ruins in Europe yes, but this shouldn't take anything away from it's beauty and the amount of work that people have put in to keep the ruins revealed for all the people that flock here each year. We walked for an hour to get here and left bright and early to avoid not only the heat in the middle of the day but also the larger crowds of tourists - we wanted it all to ourselves.
If you're ever in the region I highly advise getting away from the beach or the side of the swimming pool, just for a couple of hours and come and see this relatively unknown spot of beauty. The area surrounding the ruins itself is a great location to come for food, drinks and interacting with the locals. Beautiful Turkish restaurants and cafe's line the cobbled street that surrounds the attraction, like anywhere else in the country the food is very cheap, yet tasty and generously portioned. I'd recommend coming up to the ruins early in the morning then going for a tradition Turkish meze, which is a variety of small dishes all given to you at once kind of like tapas in Spain.
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