The Apollo temple of Didyma (the Didymaion) is located within the boundaries of the Yenihisar (Didim) district which is in the province of Aydin.

The donation of various sacrifical animals, 1,000 in number, and 12 rams by Lysimachus, was also one of the interesting offerings. The wealth of the Didymaion is understood by the fact that Miletus attempted to build a fleet with the treasures of the temple before the battle of Lade.

Another feature of the Didymaion was that it had the right to shelter. This right which was known as "the Right of Asylum," was the recognition of the right of sanctity to people that took refuge in the temple. The right of asylum, which therefore created many problems, was a reason to the rise of many discussions on this matter. However, the boundaries of the right of asylum were gradually enlarged and were increased to 3 kilometres by Emperor Augustus Trajan enlarged the boundaries even more and wanted them to be recognized from the beginning of the Sacred Road.

It is understood from inscriptions that the festivities and ceremonies held every year in spring went on even after the Didymaion was completely destroyed in 494 BC. The journey from Miletus to the Didymaion was made by sea or by the "Sacred Road". The group of people who set out from Miletus with ceremonies begun in the Delphinion where they received the sanctification of Apollo and were sent forward by the Delphins, came from the Lions' Harbour to the Panarmos Harbour, and from there reached the Didymaion on foot. First of all, sacrificial beasts and votive offerings were presented to the god, then, after ceremonies to the accompaniment of music and chorus, the important persons entered the temple, and after that, the questions asked by inquires were answered by the oracle. These ceremonies were directed by the Stephanephors. It was shown in inscriptions that the Emperors Augustus and Trajan took the title of Stephanephor and carried out this position. In the Roman period, the Sacred Road gained in importance as the harbours filled up with alluvial mud and travel by sea became unfeasible.

Because this extremely impressive and magnificent temple was not completed it is not considered among the seven wonders of the world by the authorities.

The first excavations in Didyma were made in 1858 by the English under the management of Newton. The area excavated was the Sacred Road.

In the excavations of 1895-96, which were once again undertaken by the French, work that was supervised by B. Haussoullier and E. Pontremoli, was concentrated on the northern part of the temple. These excavations were stopped shortly after due to economic reasons. However, the excavations that began in 1905 for the museums in Berlin under the supervision of Th. Weigand, were continued on a systematic basis until the year 1937. During this time a great portion of the temple was revealed. After this date, excavations were interrupted and work on the publication of the results was begun.

In order to find solutions to certain problems concerning the temple and its surroundings, excavations were begun again in 1962, this time for the German Institute of Archaeology, under the supervision of R. Naumann. After R. Naumann left, the excavations in Didyma were continued under the supervision of Klaus Tuchelt. Work is at present still going on in the area with special attention to research on the Sacred Road.

Remains of foundations of the Late Geometric period were found during excavations carried out in 1962 by German archaeologists within the secos of the Hellenistic temple to look for the first Apollo temple of Didyma which, according to Pausanias, had existed before the 10th century BC. The temple which, according to the foundations of secos (Definition of Secos 1. -in ancient Greece- a. a sanctuary. b. the cella of a temple. The Origin: 1810-20; Gk sekós enclosed area) walls uncovered in the north and south parts, was 10.20 metres wide and 24 metres long and slightly narrowed towards the east, was built at the end of the 8th century BC. The small and simple temple contained a secos, an altar, a sacred source, a cult statue and the symbols of Apollo. The Late Geometric temple did not have a naiscos (meaning little temple), the naiscos is understood to have been built at the end of the 7th century BC to protect the cult statue. Exploratory digging carried out to the south-west of the temple revealed the remains of a columned building 15.50 metres long and 3.60 metres wide. The remnants and ceramic findings have been dated back to the end of the 7th century BC.

The Didymaion became really important in the 6th century BC when all Ionian cities, and especially Miletus, reached their most flourishing era. The temple was rebuilt in 560 - 550 BC with larger proportions. The influence of the temples of Hera at Samos and Artemis at Ephesus are apparent in the Archaic Didymaion.

The temple, an 87.65 metre long and 40.89 metre wide building of a dipteral plan (having a double row of columns all around), rested on a two - stepped crepis. The longer sides had 21 columns each, the east had 8, and the west 9, whereas in the pronaos there were 8 columns in two rows. Together with the columns within the peristasis (the surrounding hall), the total number of columns added up to 112.

The parts of the temple which were not visible from the outside were made of local tufa, while those that were visible were made of marble. The marble was provided from marble quarries on the island of Tosoz, and in the hills above the village of Pinarcik near Bafa Lake. One can still see fragments of roughly prepared column shafts in the quarries at Pinarcik. The marble brought from the quarry to Latmos Harbour was then taken by sea to Panarmos Harbour, and from there it was carried to the temple.

The bases and capitals of the 15.45 metre high columns bear the characteristics of the Artemis Temple at Ephesus; the bases consists of tori and double trochili, the Ionic capitals have large volutes, the column shafts have 36 flutes. On the eastern facade, the lower parts of the columns in the front row were decorated with reliefs; a head of a woman (Kore) from these reliefs is on display in the Charlottenburg Museum in Berlin. The characteristics of all these elements indicate that they were at the made latest in the year 550 BC, which coincides with the date of the initial construction of the Archaic Didymaion.

The double row of columns in the pronaos indicate that it had a roof. The architrave is quite narrow. In the corners are high reliefs of winged gorgons and behind these are figures of crouching lions. It is believed that certain wild animals' figures were also there besides the lions. This type of decorations is quite unusual in temple entablature. These pieces of work which, can be dated back to the end of the 6th century BC, were probably made during restoration works which took place in the temple at the time. On the architrave rest, in due order, a band of egg - and - dart moulding, dentils, another band of egg - and - dart moulding, a cornice and a roof.

The inner sides of the walls of the secos were fortified by pilasters in the form of half - columns, which brought colour to the long, high walls. The height of the walls of the 50.25 metre long and 17.45 metre wide secos reached 17.5 metres. Walls of this height give the impression that the secos was roofed, yet the greatness of the distances between the pilasters on the walls destroys this theory.

Within the secos stood the naiscos where the cult statue of Apollo was kept. However, there are not many findings belonging to these buildings. During borings in the Hellenistic naiscos, foundation remains belonging to a smaller building were found. It is believed that these foundations belong to the Archaic naiscos. The bronze cult statue is known as the "Apollo Philesius" and represents Apollo catching a deer.

In front of the temple (east) and on the same axis stands a circular altar. This altar, of which the outer diameter measures 8 metres and the inner one 5.5 metres, had two doors. The holes for the hinges can be still seen on the thresholds. The well preserved altar had been used in the Archaic, and also in the Hellenistic and Roman temples as the sacred place where the animals presented as votive offerings were burned. The evidence to this is due to the large amount of ashes found in the building during excavations. In ancient times, animals offered to the gods of the sky were burned in this type of altar, and sanctification was achieved by washing in the blood of the animals offered to the gods under the ground. To the north of the altar is the sacred source. The masonry of the lower parts of this circular well shows that it was constructed in the Archaic period.

Protective walls, 3.5 metres high, encircle the front part of the temple. These walls must have been built to diminish the difference of levels in the large area in front of the temple. In the uncovered portion of these protective walls were five outlets with staircases, each measuring 2.5 metres wide. The central stairs are situated just opposite the altar, on the same axis. These stairs led to the terrace on which stood the votive and gods' statues. The style of the egg and dart moulding used to decorate the upper part of the terrace wall, as well as the workmanship of the wall and stairs, bear the characteristics of the Archaic period.

On this terrace one also comes across the remains of two long structures built of limestone. The 34.5 metre long and 7 metre wide buildings must have been shops where visitors took shelter or shopped. These buildings also show the characteristics of the Archaic period.

Next to the stairs along the terrace wall situate in the direction of the south - east end of the temple are rows of benches. It is understood that these benches extending parallel to the steps of the temple were built in the Hellenistic period, and were the rows of benches for the stadium situated to the south of the temple. Every four years festivities called the "Megala Didymeia" and musical shows were held here, and torch processions and competitions were arranged. The bases having a hole in the centre, which marked the starting points of the races, can be seen at the eastern end of the stadium. These bases lie on the same axis as the altar.

The Delphinion is accepted as the starting point of the Sacred Road connecting Miletus and Didyma. The road ran from the Sacret Gate of Miletus southwards in the direction of the coast to Panarmos Harbour (above Akkoy), and bending south-east from the port, reached the Didymaion. Within the boundaries of Yenihisar, the Sacred Road runs close along the side of the asphalt road. A portion of the Sacred Road has been revealed by excavations and exploratory trenches dug in recent years. However, due to certain bureaucratic obstacles, it has not yet been possible to establish its connection to the temple.

On both sides of the road there were statues of Branchids (priests and priestesses attached to the temple), crouching lions and sphinxes, all of which gave the road an impressive appearance. Monumental tombs and sarcophagi belonging to important people were also dispersed along the road. Statues of Branchids revealed in the excavations carried out by Newton in 1858 on the Sacred Road have been taken to the British Museum. Some fragments belonging to the statues are in the storeroom of the house of excavations in Didyma. Four of the Branchid statues in which Hittite influence is apparent and which have been dated back to the 6th century BC, are on display in the museum in Miletus. In the years 100 and 101 AD Emperor Trajan had the Sacred Road restored. The parts of the road that had fallen down were raised to a higher level and the other parts were repaired. Inscriptions indicate that the restoration work was completed in a very short time.

Furthermore, it was understood from a milestone revealed during excavations that the road was 16.5 kilometres long. According to the portions uncovered, the width of the road which was made of stone blocks, changed between 5 and 7 metres. On both sides of it were rows of shops, votive fountains, monumental tombs, baths, and the area for the cult of Artemis. Findings indicated this a dense settlement. The group of people who set out from Miletus to join the annual celebrations and festivities which were held in the Didymaion every spring, reached the temple after a long walk, which therefore were the resting places on the Sacred Road. It is understood that the terrace with the Sphinx, uncovered during excavations carried out in 1985 about 4 kilometres to the south of Akkoy, was a halting place built for rest purposes.

If you would like to go on your own there are local minibuses from Altinkum every 15 minutes. The other choice is to go to a travel agency that organises combined tours to Milet - Priene - Didyma during the high season which includes the visit to the Apollo Temple.