PERGAMUM
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In the Roman Period, Pergamum played a very important role for Christianity. One of the Seven Churches of Revelation, stated in the Book of Revelation, is in Pergamum. (another church stated in the Book of Revelation, Thyatira Church, is only 50 km to Pergamum in the modern city of Akhisar). Also the second biggest library of ancient period, after the library of Alexandria in Egypt, was in Pergamum. The library contained 200.000 volumes. Pergamum invented the parchment, a material used instead of papylus which was produced by the Egyptians.
The finest altar (shrine) ever built is accepted as the Zeus Altar in Pergamum in 180 BC. Most parts of the Zeus Altar is now in the Berlin Pergamum Museum. The altar was in the Acropolis which is some 300 meters above the modern city of Bergama. The ancient theater in the Acropolis is the steepest Hellenistic Theater in the world. The theater has 80 rows with over 10.000 spectator capacity. The theater lies on the hill in the Acropolis overlooking the modern city of Bergama and Gediz Valley.
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Asclepieum, a sanctuary and a healing center built for Asclepieum, the God of healing, was the first hospital in the world and was built in the 4th century BC. This large complex became an official center in the 3rd century BC and in the 2nd century Hadrian further developed the complex. Close to the complex in Pergamum, Serapeum (Temple of Serapis-Turkish name Kizil Avlu), was built in the 2nd century AD during the king of Hadrian and was dedicated to the Gods of Egypt. Because of the red bricks used in the construction, the building is also called the Red Court.
DİDİM
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takes its name from the antic city of Didyma. Didim is a very popular holiday resort with its long sandy beaches, watersports facilities, a waterpark, Didyma antic city ruins and the Temple of Apollo at Didyma. Didim neighbors the Bafa Lake National Park, the Buyuk Menderes River (historic name Maeander) and antic cities Miletos and Priene.
Find an Hotel in Didim at Thomas Cook.
Didyma was an ancient Greek City located just outside the modern Didim. Didyma had never been a large city, its fame was rooted from the existence of the sacred spring of the city and the Temple of Apollon. Didyma was connected to Miletus by sea. Those arriving by ship would land at the Panarmus port and follow the famous the Sacred Way to Didyma. Didyma was administered by the Branchidae family which claimed to be the priests of Apollon. Didyma was completely destructed by the Persians in 494 BC. About 160 years later, Didyma was again captured by Alexander the Great who placed the administration of the city in the hands of the city of Miletus. In 300 BC the Mileasians started to build the largest temple in the Greek World. Although the construction continued until the 2nd century AD, the great temple was never completely finished. In the following years a church and barracks for the Byzantine army were built. A great earthquake in the 15th century devastated the settlement.
The first Apollon Temple was built in the Archaic period (8th century BC). Its successor, the Hellenistic temple was built on the foundations of the earlier one. The temple we see today is built in the Ionia period which measures 60 x 120 meters.
Two well-known villages administered by Didim are Altinkum and Akbuk. Altinkum (meaning Golden Sand in Turkish) has 2 main beaches. Both towns, Altinkum and Akbuk offer a quite, peaceful and lively holiday with great beaches.
DATCA
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Known in Turkish as "half island", the Datca Peninsula is surrounded on three sides by the Aegean sea and is reminiscent of a small Greek island some 20 years ago. Datca (antic name Knidos) is a town where life centres around the harbour. Carpet shops, boutiques, restaurants, bars and even an amphi cinema line the harbour side and each evening an assortment of gulets, yachts and gin palaces arrive to drop anchor in this attractive setting.
A drive through the peninsula with pine forests and roads zig zagging down to sea level will bring you to Knidos, on the tip of the peninsula, a site dating back to 400BC and most famed for its statue of Aphrodite, the first naked female statue in history. If you prefer less strenuous activity then there are numerous bays, some sandy, some pebbly but all with crystal clear water and many ideal for snorkelling.
Datca is famed for its almonds (the best almonds in the world), honey and thyme and air. In ancient times it was known as "magic air", due to the north wind that blows in the summer there is very little humidity and this is considered to be of great benefit for some medical complaints. Also the most important handcraft is the hand made embroideries. These embroideries are made of silk that is home-made. You can buy these embroideries from the bazaar on saturdays.
