Historical and Touristic Places in the Vicinity of Izmir – Chapter 5
MILETUS : Passing through the door of the market (This door was made in 165 B.C. and was taken to Berlin Museum by Germans) which shuts the south door having Opera in the North and Lyseum beside, one comes to the great market of antiques which was founded on an area of 35.000 square meters. There are Bulen-terions resembling the ones in Priene in the South of the market door.If we go on further, the hot water springs of Faustino can be seen, which takes the name of the wife of King Antonius Pius and which were in 150 B.C. In the Smith of southern Agora, there is the mosque of Ilyas Bey on the point of destruction and which came down from Selcuk Turks 1403 A.D. After completing our excursion in Milet, we make for Didim which is 10 Kms. far from AKKOY.
DIDYMA: The road which goes to the temple of Apollon in Didim passes through the village of Balat (in the southern part of ancient Milet)and then by Akkiy in more southern part it progresses to the new village o the castle (Hisar) along the coast. There are the ruins of the temple in the middle of the village of Hisar. The temple of Apollon that gained a great fame with divination in the domain of antiquity was largely damaged by Persians in the 5 th century B.C. and was pillaged and then was rebuilt more strongly. This city defended itself against the attacks of Romans and had no damage. After visiting the historical and archeological places of Ephesus, Milet, Virgin Mary (Meryemana) and Didim you will certainly ask if there are here any natural beaties, resorts, and beaches. We also reply to this question like that: The people who founded these cities, and monuments they didn’t neglect these masterpieces from the standpoint of nature.
