Sacred road description and photo - Turkey: Didim (Topic)

Sacred road description and photos - Turkey: Didim. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photos and a map showing the nearest significant objects.

Photo and description

The Turkish resort of Didim is a small settlement by the sea, located on the southwestern coast of Turkey. The city is quite popular with the local population and tourists due to the golden sandy beaches stretching here. In ancient times, Didim was not actually a city; only priests lived here, who came mainly from the temple in Delphi. The name of this ancient city is associated with the legend about the meeting of Zeus with the goddess Leto, as a result of which Apollo and Artemis were born (the word "didyma" means "twins"). It was these divine beings that were always revered in the city and the most beautiful building of those times in Didyma was the Temple of Artemis. And in the neighboring city of Miletus, the temple of Apollo of Delphi was erected. These architectural monuments are still connected by a "sacred road" - one of the most interesting sights of Didim.

This stone-paved path dates back to the fourth century BC. It was built by the Roman emperor Trajan, and was previously laid out on the territory of the temples with rather rare and expensive red marble. The road passes through a small ravine, which, according to respected scientists, was once sacred. The famous Turkish geographer of antiquity Strabo also mentioned this grove. It is believed that walking along it will take four days.

Both sides of the road in ancient times were decorated with majestic marble statues of Branchids (priests). Among these sculptures are eight statues of men, and two statues of women. In addition, the road was decorated with two lion sculptures. All of them were transferred to the British Museum in 1858 and are world famous examples of ancient art. Later, during excavations, another similar group of statues was found, consisting of twelve sculptures. Now these archaeological finds are on display in the museums of Istanbul, Berlin and the Louvre. The Miletus Museum contains four smaller statues that have also been found in the area. The "sacred road" itself was lined with marble slabs.

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Topic: Sacred road description and photo - Turkey: Didim.