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Yeni Sayfa 1
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ALTINKUM-DIDIM |
A few
words about Didim
 Didim,a
provincial town of the county of Aydın,is a peninsula
that extends into the Aegean sea.It is surrounded by
Söke in the North,Mandalya ,Bay in the South,the Aegean
sea in the west,and the lake of Bafa and the county of
Milas in the east.Didim is one of the most important and
favourite tourism centres in the area with its coastal
ribbon that stretches as far as 80 km.The climate
generally carries the typical Mediterranean
characteristics.
According to the last census the residing population of
didim was 25,700 but today it is estimated to be arount
30,000 Consisting of 9 main districts.Didim has a fairly
flat geography and a widely scattered
pattern of settlements.Its main route of transport is
the through Söke-Bodrum highway.Transport by air is
through Bodrum(90 km) and İzmir Adnan Menderes (150 km)
airports.Didim has been set up as a temple site in
history.The area that has hosted many empires and states
with the Ottomans as the last of the sequence is in the
environs of the Temple of Apollo today,and is known as
the Castle District (Hisar Mahallesi) The first
settlement in the history of the Republic was made
possible with the Pact of Residence Exchange signed
between Turkey and Greece.As the Greeks and Turks
exchanged places,the name of the area was changed from
Yoran to Yenihisar (Newcastle).
 After
the earthquake in 1955,the settlement was transferred
towards the area called Yenimahalle(New District) where
substitute residences were erected.For many years the
small coastal village kept busy with agriculture and
stockbreeding.It was further enlivened with the
foundation of the Municipality in 1967 The town assumed
its full identity in 1991 when the name
Yenihisar was dropped and that of Didim was reassigned.Drawing
the attention of tens of thousands of foreign and local
tourists,since the 1990’s Didim has become an important
holiday centre with is historical and natural wealth.Qualified
touristic administrations,unique bays,and the clean sea
come together to make Didim a brand in demand.As it
happens,today Didim is one of the few centres that has
overcome the problem of infrastructure among similar
coastal settlements.
ALTINKUM AND ITS ENVIRONS
 Many
visitors arriving to holiday in our town become quite
confused when hearing the reference to Didim.Most if not
all,tour brochures name the town as Altinkum,and to a
point that is correct.Altinkum is the region of the Main
Beach district of the town of Didim,In fact,Didim,part
of the regional administration of the city and county of
Aydın,covers a large area which also includes the other
holiday areas of Yeşilkent,Mavişehir and Akbük, as well
as the community of Yenihisar.
Altinkum,which means “Golden Sand” in Turkish,was given
its name with the
advent of tourism some years ago.It had previously been
named ‘Karakuyu’ which literally translates as ‘black
hole’! This was before there were any buildings,houses
or hotels.The area consisted solely of fields and
farming land,with a few tiny fish restaurants and tea
houses located near the sea front.
 The
area of Yenihisar is often referred to as the ‘old town’,although
the name actually translates as ‘Newcastle’ and we’ve
never heard any Geordie accents outside of the tourist
season!This is the area where all the electrical,furniture
and utillity shops are located,as well as numerous
lokantas (cafes),supermarkets and bakeries.
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