ABSTRACT
The memory of the pleasure which this spot afforded the author will not be … easily erased. The columns are so exquisitely fine, the marble mass so vast and noble, that it is impossible perhaps to conceive greater beauty and majesty in ruin. A monument of enormous proportions and grandeur, the temple of Didyma vies for the most impressive site on Turkey’s west coast. The modern road is lined with souvenir shops and tourist touts, but don’t turn the people head in dismay. A few centuries back, the temple was almost hidden from view, covered in a mound of detritus following an earthquake. For nearly 700 years it remained a building site, with up to eight architects and 20 construction companies working simultaneously. Apollo’s oracle was silenced forever, and a Christian church erected in the temple’s cella.
