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Price Range: £200 to £375 (GBP)

Altinkum and it's environs
Many people, upon first hearing the name "Didim" referring to the place in which they are staying are quite confused. They are not even aware that Altinkum is, in fact, a part of Didim... as asre Yesilkent, Mavisehir, Yenihisar and Akbuk. Didim, part of the county of Aydin, is the name of the Region and it embraces all these lovely places and more. Altinkum, which means "Golden Sand" in Turkish, was given this name with the advent of tourism some years ago. It had previously been called "Karakuyu" which means literally, "black hole"! This was before there were any buildings, houses or hotels and all of the area consisted solely of fields and farming land, with a few tiny fish restaurants or tea houses on the seafront side. The name "Yenihisar" was allocated to the Turkish quarter, often called the "old town", although the name in Turkish translates as "Newcastle". This is the part where all the electrical, furniture and utility shops are, 3/4 of the way up the hill from the seafront to the Apollo Temple. It is also where the regular Saturday bazaaar is held. Mavisehir, meaning "Blue Town" is located beyond this, and Yesilkent, "Green City" is around the coastline. They are both outlying regions of the most outstanding beauty and nature. Akbuk is further around the coast, a 20 minute drive from Altinkum, and is rapidly becoming popular with foreigners, as it quiet and peaceful. It is a town unto itself rather than just a residential area with beaches. The population of Didim varies from summer to winter, as it does in all tourist areas. This numbers, approximately, 30,000 in winter and leaps to 400,000 in the summer months. It is easily accessible, being 170 km from Izmir and 110 km from Bodrum, both of which support Didim with international airports. As an historic and tourist attraction, Didim is ideally situated, being only 120 km from Ephesus, having its very own Apollo Temple, whilst Miletus and Priene are only a short drive away. There is also the added desirability of being situated on the stunning Aegean coastline. It is also sandwiched almost halfway between the two very cosmopolitan towns of Bodrum and Kusadasi. Regular bus services operate between all these towns, enabling easy and affordable travel for sightseeing and cultural events. Around the waters' edge there is a choice of cafeterias and eating places where local gozleme (savoury pancakes) or toasted sanwich-type snacks can be had for an extremely low price. Try a glass of "ayran", the local yoghurt drink with your snack, usually home made by the wives of the cafe owners. Didim also has a new Aquapark, which was only completed in 2004. This is gradually gaining in popularity with both foreign and Turkish tourists alike. Another beauty spot to try and find time to visit, is Bafa Lake. This is a huge natural fresh-water lake located on the road to Bodrum. With one's own transport the tiny unspoiltvillages around the waters'edge can easily be reached. Once again, there are lots of good fish restaurants, some of which offer the customer the chance to actually "catch" their own fish before it is taken away to be cleaned and cooked. There are hundreds of hotels in Didim, offering a wide range of standards from the 1-star guest house type pensions, across the board to 5-stars. Two of these are in Akbuk, another is nearing completion near to "3rd Beach" and a fourth hotel has 5-star facilities. There are many extremely good quality 3-star hotels around too. As with the hotels, there are also restaurants to be found everywhere, by the dozen. A large number of these are located on the seafront promenade and generally cater to British tastes, with even the Turkish dishes on the menus being prepared with this in mind. There are now several Chinese restauarants, a traditional Fish and Chippy, and a Balti House Indian. Most of the restaurants offer full English breakfast, for this is still extremely poplular with the tourists. For fish lovers, Didim offers several good fish restaurants, such as the "Acik" and "Kamaci", located opposite the Apollo Temple, "Kamaci 2", down by tyhe harbour, and going a bit further afield, at Tasburun, which is after the Aquapark, one can find small fish restaurants offering very fresh produce. For traditional Turkish cuisine, "Sehir Lokantasi" in Yenihisar is still the most popular, with locals and foreigners, offering a huge selection of Turkish dishes. There are very big plans for Didim. It has been named as one of the best places in the world for its fresh, pure and clean air. It is deemed as being very healthy for older people and those with certain illnesses such as asthma. In 2004, 17 million tourists visited Turkey, 45,000 of which came to Didim. That number is expected to increase to 80,000 visitors to Didim alone. It has been reported that Turkey has started to frighten Spain with its dedicated infrastructure and natural resources in the tourism sector. Didim has already been registered as a Cultural nad Tourism Protection and Development Region, and this will lead to it becoming internationally known, as is Antalya in the south. It is also attractive for foreign investment, with 70% of it belonging to the state. The Aydin Culture and Torism Director has stated that there are plans for golf courses, sports centres, a fully operational Marina, 5-star hotels and holiday villages. The summer season will be xtended to 8 or 9 months instead of the present 6 and those working in the tourism sector have been told to prepare themselves for this at every level, or they will not survive. Plans to develop 5-star all-inclusive hotels within Akbuk are also on the agenda for the region. The future for the Didim area is thus looking extremely bright.

Busy nightlife
Altinkum is a very English resort; just walking the 2 miles from one end of the waterfront to the other is entertainment in itself, that's if you can avoid the many restauranteurs keen to offer you dinner. Plenty of the restaurants have in-house entertainment, I'm sure you will find something to your taste. The night life in Didim is varied with something for everyone. There are bars where one can sit and relax and have a chat, with background music, before going on to others that offer bingo, quizzes, game shows and karaoke. For the night owls, there are the dance bars, such as "Galaxy", "Garden Bar", "Seal Bar" and "Rooftop", which stay open until 3am. Then for the dawn breakers, the nightclubs such as "Garden Bar", the open air "Medusa", and the brand new "Beach Club", all rock until 5am. Even then, the fast food and jacket potato bars are doing a great trade for another hour or two, till the sun is high in the sky. For those who prefer the traditional, most of the hotels offer a Turkish Night once a week, where the guests can eat and drink unlimited amounts, whilst being entertained by Turkish folklore dancers, belly dancers, and in the more tourist orientated shows, rounded off by the local and very talented group of head-spinning break dancers.

The beaches
The main beach at Altinkum is several miles long and mostly sandy, there are two further beaches immediately to the West called 2nd and 3rd beach and there are plenty of minor ones if you have a car. The main beach gets very busy but all the facilities are on tap, 2nd and 3rd beach are quieter but have sunbeds and restaurants. In fact there will be a beach not far away that just suits you. Alternatively get on one of the many boats heading out each day @ 10:30 and explore the coastline and really relax. There are over 30 beaches in and around Didim, most of which are completely unknown to both tourists and residents alike. Many of them are little more than private, secluded bays, but they are there all the same. The prominentresort beaches are known as "Main Beach", "2nd Beach" and "3rd Beach". Being one of the largest sandy beaches in the whole of Turkey, "Main Beach", with its long stretch extending into "2nd Beach", attracts thousands of Turkish tourists from the inland cities and towns, as well as foreign tourists. 3rd Beach is separated from Main Beach by the much smaller "Kamaci Beach" (often called 2nd beach), and is the second most popular beach in Didim. All the beaches offer clear, shallow, clean water, a sandy sea bed and no rocks, sharp stones or undercurrents. In fact, they are probably some of the safest beaches for swimming, in Europe. Once outside the main resort, beautiful quiet beaches surrounded by mountain views can be found, such as "Gaye Beach" at Yesilkent, or the beaches at kbuk. Yesikent is generally known as the "elite" area of Didim, and with apartment blocks being forbidden, tasteful, quality villas populate this area. The abundance of greenery, natural flora and fauna, and its unspoilt beaches all addd to its prestige. The "Club Tarhan Beach", which is on the way to Mavisehir and "Camliburun Beach" at Akbuk have just recently been awarded the Blue Flags for cleanliness and safety by the International Environmental Education Foundation. This is an honour for Didim, as it means these beaches are equipped with regard to the International standards and show respect to environmental management. To even apply for a Blue Flag rating involves micro-biological tests and analyses of the waters, with the results having to be of the highestlevel of European Union standards. Mavisehir also boasts beautiful open beaches although they can be a bit more choppy. There is also a night market here which opens every evening from 5pm. Many people find they prefer to visit here rather than the very crowded and hot Yenihisar market.

Izmir distance 100 min

Property Features
Sleeps 8
Doublebeds 2
Twinbeds 2
Bathrooms 3
Tv
Satellite 1
Cooker
Microwave
Fridge
Freezer
Centralheating
Linenprovided
Airconditioning 1
Traffic Medium
Seaside 1
Pets
Patio
Balcony
Sharedpool
Parking
Airport Bodrum
Airportdistance 80 min
Beach 15 Minutes Away
Sailing 45 Minutes away
Walking On site
Garden

Property extras:
All windows and doors have mosquito screens