Our second stop was Didyma. Didyma was the site of the stupendous temple to Apollo. Apollo has had a number of great temples dedicated to him, and we have had a chance to see at least 4 or 5 of them here in Turkey. This site was managed and lived in by the priests who specialized in oracular management. This temple was originally destroyed by the Persians in 494BC and then reconstructed by Alexander the Great. The temple porch held 120 huge columns with richly carved bases. Also there is a huge head of Medusa (she with the snake hairdo). There are two covered ramps that lead down into the court where the oracule sat and prophesied after drinking from the sacred spring…we can only speculate as to what the water contained to make the prophesies possible. Didyma is a very large site, but as the day goes along, we will see others that will make it look small in comparison. The enormous diameters of the columns, and the height of them was spectacular. You keep asking your self…”How Do They Do That ???”. The stone carvings of Medusa, the small details around the walls, the faces of cattle, and on and on…beautiful work even if it were done today with all the modern machinery and tools that we have available. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have a digital camera with me. If I had to make this journey with a “film camera”, I would either be broke and have to head home now or I just wouldn’t be able to take all the photos. I don’t know if you have any interest in the galleries, but I just keep filling the pages up. I feel I probably have too many pictures there, but I only keep about 1 or of 15 or 20 that I take.