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Expanding Ancient Didyma’s interests?

It has all been rather quiet on the Didyma archaeological front this year. The Covid virus has prevented the German Archaeological Institute from arriving this year, writes Glenn Maffia. There was initial hope their usual August arrival would be possible, but then I received word that September was pencilled in, though in their continued absence…

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A distance not far enough!

It has certainly become the norm for me, and many others, to stay close to home in tried and trusted places where confidence in avoiding the pandemic can be negotiated with a semblance of certainty, writes Glenn Maffia. Though those monthly chores of paying bills and visiting the bank take me to areas outside my…

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An Athenian Plague on Our Houses

Held in the sway of today’s pandemic, I recalled how an ancient pandemic inflicted anguish and woe upon Didyma, writes Glenn Maffia. Not in as direct a way as physical suffering, but significant consequences in the economic and political sphere. The context was what we refer to as the Peloponnesian War, primarily fought between the…

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Little Ela returns to Didim

Voices reported last October on the plight of Ela Tanık, a local six-year-old girl, who was born with the very rare CHARGE syndrome, a disorder that affects many vital areas of the body, writes Glenn Maffia. A window of opportunity arose for a crucial heart operation to be performed at Great Ormond Street Hospital in…

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COVID-19 testing centers to be launched at Turkey’s airports

Turkey will open COVID-19 testing centers at airports in Istanbul, Antalya, Izmir and Dalaman by July 1. A test, which will cost 15 euros (TL 115), will produce results that can be obtained within two hours. Local health centers will also be informed, and tourists will be able to take tests whenever they want, said…

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Costs of Turkey’s COVID-19 medical insurance scheme for tourists revealed

Turkey will cover the cost of Covid-19 medical treatment for holidaymakers, the country’s tourism minister has announced. Turkish minister of tourism and culture Mehmet Nuri Ersoy has revealed plans to reopen to tourists under a Safe Tourism Certification Program to keep visitors safe from COVID-19, Travel Weekly reported. Available from July 1, it will be…

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Visit Apollo Temple for a walk through Didyma’s rich history

What a feeling of freedom invades the senses now that we have the option of self determination as to our movements and actions once again. Naturally, there are guidelines to be adhered to if we are to be further free of this virulent virus, therefore, with freedoms come responsibilities. ‘Caution’ and ‘social distancing’ must be…

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Care home for elderly opens to foreign citizens

A CARE home based in Soke is offering places to elderly expats  in Didim, Kusadasi, and surrounding areas. Advertorial The 60-bed capacity home has reopened after undergoing a major refurbishment with new rooms, beds, and bathrooms. The care home has a certificate from the Ministry of Family and Social Policies and ministry inspectors regularly visit…

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New ‘normal’ but old habits die hard

It was with a resigned shrug of the shoulders that I recently viewed the harrowing vision of workers forced back into employment crammed onto tube trains and buses in London, the beaches of Brighton and Southend full of irresponsible morons luxuriating in the sporadic sunshine and senior members of those who conjure the rules blatantly…

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New Normal, New Tourism?

I am moving away from my usual subject of history writing for this article as I feel we are all living through a moment of significant history today, and one has to concentrate on the now, as well as the past, for guidance, writes Glenn Maffia.  Italy’s tourism secretary Lorenza Bonaccors, recently stated, “This might…

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