Text and photos by Glenn Maffia
Ancient Didyma rests upon the Aegean Coast of southwest Turkey merely 100km from the epicentre of the latest earthquake to cast its shadow of foreboding over this seismically volatile part of the world.
As an avid historian of the famous Temple of Apollo in Didyma, it will come as no surprise to know that I was early to the temple the day after the lethal 6.6 magnitude earthquake (Friday 30 October 2020) to inspect any damage that may have occurred to this unique structure of antiquity.
Obviously, my first reference was to confirm that the iconic columns continued to be in situ, and not condemned to be littering the surrounding ground as so many of their former adjoining partners now do so. No fear there, they continue to stand proud.
Convulsions of the past
The Temple of Apollo has withstood so many shuddering quakes throughout its history and it is testament to the engineering skill of the ancient Greeks and Romans that we are still privileged to be graced by this magnificent echo into our human past.
An Italian traveller, Ciriaco di Filippo aka Cyriacus di Ancona (1391-1452), reported that he witnessed the Temple in its near entirety during his visit in 1446, though by the end of that century another Italian traveller noted that it had now been reduced to rubble. By that I presume that he meant that most of the columns had fallen, though the stylobate, the platform on which the temple stands, was, and remains, remarkably intact. I can only postulate that the stylobate was merely buried from his view by the rubble of the columns and the fallen upper section of the adyton (inner sanctum) walls.
Even the 6.8 magnitude quake which shook the region (epicentre near to Soke) on 6 July 1955, which destroyed the old village surrounding the Temple, could not dislodge the three standing columns, whilst the stylobate appears quite impervious to any form of destruction.
This latest quake was of similar strength, though upon my walk around the periphery of the temple some of the dilapidated shells of buildings destroyed in the 1955 earthquake, to my astonishment, were still standing; in an almost arrogant disdain of all that nature could throw at them.
Though it is within close proximity to these stubborn shells of houses that I did find an inanimate victim to the latest shaking of the earth; a section of the perimeter wall erected by the Theodor Wiegand expedition during the early 1900’s. It is not a massive destruction, but I certainly wouldn’t want to have been walking past it when it toppled onto the public walkway adjacent to the wall.
This section, I felt, had always been a danger as the angle of inclination was markedly oblique. I recalled that the archaeologists had brought with them one digging season, perhaps eight years ago, an architect from Germany. I followed them with some interest. It is with complete clarity that I remember the archaeologists (and I know them all) stopping at this precise point and one of them indicating to the architect the precarious angle of the wall. A discussion entailed which I could not fathom, due to my lack of the German language, but I did catch one of the archaeologists having a beer nearby a little later. Naturally, I enquired about the nature of their conversation on this section of the perimeter wall.
It was relayed to me that this section was also of some concern to one of the archaeologists, but that this eminent German architect had blithely waved away this worry with a disdainful, “No problem, everything is fine”. I can only surmise, but possibly they do not receive too many 6.8 magnitude earthquakes in Germany.
A further perusal
A couple of days on from my initial perusal I undertook a further inspection of the interior of the site and I noticed, with some amusement, that an authority, probably Didim Council, had erected barriers situated approximately 2 metres from the standing columns. I could only wryly smile to myself on how people would be protected by this exclusion zone if one, or all, of the 12 metre high columns were to come crashing to the ground. Though, I am not to reason why.
I also observed that the water which has been flowing into the southeast section of the temple’s precinct from 2015/6, and increasing after the 6.4 magnitude earthquake of July 2017, appeared to be flowing with a greater vibrancy after this most recent convulsion, bending and splintering of the karst rock which constitutes the Milesian peninsula.
I shall duly relay my observations to the German Archaeological Institute, though for a number of months now they seem reticent to return my correspondence. It is almost as though they have erected their own exclusion zone.
Therefore, thankfully not any significant damage to the magnificent emblem which defines our town as a unique place upon this ever shifting, ever shaking planet.
"Glen Maffia: ""Didyma ya kale inakaa kwenye pwani ya Aegean ya kusini magharibi mwa Uturuki, kilomita 100 tu kutoka kituo cha tetemeko la hivi karibuni, ili kutupa kivuli chake cha kuonya juu ya sehemu hii ya dunia yenye msukosuko wa tetemeko la ardhi." Kama mwanahistoria mwenye shauku ya Hekalu maarufu la Apollo huko Didyma, haitashangaza kujua kwamba nilikuwa mapema kwenye hekalu siku moja baada ya tetemeko la ardhi lenye nguvu kubwa la 6.6 (Ijumaa 30 Oktoba 2020) kukagua uharibifu wowote ambao unaweza kuwa ulitokea kwa muundo huu wa kipekee wa kale. "Kwa wazi, kumbukumbu yangu ya kwanza ilikuwa kuthibitisha kwamba nguzo za iconic ziliendelea kuwa katika eneo hilo, na sio kuhukumiwa kuwa ""kutupa"" ardhi ya karibu kama wengi wa washirika wao wa zamani wa jirani sasa wanafanya hivyo." Hakuna hofu huko, wanaendelea kusimama kwa fahari. Hekalu la Apollo limepambana na matetemeko mengi ya ardhi katika historia yake, na ni ushahidi wa ustadi wa uhandisi wa Wagiriki na Waroma wa kale kwamba bado tuna fursa ya kupewa neema hii ya ajabu katika historia yetu ya kibinadamu. Msafiri Mwitaliano Ciriaco di Filippo aliandika kwamba aliona hekalu hilo karibu kabisa wakati wa ziara yake huko 1446 na kwamba wakati wa mwisho wa karne hiyo msafiri mwingine wa Italia aliona kwamba lilikuwa limeharibiwa kabisa. "Kwa kusema hivyo, alimaanisha kwamba nguzo nyingi zilikuwa zimeporomoka, ingawa ""stylobate,"" yaani, jukwaa ambalo hekalu lilisimama juu yake, lilikuwa, na bado liko, likiwa limehifadhiwa kabisa." "Ninaweza tu kudhani kwamba stylobate ilikuwa tu kuzikwa kutoka mtazamo wake na mabaki ya nguzo na kuanguka sehemu ya juu ya adyton (kati patakatifu) kuta.""" Hata tetemeko la ardhi lenye ukubwa wa 6.8 lililotokea karibu na mji wa Soke, Julai 6, 1955, ambalo liliharibu kijiji cha kale kilichozunguka Hekalu, halikuweza kuondoa nguzo tatu zilizokuwa ziko, wakati nguzo hiyo ya nguzo inaonekana kuwa haijaathiriwa na uharibifu wowote. Tetemeko hili la hivi karibuni lilikuwa na nguvu kama hiyo, ingawa wakati wa kutembea kwangu kuzunguka ukingo wa hekalu, baadhi ya magamba ya majengo yaliyoharibiwa katika tetemeko la ardhi la 1955, kwa mshangao wangu, bado yalikuwa yamesimama; katika dharau ya kiburi ya karibu ya yote ambayo asili inaweza kutupa. "Hata hivyo, karibu na makundi hayo ya nyumba, nilipata sehemu ya ukuta uliotengenezwa na kikundi cha Theodor Wigand mwanzoni mwa miaka ya 1900.""" Si uharibifu mkubwa, lakini kwa hakika nisingependa kuwa nikitembea karibu nayo wakati ilipoanguka kwenye njia ya umma iliyo karibu na ukuta. Sehemu hii, nilihisi, daima imekuwa hatari kama pembe ya mwinuko ilikuwa wazi oblique. "Nilikuwa na wasiwasi kwamba, wakati wa kuchimbua, ""mwanaharakati wa kihistoria"" wa Ujerumani alikuwa amemchukua mchongaji kutoka Ujerumani." Niliwafuata kwa upendezi fulani. "Ninawakumbuka kwa uwazi kabisa wataalamu wa vitu vya kale (na ninawajua wote) wakisimama katika hatua hii sahihi na mmoja wao akimwonyesha mbuni mwenzake pembe ya hatari ya ukuta.""" """Hata hivyo, kwa sababu ya ukosefu wangu wa lugha ya Kijerumani, sikuweza kuelewa mazungumzo yaliyotokea, lakini nilimkuta mmoja wa wataalamu wa vitu vya kale akinywa bia karibu na hapo." Kwa kawaida, niliuliza kuhusu asili ya mazungumzo yao juu ya sehemu hii ya ukuta wa perimeter. "Nilipokea taarifa kwamba sehemu hii pia ilikuwa na wasiwasi kwa mmoja wa wataalamu wa vitu vya kale, lakini kwamba mbunifu huyu mashuhuri wa Ujerumani alikuwa amepuuza wasiwasi huu kwa kusema kwa dharau, ""Hakuna tatizo, kila kitu ni sawa.""" Kwa kweli, ni vigumu sana kuamini kwamba kuna uwezekano mkubwa wa kutokuwa na matetemeko ya ardhi ya ukubwa wa 6.8 nchini Ujerumani. Siku chache baada ya uchunguzi wangu wa kwanza, nilifanya uchunguzi zaidi wa ndani ya eneo hilo na niliona, kwa kuchekesha, kwamba mamlaka fulani, labda Baraza la Didim, ilikuwa imeweka vizuizi vilivyo karibu mita mbili kutoka kwenye nguzo zilizosimama. "Nilikuwa na furaha sana na jinsi watu wangekuwa walindwa na eneo hili la kutengwa ikiwa moja au zote za nguzo za mita 12 zingevunjika chini. """ Ingawa, mimi si sababu kwa nini. Maji yaliyokuwa yakitiririka katika sehemu ya kusini mashariki ya eneo la hekalu tangu mwaka 2015 na kuongezeka baada ya tetemeko la ardhi la ukubwa wa 6.4 mnamo Julai 2017, yalionekana kuwa yakitiririka kwa nguvu zaidi baada ya mlipuko huu wa hivi karibuni, kugeuka na kupasuka kwa mwamba wa karst ambao unaunda peninsula ya Milesian. Nitawasilisha kwa usahihi uchunguzi wangu kwa Taasisi ya Kiarchaeolojia ya Ujerumani, ingawa kwa miezi kadhaa sasa wanaonekana kuwa na wasiwasi wa kurudisha mawasiliano yangu. Ni kana kwamba wamejenga eneo lao wenyewe la kutengwa. Kwa hiyo, kwa shukrani hakuna uharibifu mkubwa kwa nembo ya ajabu ambayo inafafanua mji wetu kama mahali pa kipekee juu ya hii milele kubadilika, milele kutetemeka sayari.