[1] It is a popular seaside holiday resort on the Aegean coast of western Turkey, 123 km (76 mi) from the provincial capital city of Aydın.

The area was settled in the neolithic period, established as colony of Crete and then Mycenae in the 16th century BC and subsequently possessed by Lycians, Persians, Seleucids, Attalids, Ancient Romans, and Byzantines as part of the province of Caria.

Because of Didim's location, people in the 1980s came from close cities around Turkey, especially Aydın, began to buy or built summer houses, apartments, and villas in the area.

Property values have recently been rising, and the building boom continues as foreign buyers, especially the families from other cities of Turkiye such as Denizli and Ankara, Turks living and working in Europe, follow their lead.

The growth of Didim in the 1980s was further accelerated with the building of hotels to accommodate visitors, originally from Britain but now from Turkey itself, on inexpensive package holidays.

Since about 2000, British people have begun to buy summer houses in Didim, establishing themselves as a visible community of many thousands, to the extent that utility bills in the district are now printed in English as well as Turkish.

Didim is also close to a number of other ancient towns and natural formations, such as Lake Bafa national park, the Büyük Menderes River, and historic sites like Miletus and Priene.