TRAVELSPECIAL
Some of the structures and statues have been damaged by boat anchors over more displays , and a flower garden in memory of the children who lost their lives at sea while fleeing the war in Syria .
Finally , another masterpiece – a copy of the remains of the Temple of Apollo in every detail . We found ourselves swimming over a miniaturised version of the ancient Temple of Apollo . The original model can be found just 1.5 miles away on the site of Side ’ s historical ruins , where it has stood since 150AD . We were away from the crowds of tourists that swarm every day in the burning sun onto the real site and instead enjoyed a cool day fooling around underwater , swimming in and out of the columns like naughty children .
It seems as if you ’ re going back in time , ‘ flying ’ over real ancient artefacts rather than looking up at them from ground level . These statues are now forming a habitat for thousands of fish , including some well disguised scorpionfish .
There are so many statues there , I simply didn ’ t have a chance to see them all . It ’ s such a wonderful project , and credit to Turkey for creating it . I ’ d recommend it to any visiting diver , especially if you happen to be on a non-diving holiday !
For optimum conditions , dive Side from April to November , when the water temperature increases from 17 ° C in April to a balmy 30 ° C in August . For details go to www . side-underwatermuseum . com �
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