A 300-YEAR-OLD chapel, located near Didim’s Temple of Apollo, will be finally and officially re-opened for Christian worship on Sunday October 25 at 11am.

Dialogue and intense talks behind the scenes between the Christian community and the Didim Mayor’s office came to a head in the last few weeks.

It has resulted in the chapel being ready to be re-opened for its appropriate use. It had been closed for restoration by the municipality three years ago.

Officials said the chapel would be open on Sundays and would also be able to cater for arts, social and cultural events.

Didim mayor Deniz Atabay agreed to the re-opening of the chapel following separate and joint talks with Rev Maurice Ryan, priest-in-charge of Didim’s St Mary’s Anglican and Ecumenical Christian Fellowship and Tony Scott of the town’s evangelical group.

Mr Scott, 67, (pictured right) has sought for a number of years to find and fund land for the construction of a church in area.

On Thursday, both Mr Scott and Rev Ryan sat down with the Mayor to discuss the way ahead, and then had dialogue with each other.

It was announced that the chapel will be officially opened with a joint Christian service on Sunday October 25.

Mr Scott said he was delighted that the chapel’s opening was a positive step for the community as a whole.

Mr Ryan (pictured left) agreed, adding: “This is a historic moment for the Christian and wider communities in Didim.

“It’s thanks to the Mayor, Christians and the community in bringing this building back into the fold for the use it was intended.”