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Bodrum

History of the ancient Halicarnassus

And the Gods Created Bodrum...

Two meters under the narrow streets of Bodrum lies 5000 years of history. A few monuments attest to this history: the castle, the Roman theatre, the Myndus Gate and the Mausoleum.

The time of Herodotus

The ancient city of Bodrum (Halikarnassos) is thought to have been founded around 1,000 BC by Dorian settlers from Greece. Later the city became part of the Hexapolic Union, known as the Dorian league. According to Herodotus, however, it was expelled when a Halikarnassan contestant in a sporting contest insisted on keeping the trophy he had been awarded, instead of dedicating it to God Apollo.

The city was captured by the Lydians in the first half of the 6th century BC and then by the Persians in 546 BC after which it was ruled by the Satrapy of Saird. In 386 BC, the Persians took complete control of the Carian region (southwest Anatolia). Then in 377 BC Mausolos, the most famous of the Carian satrapies, took control of the region. He ordered the construction of many cities and moved his capital from Milas to Halikarnassos. Mausolos enlarged his new capital by bringing in people from other cities in the region and constructing new walls, palaces, theaters and temples.

However, the most important building in the city is the monumental tomb constructed for him by his wife, Artemisia II, and from which we get the word ‘mausoluem’. Construction lasted five years and at the time of its completion in 340 BC, it ranked among the Seven Wonders of the World.

After the rule of Mausolos and his family, in 334 BC, Halikarnassos, conquered by Alexander the Great, later became a naval base for the Lagos Dynasty of Egypt. In 192 BC, the city became a Roman colony, and in 88 BC was briefly ruled by the Pontus Kingdom.

Halikarnassos fell to the Seljuk Turks in 1071 AD, and it was with the permission of Sultan Celebi Mehmet that the Knights of Rhodes were able to construct Bodrum Castle – the Castle of St. Peter. The castle, with its English, French and German towers is today the symbol of the town.

The city came under Ottoman rule in 1522 AD when Suleyman the Magnificent captured Rhodes and forced the knights to move to Malta. Known as ‘Petrion’ after the Castle of St. Peter, this later became in Turkish ‘Bodrum’, the name by which the town is known today.

The history of Bodrum, known as Halicarnassus or Halicarnassos goes back to the 13th century BC. Excavaties reveal the 5000 year old history of this town. Many civilisations found their home here. Carians for excample, Homer tells in his Ilia, that the Carians helped to defend Troya.

Heredotus, known as the father of history, was born in Bodrum in 484 BC.- and he said that Bodrum had been founded by the Dorians. The next settlers were Carians and Lelegians. In the 6'th. century BC., the region came under Persian rule. Its most brilliant period was around 353. BC. when it was the capital of the Satrap of Caria (In this century it was famous for its trade, sailing and boatbuilding.) Artemisia who was a warrior-woman played a significant role in the protection of the Asian Union and she achieved fame by adopting a stance against Rhodes as the Admiral of the Carian fleet in 480 BC.

Mausoleum

The Mausoleum is Bodrums oldest antiquity and was built by Artemisia II in honour of her husband King Mausolos. It became one of the wonders of the ancient world, Mausoleum still is the general term for a large tomb. The entire structure stood at over 50 meters in height. The first reliefs from the Mausoleum reached the British Museum in London in 1846, these included frescos and other objects.

Bodrum’s first remembered literary character, Cevat Sakir, known as the 'Halicarnassus Fisherman', asked for the return of the Mausoleum parts to Bodrum in a letter adressed to the Queen of England, saying that such exquisite works of art were not finding their true place under the foggy and grey sky of London. The letter he received in response stated as following: "Thank you for reminding us of the matter, We have painted the ceiling where the Mausoleum is located in blue."

The Castle of St Peter

The most prominent feature of Bodrum is the castle of St. Peter. The castle's origins date back to the knights of St. John This group of expatriates began in the 11th century with a church and hospital in Jerusalem. Although belonging to he Catholic religion care was denied to no-one. When the knights arrived they instructed their builders to remove all usable materials from the tomb of King Mausolos as the castle construction began in the 1400's.

The knights referred to the town as Mesy not knowing that they where in the ancient Halicarnassus The fortress became known as the Castle of St. Peter, the Liberator, it served as the sole place of refugee for all Christians on the West Coast of Asia during the time of the crusades. For over a century the castle served as a stronghold in the knights community. Under Turkish care the castle has undergone several uses including being a military base, a prison and a public bath. But now it is one of the finest museums in this region.

The Amphi-theatre

The theatre is another witness to the great past of Bodrum. Situated in the hillside over looking Bodrum this theatre whose capacity is around 13.000 was built during the Carian reign in the Hellenistic age (330 - 30 BC.). The theatre consists of three different sections: a place for the audience, a place for an orchestra and the stage. It became an open-air museum after the excavations in 1973.

The Myndus Gate

Located on the west side of Bodrum, this is one of the two entrances of ancient Halicarnassus. It was part of the town’s wall. The gate is named after the place Myndos because it faces the ancient Myndos place (now Gümüslük).

A big handshake should go first to the companies Ericsson and Turkcell, who sponsored the excavation of Bodrum's town walls, which are a remarkable example of ancient Western Anatolia architecture.

Only some parts of the city walls remained until today. An important part of the town wall was the Myndos Gate where the soldiers of Alexander (*the great*) had a hard time to come into the town of Halicarnassus in 333 BC. After they captured the city they destroyed all buildings except the Mausoleum, which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Extensive excavation and restoration has been done by the archeologists to bring this spot from ancient times to be better realized now. It is expected that the whole restoration of the town wall of nearly 4,5 kilometers will take four to five years to complete.

According to Arrianus, who describes this gate and the siege of Alexander the Great in 334, this gate had originally three towers (that's why it was described as 'Tripollion'). It was also mentioned that in front of the gate was a ditch of 8 meters depth and 15 meters long. The middle part of the gate is totally destroyed now but ruins from the two other parts still exist and consist of huge and heavy square stones. Tombs were found here and opened by Newton in the last century. They dated back to Hellenistic and Roman times and were made from burned clay.

When Alexander the Great in the autumn of 334 BC came to Halicarnassus, he had his headquarters somewhere near here. His first attack was towards the Milas gate, which does not exist anymore, but he couldn't succeed. On the Halicarnassus side were fighting the Persian generals Oronbates and Memnon from Rhodos. After a couple of days he tried with the Myndos gate. But again there was much resistance. Then he built a wooden bridge over the 8 m. ditch, packed some of his Macedonian soldiers into wooden towers and carried them close to the gate, but the people of Halicarnassus came out and tried to burn those towers and started fighting, the bridge collapsed after a while and there was a big panic on both sides. Despite the fact that many of their own warriors outside were killed, the Halicarnassus allies Memnon and Oronbates closed the gate, went to the castle and from the harbour they sailed to Kos. Alexander the Great conquered the town then and destroyed the whole place, only the mausoleum he didn't touch, and then he proceeded southwards to Phrygia.

The Bodrum peninsula

One of the unique features of Bodrum as a holiday resort is that in addition to the active recreational opportunities available by day and the unequalled Bodrum nightlife, so many more tranquil bays, beaches and villages are available to enjoy.

No other area on the Turkish Aegean coast provides the visitor with the opportunity to experience traditional Turkish life only a few minutes away from the hustle and bustle of a modern tourist centre.

Gumbet

Just three kilometers from Bodrum, this bay has become a resort itself. The resort was named after the numerous white-domed water cisterns in the area. Gümbet features one of the longest and most popular beaches on the peninsula. With its warm and shallow water, Gümbet has become a major tourism destination on the peninsula.

A cool southerly blows even on hottest days and that makes the heat more bearable. Gümbet is one of the most popular water-sports centres where dinghy hire, water skiing, windsurfing, parasailing and scuba diving are all available. The nightlife in Gümbet rivals that of Bodrum and is highly recommended for the young crowd. The streets vibrate till dawn with music coming out from many bars and sidewalk cafes.

Bitez

About 10 kilometres from Bodrum, this village is surrounded by citrus groves which unfortunately are rapidly disappearing. Easily accessible by minibus, this village also has warm and shallow waters as well as sandy and wide beach. The beach is most popular with water-sport enthusiasts and sunworshippers alike.

Daily tour boats usually call in for an afternoon break in this popular and shallow bay. Boats can be hired from any of the jetties on the shore. As an alternative to Bodrum nightlife, restaurants and bars are quite active in the evenings and there are regular minibus services all night long to and from Bodrum.

Ortakent Yalisi

The name 'Ortakent' means 'Middle town' and, lying in the centre of the Bodrum peninsula on the main Turgutreis-Bodrum road, Ortakent is ideally central base from which to explore the region.

The beach is long and wide, with cool off-sea breezes which provide relief from the intense summer heat and speed up the tanning process. Between the beach and the village lies a green, fertile valley with fig, olive and mandarin trees, and neat market gardens typical of the agricultural backbone of this area.

When passing through the village, it is worth making a short detour to see the seventeenth century 'Mustafa Pasha tower', built for defensive purposes, and one of the best surviving examples of this type of structure.

Yahsi

This place is 12 kms from Bodrum. It has a beautiful sea and shore and a lot of accommodations. The beach is quite, there are a lot choice for tasting different variation of food.

Kargi

Kargi has splendid beach and quiet lay out compared to the neighbour beaches. There are a few beach cafes and restaurants available with reasonable prices. Available camels add a lot of fun and colour to this beach.

Bagla

This cove situated on the skirts of Aspat Montain is 14 kms from Bodrum. It is one of the most ideal places to swim in the peninsula. The sea bottom can clearly be seen. Daily tour yachts pass by here, There is also a drinking water source here where daily yatch charters definetely stop by. The conditions allow camping as well.

Karaincir

A short walk west of Bagla Koyu brings one to the small resort village of Karaincir (`Black Fig') where the broad sandy beach is lined with hotels and restaurants and numerous sunning piers are built out over the water. This is the furthest point to the west visited by the Bodrum daily boat tours.

A fairly long walk past the village and up the hillside brings you to the Çiftlik Castle on Aspat mountain. Aspat, abbreviated from Aspandas, means `not suitable for ploughing', and the summit of the mountain is reached by following a narrow path and stairways through the remnants of ancient civilisations. The view from the top is one of the finest on the peninsula.

Akyarlar

An Ottoman fortress on the summit of Mount Aspat and ruins of an old Greek chapel on the slope welcome the traveller to this old fishing village of Akyarlar. It is 18 kilometres from Bodrum and used to a popular Greek summer resort long time ago as there are many old houses lined on the shore. Fishing was the main occupation until recently and local fleet of fishing boats would fill the harbour. The fishing fleets are long gone and have been replaced by daily tour boats. Nevertheless, Akyarlar remained its intimate and cosy atmosphere.

The bay consists of the small harbour at one end and a curving sandy beach sloping down into the incredible blue of the Aegean. Opposite Akyarlar, 5 kilometres across the strait, there lies the Greek Island Cos. There are regular services from this Island to Bodrum.

Turgutreis

Named after a famous Ottoman Admiral Turgut who was born here ( known in the west as 'Dragut' ), Turgutreis today is the centre of commerce on the western side of the peninsula. Captain Turgut is known by his successful participation in the Ottoman siege of Malta in 1565. His tomb is in Tripoli, Libya. A few kilometres outside the town, a waterfront memorial marks the point where he first set sail.

It is the second biggest town only 20 kilometres from Bodrum. The town has a beach of 2,5 kilometres with many hotels, pensions, holiday villages and timeshare villas.

Many islands facing the town adorn the coast and the sea around the islands is littered with wrecks that once possessed many important findings most of which are on display in Bodrum Museum.

Kadikalesi

Six kilometers north of Turgutreis and accessible by road is the small beachside village of Kadikalesi. The name originated from the remains of a castle dating back to Hellenistic Age. The village is surrounded by a sand beach from the sea and citrus gardens from the land. The small sandy beach offers shelter from the summer breezes and a few small jetties and restaurants are scattered around on this quiet beach.

Above the village stands a Greek church over one hundred years old and in surprisingly good condition. Greek inscriptions are still visible above the doorway. The village is one of the quietest in the peninsula.

Gümüslük

As being one of the oldest settlements in the peninsula, this peaceful village once hosted the ancient city of Myndos. It is declared as an archaeological site so that no landscaping nor groundbreaking can be done. The originaLelegian city of Myndos stood a few kilometres southeast of the village. In 4th century BC, King Mausolus decided to build new Myndos and moved the entire population.

A hundred years ago there were ruins including a theatre and a stadium, but these have disappeared, being gradually dismantled for the foundations and walls of new buildings. Due to its archaeological status, scuba diving is not permitted in the area, however it is a haven for snorkelling.

Gumusluk is famous for its fish restaurants. People from all over Bodrum peninsula visit the place for having a great fish lunch or dinner. You choose it from the display, do the bargaining and they bring it to you the way you love it, broiled, grilled or fried. Gumusluk has a small authentic place where art workshops are organized.

Gümüskarya

This is the farthest bay from Bodrum, at a distance of 26 kms. It is one of the oldest setting places after Kadikalesi. The place is full of archaelogical finds, both underwater as well as on land. In the village, there are ruins around a little island and the breakwater. You can find all kinds of fish and octopus to eat, and you should especially try the delicious fish soup.

Yalikavak

Famous for its cool westerly in summer, Yalikavak is located on the northeastern tip of the peninsula 18 kilometres from Bodrum and easily accessible by boat or minibus. The overland journey from Bodrum to Yalikavak provides the visitor with some of the most spectacular scenery on the peninsula. The road slowly climbs through fertile valleys and plantations, reaches the top of the mountain range and provides unbroken vistas of the north and south coasts before descending to the seaside village of Yalikavak.

Gündogan

Just a few kilometres east of Yalikavak and 18 kilometres from Bodrum, Gündogan is located on a hill with fine view of the sea which is exceptionally good for swimming and watersports. The road goes through roadside rock formations and pine covered mountain peaks.

'Farilya' meaning 'sunset' in Greek is the ancient name of this village and it is still possible to see this name on some of signposts. Many years ago, the inhabitants of this village used to live on the shore supporting the village with fishing and sponge diving. However the fear of British warships resulted with an exodus, that is; villagers moved inland, left waterfront deserted.

Today, a seaside road occupies most of the beachfront and numerous jetties jutting from the shore provide plenty of comfortable and private spots for sun-tanning and swimming. Some interesting historical sites are also on offer in Gündogan. A small Greek chapel on Rabbit Island and an Ottoman tower poking its head from the lush pine forest across from the upper village on the far side of the main Yalikavak-Torba road can be seen.

Göltürkbükü

Located right in the middle of nature, these two villages are very popular with their seafood specialities, magnificent beaches, tranquillity and archaeological sites. In Gölköy, seafood is taken from Mandalya Gulf and served with style in the restaurants dotting the waterfront. It is close enough to Bodrum for daily trips yet ideal for quite vacations. The surface remains of the ancient city of Karyanda, a Lelegian city founded 5 thousand years ago, can be reached on foot. Excavations are still on planning stage and the limits of this ancient site have already been identified.

Türkbükü is a natural heaven for fishermen as it is tucked in the surrounding hillsides on the western side of a huge bay that shelters Gölköy as well. The beach here is phenomenalwith romantic moonlit nights. Many Turkish artisans prefer this region as it is a perfect getaway point. There are many seafood restaurant on the shore serving fresh fish delivered daily.

Torba

Located only 5 kilometres from Bodrum at the narrowest point of peninsula, Torba has developed rapidly in the past 20 years. Perfect for swimming, watersports and sundowners, Torba used to be accessible only with horses a long time ago. Torba features a long coastline dotted with small pensions and bars and isolated stretches for private sunbathing and swimming. In addition a ferry boat makes daily runs across the unspoiled Gulf of Güllük to Didim, a wonderful opportunity to view the magnificent Temple of Apollo and combine a pleasant boat trip at the same time.

Güvercinlik

This bay, situated 20 km. from Bodrum, is where the green land embraces the blue sea. You will enjoy the transparent waters and the hereby beautiful island of Salih.

At the time of famous seaman Barbarosa this place was shipyard of Ottoman navy. This place served as a harbour in antic times and it was called Bargilia.

Bodrum Today

The sun shines differently here. The nights are longer, the drinks more enjoyable. And then there is love in Bodrum ... You have to experience it to truly understand the attraction of Bodrum.

Bodrum town is a famous resort place, both among Turkish and foreign travelers. The population jumps from 50,000 people to more than half a milllion during summer time. The heart of Bodrum beats loudest in the narrow streets clustered around the bay where shops, restaurants, bars and discos via for attention. Strolling along the most popular of the streets, Cumhuriyet Caddesi (the locals call it Barstreet), the visitor becomes immersed in a blend of native and cosmopolitan culture that is Bodrum today.

Here small boutiques offer latest hits, hand-made sandals are crafted; fezzes and harem slippers are sold side by side with baseball caps and T-shirts bearing universally recognized logos and humorous or bawdy captions. Cafes and restaurants serve a wide variety of cosmopolitan 'international' fare as well as tasty Turkish kebabs; Chinese, Mexican, Indian or Thai specialities and also the delights of traditional Ottoman cuisine; visitors 'go native' by replacing beer or wine by the deceptively light national Turkish drink: raki.

When night descends Bodrum lights up with laser shows to the rhythms of the same hits that are current in London, Berlin or New York, but if you listen you can still hear strumming of the Turkish oud and the folk melodies of Anatolia. Bodrum today is truly a Symphony, or better still, a Living Ode to Joy.

Weather and climate in Bodrum