Visit Bodrum Town

Bodrum, the Saint Tropez of Asia Minor, is now considered the most beautiful city of the Turkish coast. Bodrum is a fascinating place as it has a pleasing contrast between the Ancient city – where there are discernable fragments everywhere in the town -and a playground for rich Turks and an array of foreign visitors. It is one of the centres of the Turkish Tourist industry and is the market town for the Bodrum Peninsula which consists of a number of towns and villages nestling on the edge of the Coast. Until the 1960’s the town was a fishing village which changed when a number of Turkish intellectuals gathered and wrote about Bodrum

The Castle of the Knights of St. John is definitely one of the most interesting sites of the city located in the center of the old port. The Knights of Rhodes (Knights Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem) built on top of the ancient citadel of Zephyra an impressive castle, which they gave the name of St. Peter, hence the name of the Bodrum (tin Petreum , or Petronium). At the entrance of the Castle will welcome the statues of the most important people of the city; Mausolus and his sister as well as wife Artemisa, the father of history Herodotus and the famous writer Cevat known as the Fisherman of Halicarnassus.

Visit Bodrum city Castle

Today the castle houses the Underwater Archaeological Museum and exhibits finds from the Bronze Age. The most interesting galleries of this museum are the gallery of Prince of Caria, amphorae and glass objects found in the wreck of a ship sunk near Bodrum. Besides the castle, continuing along the promenade, you will find several souvenir stalls and some cafes, bars  often very crowded. On the firts square is located the tourist office and one of the oldest mosque in the town.

This is also the entry point for the Old Bodrum, the characteristic area of the city with its narrow streets overlooked by numerous shops. During the summer season is always populated by a multitude of tourists during the day, as well as in the evening and at night during which the shops,  stay open until very late. Leaving the maze of narrow streets of the old town of Bodrum  you can take the path along Cumhuriyet street; with endless choice of appealing local beach bar overlooking directly on the long sandy beach. Here are located  some of the most famous clubs in Europe such as Halicarnassus, and the catamaran, a huge floating disco.

Ancient sight in Bodrum city

The walk ends after about 1 km at the cruise ship terminal from which arrive and depart some ferries to Greek island of Kos. From the old port of Bodrum heading towards west (via Neyzen Tevfik) the walk offers the pleasant shade of the palm trees with the fish market across the street with some of the most famous fish taverns . This stretch of promenade ends at the entrance of the Marina where you can find luxury boutiques and stores. The road number 1402 leads to the mausoleum, which houses the remains of one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world.

The tomb was completed in 340 BC and dedicated to the Persian governor Mausolus, was the first monumental  tomb from which derived the term “mausoleum”.After the Mausoleum we arrive at the Ancient Theatre dateing back to the Hellenistic period. Although the work of reconstruction of the theater has been carried out in a rough and unprofessional way, you still can enjoy an idea of its majestic past and spectacular views of the city and the port of Bodrum.

Myndos gate

Today, the theater can accommodate up to 5,000 people, during the summer months is used for the organization and staging of concerts of modern music. Another site nearby, located through Myndos square dominated by the imposing statue of Ataturk on horseback, is the gateway of Myndos, a Hellenistic gate which was one of the two entrances of ancient Halicarnassus.

According to historians, the city was conquered by Alexander the Great in virtue of abatement of this port. The ring road Kibris divides the city into two parts; the historical, the most characteristic part, and the modern one that stands out for the hills with new houses built according to the Mediterranean style. Along the ring road there are many wholesale shops (although some are real tourist traps).