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 Bodrum is on the Bodrum Peninsula, near the northwest entrance to the Gulf of Gökova, and faces the Greek island of Kos. Today, it is a center of tourism and yachting. The city was called Halicarnassus of Caria in ancient times. The Mausoleum of Mausolus was there, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Bodrum Castle, built by the Crusaders overlooks the harbor and the International Marina. The castle grounds includes a Museum of Underwater Archeology and hosts several cultural festivals throughout the year.
The region includes the municipalities of Bodrum, Turgutreis, Ortakent, Turkbuku, Yalikavak, Gumusluk which are composed of a number of recent tourist-oriented developments alongside older village centers.
The harbour area was colonized by ancient Greeks in the 11th century BC and the city later fell under Persian rule. It was the nominal capital city of the satrapy of Caria; its location ensured the city enjoyed considerable autonomy.
Mausolus ruled Caria from here on behalf of the Persians, from 377 to 353 BC. When he died in 353 BC, Artemisia II of Caria, who was both his sister and his widow, employed the ancient Greek architects Satyros and Pythis, and the four sculptors Bryaxis, Scopas, Leochares and Timotheus for to build a monument, as well as a tomb, for him. This tomb gave us the word “mausoleum”. It was a temple-like structure decorated with reliefs and statuary on a massive base. It stood for 1700 years and was finally destroyed by earthquakes.[citation needed] Today only the foundations and a few pieces of sculpture remain.
Crusader Knights arrived in 1402 and used the remains of the Mauseoleum as a quarry to build the Bodrum Castle (Castle of Saint Peter), which is one of the last examples of Crudader architecture in the East. The Knights Hospitaller of Rhodes built it after the Mongol leader Tamerlane (Timurlenk, in Turkish) destroyed their previous fortress that was located near Izmir. The castle and its town became known as Petronium, whence the modern name derives.
In 1522, Suleyman the Magnificent conquered the base of the Crusader knights on the island of Rhodes, who withdrew to Malta, leaving The Castle of Saint Peter and Bodrum to the Ottoman Empire.
Until the 20th Century, the economy of Bodrum was dominated by fishing and sponge diving.
Turkish writer Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı popularised the region in the Turkish imagination. The region has tried to attract artists with cultural and musical festivals throughout the year.
Bodrum now hosts poets, singers, artists and package tourists.
The Bodrum region has attracted foreign and domestic investment in real estate, specifically in second homes for investors from Turkish cities as well as Western Europe.
The current population is 32,227 (2000 census).
The sheltered anchorage contains yachts and locally-built gulets used by seafaring tourists.
Villas in Bodum, Turkey
Map of Turkey - Bodrum area road map
Bodrum further local information - www.aboutbodrum.net
Property to buy in Bodrum Turkey
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