In the eyes of its devotees, BODRUM - ancient Halicarnassos - with its whitewashed houses and subtropical gardens, is the most attractive Turkish resort, a quality outfit in comparison to its upstart Aegean rivals. And it is a pleasant town in most senses, despite having no real beach, although development has proceeded apace over the last couple of decades, spreading beyond the town boundaries into the until recently little-disturbed peninsula. The centerpiece of Bodrum is the Castle of St Peter, built by the Knights of St John over a Selçuk fortress between 1437 and 1522. The castle was subsequently neglected until the nineteenth century, when the chapel was converted to a mosque and had a hamam installed, though the place was not properly refurbished until the 1960’s, when it was turned into a museum. Inside, there are bits of ancient masonry incorporated into the walls, coats of arms, and a chapel housing a local Bronze Age and Mycenean collection. The various towers house a Museum of Underwater Archeology which includes coin and jewellery rooms, classical and Hellenistic statuary and Byzantine relics retrieved from two wrecks, alongside a diorama explaining salvage techniques. The Carian princess hall displays the skeleton and sarcophagus of a fourth-century BC Carian noblewoman unearthed in 1989. There is also the Glass Wreck Hall containing the wreck and cargo of an ancient Byzantine ship, which sank at Serce near Marmaris.
Immediately north of the castle lies the bazaar , most of which is pedestrianized along the main thoroughfares of Kale Caddesi and Dr Alim Bey Caddesi and given over to souvenir stores and the like. From here, stroll up Türkkuyusu Caddesi and turn left to the town's other main sight, the Mausoleum. This is the burial place of Mausolus, who ruled Halicarnassos in the fourth century BC, greatly increasing its power and wealth. His tomb, completed by Artemisia II, his sister and wife, was regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, giving rise to the word "mausoleum". Decorated with friezes, it stood nearly 60m high; though its present condition is disappointing, with little left besides the precinct wall, assorted column fragments and some subterranean vaults - the bulk of it being in London's British Museum. By way of contrast, the ancient amphitheatre, just above the main highway to the north, has been almost over-zealously restored and is used during the September festival. Begun by Mausolus, it was modified in the Roman era and originally seated thirteen thousand, though it has a present capacity of about half that.
Dolmuses from Bodrum's main bus station head to nearby AKYARLAR, which offers the combination of the best sandy beach around and some quiet pansiyons and restaurants, as well as one of only two campsites on the Bodrum peninsula. |
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