BODRUM

One of the true gems of Turkey’s Aegean coast, Bodrum has attracted human settlement for millennia.  The site of the ancient city of Halikarnassus, Bodrum was home to the famous Mausoleum of Halikarnassus (the tomb of King Mausolos, built after 353 BCE), one among the celebrated Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  Herodotus, known as the father of Greek history, was born in Bodrum in 484 BCE.  The castle of Saint Peter, an exemplar of fifteenth-century European Crusader architecture, has been converted into the Museum of Underwater Archaeology and contains artifacts  from the oldest Mediterranean shipwreck ever discovered.  Bodrum’s amphitheater, white windmills, and the remains of Myndos Gate (built by King Mausolus) are not to be missed.

Not only is Bodrum’s history unique, but the city and surrounding area are replete with crystal clear waters, sandy beaches, and an utterly refreshing climate.  More than any other Turkish coastal town, its enigmatic elegance harbors peaceful pockets of serenity even in the middle of town.  Turkish writer Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı was exiled to sleepy Bodrum in 1925, and quickly fell in love with the place.  After serving his time, he proceeded to lure a whole generation of Turkish intellectuals, writers, and artists to Bodrum in the mid-1940s.  Kabaağaçlı's early influence, giving the town its artsy identity, has preserved much of Bodrum's essentially Aegean character.