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Bodrum Castle – History, Architecture and Visitor Guide

Bodrum Castle, built on a rocky peninsula surrounded by the sea on three sides near Bodrum's harbor, sits on the peaceful shores of the Aegean Sea. It is one of Bodrum's most characteristic landmarks and has served as both a military garrison and a cultural center throughout history. History Construction of the castle began around 1406 by the Knights Hospitaller; the structure was completed and developed between 1406 and 1522. The area where the castle was built was an island in ancient times, later connected to land and transformed into a peninsula. There are sources indicating that the ruined stones of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, were used in its construction. In 1523, the Ottoman Empire captured the chapel, converting it into a mosque, and the castle's military role changed. Since the 1960s, the Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology, which houses a world-renowned collection, has been opened in the castle. In 2016, the castle was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 🏰 Architecture & Features The castle has a square plan, measuring approximately 180 m × 185 m. Its towers were built for knights from various European countries: the French Tower (the tallest), the English, German, Italian, and Spanish (Serpentine) Towers. Thanks to its strategic location, the castle was defended from both land and sea, overlooking the harbors. Today, the castle is a complex that can be visited, comprising both its outer walls and its inner courtyards, chapels, and exhibition halls. 👣 Things to Know Before Visiting Visiting Hours: From April to October, it is generally 8:30 am to 6:30 pm. Hours may vary during the winter season. It is recommended to allow at least 1.5-2 hours for a visit; time is required for the museum, towers, and walls. It is recommended that you check your tickets for entrance fees and museum tours. Make sure your shoes are comfortable; there may be some stairs and narrow passages. It is advisable to bring a hat, sunscreen, and water during strong sunlight. SEVEN GATES ARE ACCESSED The castle's exterior walls, excluding the eastern wall, are reinforced with double walls. The inner castle is accessed through seven gates. Coats of arms are adorned on each gate, featuring crosses, horizontal or straight bands, and dragon and lion figures. Six of the 14 cisterns within the inner castle belong to chapels. Among the most striking features of Bodrum Castle are the castle blockhouse, the moat between the double walls, the drawbridge, the control tower, and the signature of Mahmud II. At the end of the century, when the castle was used as a prison, a bathhouse was added, giving it an Ottoman character. The castle is also home to the Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology, which received a "Special Commendation" in the European Museum of the Year Competition in 1995. However, due to restoration, only the Uluburun and Sunken sections are currently open to visitors. Various artifacts are also exhibited in the castle, situated on a 33.5-acre site. 📸 Highlights The views of Bodrum harbor and the city from the ramp leading up to the castle offer stunning photos. Visit the Underwater Archaeology Museum inside the castle to see rare artifacts such as ancient shipwrecks and amphorae. The view of the castle at sunset is one of the most special scenes on the Aegean coast. 🎯 Why Visit? It offers the opportunity to witness Bodrum's transformation throughout history—from antiquity to the Middle Ages, and from the Middle Ages to the Ottoman Empire—all in one place. It is remarkable for its architecture and defensive technology: Towers and walls from the Knights' era are still standing, making it one of the few structures left standing in this respect. Sea, scenery, history, and culture all come together: if you're looking for a historical stop near the city center after the beach, this castle is ideal. After your visit, you can enjoy your day in the port area, restaurants and cafes located opposite the castle.

Bodrum Serçe Limanı Glass Wreck Exhibition Hall

In the third decade of the 11th century AD (1026 AD), a Byzantine ship sank 33 meters deep in a natural bay in Marmaris' Serçe Limanı due to an anchoring error. The shipwreck was revealed to archaeologists by Bodrum sponge diver Mehmet Aşkın. Excavations conducted by the Institute of Underwater Archaeology (INA) between 1977 and 1979, and subsequent research on the finds, revealed the ship's archaeological and historically unusual features.

Myndos Gate

The Myndos Gate is thought to have been built around 360 BC. Located west of Halicarnassus, it is one of the city's entrances. It was built by Mausolus, the Carian Satrap, as a shield on the city walls. One of the two monumental gates of Halicarnassus, the Myndos Gate consists of two monumental towers and an inner courtyard behind which lies the gate through which the city was entered. The first phase of restoration of the walls and towers located north of this gate was completed in 1999. The defensive moats that thwarted Alexander the Great's attacks on Halicarnassus in 334 BC were built in the 4th century BC. The site of the historical remains contains vaulted tombs from the Hellenistic and Roman periods, also thought to date to the 4th century BC.

Bodrum Mausoleum

Mausolus served as Satrap of Caria for 24 years. To ensure the continued strength of his power after his death, he commissioned the construction of a mausoleum. Construction of this mausoleum began in 355 BC during the reign of Mausolus and was continued by his wife Artemisia in 353 BC. After Artemisia's death in 351 BC, the structure was completed with contributions from renowned sculptors of the time. The mausoleum survived for over 1,600 years. It is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World and, thanks to its iconic status, has inspired many similar structures. The Mausoleum stood within a large, elevated temenos (sacred precinct) in the ancient city center and stood approximately 50 meters high. The structure consisted of four main sections: a high plinth, a columned gallery, a stepped pyramidal roof, and statues of Artemisia and the Satrap Mausolus on a quadriga. Built by the most prominent architects and sculptors of the period, this structure was enriched with marble reliefs and decorations. These decorations depicted official ceremonies, sacrificial scenes, hunting scenes, scenes from the life of Mausolus, and mythological scenes in a specific order. The Mausoleum stood for approximately 1,650 years, but was destroyed by an earthquake in 1304 AD. In 1402, the Knights of St. John (Knights of Rhodes) removed the stones from the mausoleum and used them in the construction of Bodrum Castle. In 1846, the English Lord Stratford, and between 1856 and 1858, C.T. Newton, following their research, transferred the Mausoleum's remains to the British Museum. Between 1966 and 1977, a Danish team led by Prof. Dr. Kristian Jeppesen conducted scientific excavations at the Mausoleum. The artifacts unearthed during these excavations are currently on display in the Mausoleum Museum.

Bodrum Antique Theater

The Ancient Theatre is the only structure from Bodrum's Classical era that has survived to the present day. Located on the southern slopes of Göktepe Mountain in the center of Bodrum, it is one of the oldest theatres in Anatolia. Restored by a group of Turks in the 1960s (the most recent restoration was carried out in collaboration with the Bodrum Municipality, Ericsson, and Turkcell), it continues to host many festivals in Bodrum. Among the theatre's interesting features are the altar where sacrifices were made to Dionysus before performances and the holes between some of the seats, which may have served as shade. With a 40-centimeter distance between each seat, the theatre can accommodate 13,000 people.

STRATONIKEIA ANCIENT CITY - YATAĞAN

The ancient city of Stratonikeia, 1.5 hours from Bodrum, is located within the village of Eskihisar in the Yatağan district of Muğla. Excavations and research conducted in the city center indicate that the site has been inhabited from the Late Bronze Age to the present day. The settlement was named, in succession, Atriya, Chrysaoris, Idrias, Stratonikeia, and Eskihisar. The city was renamed in honor of Stratonike, the wife of Seleucid King Antiochus I, who reigned from 281 to 261 BC. Stratonikeia is known as the city of gladiators because it served as a retirement retreat for surviving gladiators. The earliest finds in Stratonikeia and its surrounding area date to the late 2nd millennium BC. During the Hellenistic period, the city was laid out on a hippodomical plan consisting of parallel grid-intersecting streets, and the same settlement system continued during the Roman period. After the Roman period, the settlement shrank, and only certain sections of the city were inhabited during the Byzantine, Beylik, and Ottoman periods. Within the ancient city are two distinct fortification walls dating from the Archaic and Classical periods. The city boasts structures such as a gymnasium, theater, council building (bouleuterion), bath complexes, agoras, temples, city gates, a colonnaded street, fountains and a water feature, and tomb monuments. The inscription on the walls of the council building, in Greek, contains the Menippean calendar, along with the names and prices of all goods and services sold in the city during the Roman period, in Latin. The city also boasts significant examples of Turkish architecture, including churches and houses from the Byzantine period, a bathhouse from the Principalities period, and the Şaban Ağa Mosque, fountains, and ağa houses built during the Ottoman period. All of the historical structures in the ancient city can be explored on foot along stone-paved paths. Stratonikeia is one of the few places where you can see buildings and urban fabric from the Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, Roman Imperial, Byzantine, Principalities, Ottoman, and Turkish Republic periods all together. The ancient city of Stratonikeia was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in 2015.

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