Homer's
description of Bodrum as "The land of eternal blue"
and the words of another resident of Bodrum, Cevat Sakir, who
said "The heavenly bliss of life in Bodrum is better than
any eternal bliss that may await us" were not without foundation
in reality. Throughout history Bodrum, known as Halikarnassos
in ancient times, has always been fought over and people have
been unwilling to share its beauty with others.
Built on a peninsula formed by the meeting of
the eastern and western harbours, Bodrum, with its narrow streets
winding down to the sea, is famous for its castle, its world-renowned
yachts, its shipyards and the dazzling white houses and tombs
lining the shores of its two harbors.
Today
Bodrum has everything that one would expect to find in a vacation
getaway. It is an important tourist center in both winter and
summer. Bodrum has what it takes to make everyone feel at home,
from the rich yacht owners who come from around the globe to the
penny-counting tourists who just wants a reasonable room so that
he can stretch his budget to make his vacation last all summer.
The Underwater Archeological Museum of Bodrum is one of the biggest
and important museums of its kind in the world. The relics recovered
from excavation which started in the 1960's are on display in
this museum located in the Bodrum Castle.
Mediterranean amphora collection as well as findings resulting
from research on sunken ships in the immediate vicinity are on
display. The significant sunken ships are those at Yassiada, Seytan
Deresi and Serçe Limani. The remains of the oldest known
sunken ship in the world are also here and well-worth seeing.
Mausoleion
Open Air Museum, gets its name from the fact that the tomb of
Mansolosiun, the King of Caria, is located here. His wife, also
his sister, had the most famous architects of the day to design
the structure. It was almost completely destroyed in the Great
Anatolian earthquake. There is a small museum here at the site
of this tomb which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient
world. The word "mausoleum" is taken from King Mausolos'
name. Many of the stones of this Mausoleum were used in the construction
of Bodrum Castle. The beautiful reliefs on the grave, however,
were taken to the British Museum during the excavations in the
19th century .