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District and municipality in Muğla, Turkey
Photo: Antoloji, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Bodrum is a tourist resort on the Southern Aegean coast of Turkey. It's a budget, mass-market destination with facilities to match, and in 2020 the Bodrum metropolis had a population of almost 182,000.
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Well-preserved bastion built from 1402 by the Knights Hospitaller, who called it the Castle of St Peter. Its towers are called the English, French, German and Italian for the four nations constructing them, a clue as to why this took most of a century; the Pope guaranteed its builders a place in heaven but failed to set a deadline. It withstood attacks by the Ottomans but fell to them in 1523. They converted the chapel to a mosque but didn't have much use for the castle, which was variously a garrison, a prison, or unoccupied. Since 1962 it's housed the Museum of Underwater Archaeology, displaying remarkable finds from local shipwrecks. The standout is the Uluburun wreck from the 14th century BC, late Bronze Age, laden with copper ingots, a rare insight into trade and travel in that era.
The sailing and fishing traditions of Bodrum, such as gulets, sponge-fishing and sea-shells.
Mausolos was satrap (regional governor) here for 18 years. Before his death in 353 BC, he commissioned a tomb for himself so grand that it was accounted one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and "mausoleum" became the term for any above-ground tomb. It was 45 m high and richly decorated. His wife Artemisia ruled for another two years then was interred with him the not-quite-finished tomb; in legend she was made into an icon of grieving widowhood, supposedly mixing his ashes into her drink (These legends seldom pointed out that she was his sister). Earthquakes shook the tomb to bits by 1494 AD, or at least that's what folk said when its masonry and decorations somehow ended up in their own mansions (Several prize pieces even shook themselves into the British Museum). Today you explore the foundations, and there are exhibits and a video presentation.
Antik Tiyatrosu
This was begun by Mausolos in the 4th century BC, but took its present form under the Romans in the 2nd century AD. It was restored in the 1970s and 90s into an event space with seating for 10,000.
Zeki Müren Sanat Müzesi
Zeki Müren (1931-96) was a prolific, flamboyant and frankly camp singer-songwriter. He was born in Bursa, launched his career in Istanbul and retired to Bodrum when his health failed. His house has been made into a museum with memorabilia such as his costumes. He had rather a lot of costumes.
A park with 23 waterslides, a 350-m wave river, a wave pool, a range of other pools, and a disco. Food is overpriced and they search you to keep it that way.
This is the closest golf course to Bodrum. There are others to the northeast at Regnum Resort and at Vita Park.
The dolphins are in the sea but in a fenced enclosure. You watch them perform tricks and may swim and interact with them. Staff seem to invent prices as they go along.
Quality seafood restaurant on the marina front, where they ensure you pay for the view.
Cheap and cheerful eatery, great value.
Garden restaurant mostly doing roasts and steaks.
A sfiha restaurant, that's flatbread topped with mincemeat.
A bakery also doing desserts such as baklava.
Friendly fish restaurant with views of the castle.
Good menu selection besides pizza.
Good spot for inexpensive food.
Inexpensive steakhouse open late.
Small hotel on Yahsi seafront serving good Turkish cuisine.
Charming small hotel with pool in the Western Bay. Close enough to walk to city centre, but Turgut Reis is a narrow busy street with no sidewalk.
Simple central budget place, cleaning erratic.
Very basic but central rooms.
It's clean, central and value for what you pay, but rooms are poky and facilities limited.
Oasis of calm on the north edge of the busy city.
Charming hotel on the hillside north edge of town.
Peaceful clean rooms in town centre.
Bodrum Marina Vista
Smart well-run hotel by the marina, good reviews for comfort and service.
Comfy place by the marina.
Beach-front hotel with spa and fitness centre. Some facilities tired, a tad pricey for what you get.
Resort and spa hotel on the beach 3 km from city centre. Mixed reviews.
On beachfront east edge of bay, limited facilities and food repetitive, but value for what you pay.
Pleasant budget place near beach.
On beachfront, lays on kiddy entertainment, but a busy area with disco and street noise.
Beachfront hotel, a bit worn and dated, but clean and good service.
20 simple rooms in a clean welcoming apartment hotel.
Friendly midrange hotel, good service.
Simple hotel 1 km from beach, well managed by Irish couple.
Basic hotel 500 m from beach, cleanliness varies and food indifferent.
Simple town apartments with pool and friendly helpful staff, great value for what you pay. Some rooms have kitchenettes.
Simple family-friendly place near the beach.
Spotless friendly budget hotel on beach.
Selectum Colours
"Selectum" is the silly new name, but the Asteria continues to deliver good comfort, service and cuisine.
Rave reviews for comfort and service here.
Smart hotel with a private beach.
Good inclusive resort hotel.
Doubletree by Hilton
Good standards at this resort hotel on the north-facing coast.
Good service and comfort at this beachfront resort hotel.
Slick upscale resort hotel, most visitors are on package holidays.
It's a peninsula not an island, but does feel away from it all. Mixed reviews for comfort, cleanliness and food.
Great reviews for comfort and service at this all-inclusive resort hotel. It's mostly block-booked for package holidays by TUI but they may have availability for independent travellers.
Friendly service; good rooms in the main building but those in the annex are tiny, and the site is hilly.
This is some distance from town or anywhere else, so regard it as a secluded luxury destination in its own right. Good facilities, some visitors have found it rattling empty.
By bus
Buses from Istanbul take 11 hours overnight via Gebze, Bursa, Balıkesir, Manisa and Izmir. From Izmir it's an hourly service, from Ankara is 10 hours and from Antalya it's 7.
By boat
Tilos Travel sails from Kos twice a day year-round, taking 25 min. It's a small catamaran for foot passengers only; a day-trip either way is easily possible.
Most town buses start from Yeni Otogar the inter-city bus terminal and run to downtown Bodrum, so this service is every couple of minutes. They then fan out across the peninsula:
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Bodrum · International · BJV
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