Years ago, one of Turkey’s most famous pop-rock groups, MFÖ released a song entitled, “Bodrum, Bodrum”; “How do I describe it, where do I begin, Bodrum, Bodruuuum,” was how it started. Since then, it has become the unofficial anthem of this popular summer resort.
Most Turks have a Bodrum memory; the town is like an autonomous region inside Turkey, with its own private set of rules, one of which is that the evening doesn’t start until misnight!
A wonder of the ancient world
[caption id="attachment_225" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Bodrum Village"]
[/caption]Bodrum’s original name was Halicarnassus. According to the celebrated historian Herodotus, who was a native of this town, the city was first founded by the Dorians. In 650 BC, the Megarans took it over, expanded it, and renamed it Halicarnassus. In the 4th century BC, the city became the capital of Caria, and went on to become prosperous and successful. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus was built by Queen Artemisia in honor of her husband Mausolus, who died in 353 BC. Today, only scant ruins of the great tomb remain.
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An ancient theater beside the road to Turgutreis has been beautifully restored and is worth a quick look. Work on it started during the reign of Mausolos, although it was extended by the Romans.
Later, Bodrum was conquered by the Romans and Byzantines. In 1415, it was captured by the Knights Hospitaller of Rhodes, and in 1522, during the reign of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, it became a part of the Ottoman Empire.
