Bodrum () is a port city in Muğla Province, southwestern Turkey, at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Its population was 35,795 at the 2012 census, with a total of 136,317 inhabitants residing within the district's borders. Known in ancient times as Halicarnassus, the city was once home to the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, also known as the tomb of Mausolus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The city was founded by Dorian Greeks. It later fell under Persian rule and became the capital city of the

satrapy A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with consid ...

of Caria. Mausolus ruled Caria from here, and after his death in 353 BC, his wife

Artemisia Artemisia may refer to: People * Artemisia I of Caria (fl. 480 BC), queen of Halicarnassus under the First Persian Empire, naval commander during the second Persian invasion of Greece * Artemisia II of Caria (died 350 BC), queen of Caria under th ...

built a tomb, called the Mausoleum, for him.

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North M ...

forces laid siege to the city and captured it in 334 BCE. After Alexander's death, the city passed to successive

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

rulers and was briefly an independent kingdom until 129 BCE, when it came under Roman rule. A series of natural disasters and repeated pirate attacks wreaked havoc on the area, and the city lost its importance by the time of the

Byzantine era The Byzantine calendar, also called the Roman calendar, the Creation Era of Constantinople or the Era of the World ( grc, Ἔτη Γενέσεως Κόσμου κατὰ Ῥωμαίους, also or , abbreviated as ε.Κ.; literal translation of ...

. The Knights Hospitaller arrived in 1402 and used the remains of the Mausoleum as a quarry to build Bodrum Castle. The castle and its town became known as Petronium, whence the modern name Bodrum. After the conquest of Rhodes by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1522, the town fell under Ottoman control as the Knights Hospitaller relocated to Europe. By the 20th century, the city's economy was mainly based on fishing and

sponge diving Sponge diving is underwater diving to collect soft natural sponges for human use. Background Most sponges are too rough for general use due to their structural spicules composed of calcium carbonate or silica. But two genera, ''Hippospongia'' ...

, but tourism has become the main industry in Bodrum since the late 20th century. The abundance of visitors has also contributed to Bodrum's retail and service industry. Milas–Bodrum Airport and

Kos International Airport Kos International Airport ( el, Διεθνής Αερολιμένας Κω; also known as Hippocrates) is an international airport on the island of Kos in Greece. It is located near Andimachia Village, and is operated by Fraport AG, all operat ...

are the main airports that serve the city. The port has ferries to other nearby Turkish and Greek ports and islands, Kos being the most important. Most of the public transportation in the city is based on local share taxis and buses.

Etymology

The modern name ''Bodrum'' derives from the town's medieval name ''Petronium'', which has its roots in the Hospitaller Castle of St. Peter (see history). In classical antiquity, Bodrum was known as Halicarnassus ( Ancient Greek: Ἁλικαρνασσός, tr, Halikarnas), a major city in ancient Caria. The suffix -ᾱσσός (-assos) of Greek Ἁλικαρνᾱσσός is indicative of a

substrate Substrate may refer to: Physical layers *Substrate (biology), the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the surface or medium on which an organism grows or is attached ** Substrate (locomotion), the surface over which an organism lo ...

toponym, meaning that an original non-Greek name influenced or established the place's name. It has been proposed that the -καρνᾱσσός (-carnassos) part is

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...

with Luwian word "ha+ra/i-na-sà", which means fortress. If so, the city's ancient name was probably borrowed from Carian, a Luwic language native to pre-Greek Western Anatolia. The Carian name for Halicarnassus has been tentatively identified with 𐊠𐊣𐊫𐊰 𐊴𐊠𐊥𐊵𐊫𐊰 (''alos k̂arnos)'' in inscriptions.

History

Ancient era

Halicarnassus ( grc, Ἁλικαρνᾱσσός, Halikarnassós, or ''Alikarnassós''; tr, Halikarnas), was an ancient Greek city at the site of modern Bodrum in Turkey. Halicarnassus was founded by

Dorian Dorian may refer to: Ancient Greece * Dorians, one of the main ethnic divisions of ancient Greeks * Doric Greek, or Dorian, the dialect spoken by the Dorians Art and entertainment Films * ''Dorian'' (film), the Canadian title of the 2004 film ' ...

Greeks, and the figures on its coins, such as the head of Medusa, Athena, Poseidon, and the trident, support the statement that the mother cities were Troezen and Argos. The inhabitants appear to have accepted Anthes, a son of Poseidon, as their legendary founder, as mentioned by

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

, and were proud of the title ''Antheadae''. The Carian name for Halicarnassus has been tentatively identified with Alosδkarnosδ in inscriptions. In an early period, Halicarnassus was a member of the

Doric Hexapolis The Doric or Dorian Hexapolis ( grc-gre, Δωρικὴ Ἑξάπολις or Δωριέων Ἑξάπολις) was a federation of six cities of Dorian foundation in southwest Asia Minor and adjacent islands, largely coextensive with the region ...

, which included Kos,

Cnidus Knidos or Cnidus (; grc-gre, Κνίδος, , , Knídos) was a Greek city in ancient Caria and part of the Dorian Hexapolis, in south-western Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey. It was situated on the Datça peninsula, which forms the southern side o ...

Lindos Lindos (; grc-gre, Λίνδος) is an archaeological site, a fishing village and a former municipality on the island of Rhodes, in the Dodecanese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Rhodes, of which it ...

, Kameiros, and Ialysus; but it was expelled from the league when one of its citizens, Agasicles, took home the prize tripod that he had won in the Triopian games instead of dedicating it according to custom to the Triopian Apollo. In the early 5th century, Halicarnassus was under the sway of Artemisia I of Caria (also known as Artemesia of Halicarnassus), who made herself famous as a naval commander at the

battle of Salamis The Battle of Salamis ( ) was a naval battle fought between an alliance of Greek city-states under Themistocles and the Persian Empire under King Xerxes in 480 BC. It resulted in a decisive victory for the outnumbered Greeks. The battle was ...

. Little is known of Pisindalis, her son and successor; but Lygdamis, the tyrant of Halicarnassus, who next attained power, is notorious for having the poet

Panyasis Panyassis of Halicarnassus, sometimes known as Panyasis ( grc, Πανύασις), was a 5th-century BC Greek epic poet from Halicarnassus in the Persian Empire (modern-day Bodrum, Turkey). Life Panyassis was the son of Polyarchus ( grc, Πολ ...

put to death and forcing Herodotus, possibly the most well-known Halicarnassian, to leave his native city (c. 457 BC).

Persian rule

The city later fell under Persian rule. Under the Persians, it was the capital city of the

of Caria, the region that long afterward constituted its hinterland and of which it was the principal port. Its strategic location ensured that the city enjoyed considerable autonomy. Archaeological evidence from the period, such as the recently discovered Salmakis (''Kaplankalesi'') Inscription, now in

Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology Bodrum Castle ( tr, Bodrum Kalesi) is a historical fortification located in southwest Turkey in the port city of Bodrum, built from 1402 onwards, by the Knights of St John (Knights Hospitaller) as the ''Castle of St. Peter'' or ''Petronium''. A t ...

, attests to the particular pride its inhabitants had developed. Mausolus ruled Caria from here, nominally on behalf of the Persians but practically independently, for much of his reign from 377 to 353 BC. When he died in 353 BC, Artemisia II of Caria, who was both his sister and his widow, employed the ancient Greek architects

Satyros Satyros or Satyrus was a Greek architect in the 4th century BC. Along with Pythius of Priene, he designed and oversaw the construction of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. Mausolus, the satrap of Caria in southwest Anatolia died in 353 BC, and his ...

, Pythis, and the sculptors

Bryaxis Bryaxis ( grc, Βρύαξις or Βρύασσις; fl. 350 BC) was a Greek sculptor. He created the sculptures on the north side of the mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus which was commissioned by the queen Artemisia II of Caria in memory o ...

, Scopas,

Leochares Leochares () was a Greek sculptor from Athens, who lived in the 4th century BC. Works Leochares worked at the construction of the Mausoleum of Mausolos at Halicarnassus, one of the "Seven Wonders of the Ancient World". The ''Diana of Versaille ...

, and Timotheus to build a monument and a tomb for him. The word "

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

" derives from the structure of this tomb. It was a temple-like structure decorated with reliefs and statuary on a massive base. Today only the foundations and a few pieces of sculpture remain.

Hellenistic and Roman periods

Alexander the Great laid siege to the city after his arrival in the Carian lands and, together with his ally, Queen Ada of Caria, captured it after fighting in 334 BC. After Alexander's death, the rule of the city passed to

Antigonus I Antigonus I Monophthalmus ( grc-gre, Ἀντίγονος Μονόφθαλμος , 'the One-Eyed'; 382 – 301 BC), son of Philip from Elimeia, was a Macedonian Greek nobleman, general, satrap, and king. During the first half of his life he se ...

(311 BC),

Lysimachus Lysimachus (; Greek: Λυσίμαχος, ''Lysimachos''; c. 360 BC – 281 BC) was a Thessalian officer and successor of Alexander the Great, who in 306 BC, became King of Thrace, Asia Minor and Macedon. Early life and career Lysimachus was b ...

(after 301 BC), and the

Ptolemies The Ptolemaic dynasty (; grc, Πτολεμαῖοι, ''Ptolemaioi''), sometimes referred to as the Lagid dynasty (Λαγίδαι, ''Lagidae;'' after Ptolemy I's father, Lagus), was a Macedonian Greek royal dynasty which ruled the Ptolemaic K ...

(281–197 BC) and was briefly an independent kingdom until 129 BC, when it came under Roman rule. A series of earthquakes destroyed much of the city, as well as the great Mausoleum, while repeated pirate attacks from the Mediterranean wreaked further havoc on the area. By the time of the early Christian Byzantine era, when Halicarnassus was an important bishopric, there was little left of the shining city of Mausoluos.

Medieval era

Crusader Knights arrived in 1402 and used the remains of the Mausoleum as a quarry to build the still impressively standing Bodrum Castle (''Castle of Saint Peter''), a well-preserved example of late Crusader architecture in the eastern Mediterranean. The Knights Hospitaller (''Knights of St. John'') were given permission to build it by the Ottoman sultan Mehmed I after Tamerlane destroyed their previous fortress in İzmir's inner bay. The castle and its town became known as Petronium, whence the modern name Bodrum. In 1522, Suleiman the Magnificent conquered the base of the Crusader knights on the island of Rhodes, who then relocated first briefly to Sicily and later permanently to Malta, leaving the Castle of Saint Peter and Bodrum to the Ottoman Empire.

Modern era

Bodrum was a quiet town of fishermen and sponge divers until the early 20th century. In her book ''Bodrum'', Fatma Mansur points out that the presence of a large community of bilingual

Cretan Turks The Cretan Muslims ( el, Τουρκοκρητικοί or , or ; tr, Giritli, , or ; ar, أتراك كريت) or Cretan Turks were the Muslim inhabitants of the island of Crete. Their descendants settled principally in Turkey, the Dodecanese ...

, coupled with the conditions of free trade and access to the southern

Dodecanese The Dodecanese (, ; el, Δωδεκάνησα, ''Dodekánisa'' , ) are a group of 15 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Turkey's Anatolia, of which 26 are inhabited. ...

islands until 1935, made the town less provincial. The fact that traditional agriculture was not a very rewarding activity in the rather dry peninsula also prevented the formation of a class of large landowners. Bodrum has no notable history of political or religious extremism. A first nucleus of intellectuals started to form after the 1950s around the writer

Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı (17 April 1890 – 13 October 1973; born Musa Cevat Şakir; pen-name "The Fisherman of Halicarnassus", tr, Halikarnas Balıkçısı) was a Cretan Turkish writer of novels, short-stories and essays, as well as a ke ...

, who first came here in exile two decades previously and was charmed by the town to the point of adopting the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

''Halikarnas Balıkçısı'' ('The Fisherman of Halicarnassus').

Geography

Climate

Bodrum has a hot summer Mediterranean climate (''Csa'' in the Köppen climate classification). The average temperature is around in winter and in summer, with many sunny spells. Summers are hot and mostly sunny, and winters are mild and humid.

Main sights

The Castle of St. Peter, also known as Bodrum Castle, is one of the main attractions of the peninsula. The castle was built by the Knights Hospitaller during the 15th century, and the walls of the fortification contain pieces of the ruins of the Mausoleum, which was used as a source of construction materials. The Castle of Bodrum retains its original design and character of the Knights' period and reflects Gothic architecture. It also contains the

, a museum established by the Turkish government in 1962 to host the underwater discoveries of ancient shipwrecks in the Aegean Sea. In 2016, the castle was included in the Tentative list of World Heritage Sites in Turkey. The castle has been under renovation since 2017, and only some parts of it are accessible to visitors. Built in the fourth century BC, the ruins of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus are also among the main sights in Bodrum. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was a tomb designed by Greek architects and built for Mausolus, a

satrap A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with consid ...

of the

Persian Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, wikt:𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...

, and his

sister-wife Siblings play a unique role in one another's lives that simulates the companionship of parents as well as the influence and assistance of friends. Because siblings often grow up in the same household, they have a large amount of exposure to one ano ...

Artemisia II of Caria. The structure was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World,. By the 12th century CE, the structure had largely been destroyed. Today, the ruins of the tomb continue to attract both domestic and international tourists. It is planned to turn the ruins into an open-air museum. Besides the Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology, other museums are also located on the peninsula.

Zeki Müren Art Museum Zeki as Turkish masculine name and may refer to: * Zeki Yim (born 2003), Hong Kong Pornography actor * Zeki Akar (born 1944), Turkish judge * Zeki Alasya (1943-2015), Turkish actor * Zeki Demir (born 1982), Turkish karateka * Zeki Demirkubuz (born ...

is dedicated to Turkish classical musician

Zeki Müren Zeki Müren (; 6 December 1931 – 24 September 1996) was a Turkish singer, composer, songwriter, actor and poet. Known by the nicknames "The Sun of Art" and "Pasha", he was one of the prominent figures of the Ottoman classical music, Turkish cla ...

. After his death, the house in Bodrum where he lived during the later years of his life was transformed into the

Art Museum by order of the Ministry of Culture and was opened to the public on June 8, 2000.

Bodrum Maritime Museum Bodrum () is a port city in Muğla Province, southwestern Turkey, at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Its population was 35,795 at the 2012 census, with a total of 136,317 inhabitants residing within the district's borders. Known in ancien ...

is another museum dedicated to the classification, exhibition, restoration, conservation, storage, and safekeeping of historical documents, works, and objects that are important to the city's maritime history. Bodrum City Museum is a minor museum in the city center that presents the general history of the Bodrum peninsula. File:Bodrum Theatre.jpg,

Theatre at Halicarnassus The Theatre at Halicarnassus, also known as Bodrum Antique Theatre (Turkish: ''Bodrum Antik Tiyatrosu'', usually shortened as ''Antik Tiyatro''), is a 4th-century BC Greco-Roman theatre located in Bodrum, Turkey. The theatre is considered to be ...

File:The ruins of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus.jpg, The ruins of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus File:Bodrum, Muğla Province, Turkey - panoramio (12).jpg, Entrance of Museum of Underwater Archaeology File:Turkey.Bodrum040.jpg, Collection of amphoras in Museum of Underwater Archaeology File:Zeki Müren heykeli.jpg,

's statue at

File:Windmill ruins in Bodrum.jpg, Windmills of Bodrum

Demographics

The population of the town center of Bodrum was 35,795 in the 2012 census. The surrounding towns and villages had an additional population of 100,522, with a cumulative total of 136,317 inhabitants residing within the district's borders.

Historical population

Government

The district of Bodrum is one of 957 in Turkey. It is in Muğla Province, which is part of the Aydin Subregion, which, in turn, is part of the

Aegean Region The Aegean Region () is one of the 7 Geographical regions of Turkey, geographical regions of Turkey. The largest city in the region is İzmir. Other big cities are Manisa, Aydın, Denizli, Muğla, Afyonkarahisar and Kütahya. Located in w ...

. Bodrum became a sub-district of the Ottoman Empire in 1871 and a district of Muğla Province in 1872. Bodrum Municipality operates with its 18 directorates and subsidiary units in the entire Bodrum Peninsula, which covers an area of 689 km² and a coastline of 215 km. The organizational structure of Bodrum Municipality is composed of the mayor, four deputy mayors, and 18 directorates. Muğla location Bodrum

Bodrum Municipality served as the sole district municipality in the Bodrum region for many years. With the increase in the population of the peninsula, a town municipality called Karatoprak (

Turgutreis Turgutreis is a town in Turkey about a 50-minute drive from Milas–Bodrum Airport. It is the second largest town on the Bodrum peninsula and is part of that district, in Muğla. The town is a popular holiday destination with 5 kilometres of sandy ...

) was established in 1967. The increase in the population also led to the establishment of the Mumcular (1972),

Yalıkavak Yalıkavak is a town near Bodrum in Muğla Province, on the Aegean Region, Aegean coast of Turkey. It is from Bodrum, on the northern side of the Bodrum peninsula. Yalıkavak is surrounded by hills providing views of the town and surrounding Aeg ...

(1989), and Gündoğan Municipalities (1992). Following the new municipality law of 1999, many villages in Bodrum were turned into towns: Ortakent-Yahşi with the integration of Ortakent and Yahşi villages, Göltürkbükü with the integration of Gölköy, and

Türkbükü Türkbükü is a coastal town in Muğla Province in southwestern Turkey, located on the Turkish Riviera on the opposite side of the Bodrum peninsula from the town of Bodrum Bodrum () is a port city in Muğla Province, southwestern Turkey, at the ...

and

Yalı A yalı ( tr, yalı, from Greek ''yialí'' (mod. ''yialós''), literally "seashore, beach") is a house or mansion built right on the waterside (almost exclusively seaside, particularly on the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul) and usually built with ...

with the integration of Yalı and Kızılağaç villages. The same year, the municipalities of Gümüşlük,

Konacık Konacık is a neighbourhood of the municipality and district of Bodrum, Muğla Province, Turkey. Its population is 5,344 (2022). Before the 2013 reorganisation, it was a town ('' belde''). The town is almost merged to Bodrum to the south east. Ko ...

, and

Bitez Bitez is a town in Bodrum district of the Muğla Province. Geography It is situated in Bodrum Peninsula at . It is almost merged with Bodrum which is just east of Bitez. It is a coastal town and a popular summer resort. The settled population of ...

were also founded, raising the number of municipalities in the Bodrum Peninsula to 11. After Muğla Province received metropolitan municipality status, these town municipalities were abolished, and all towns across the province were integrated into the city of Bodrum. Since March 30, 2014, the peninsula has been governed as a sole municipality.

Economy

During the 20th century, the city's economy was mainly based on fishing and sponge diving. Even though naked sponge diving in the Aegean region can be traced back at least 3,000 years, modern sponge diving became prevalent in Bodrum after Koan and Cretan immigrants settled in the city in the early 1920s, after the population exchange between Greece and Turkey. During its golden age between 1945 and 1965, about 150 boats engaged in sponge diving activities in Bodrum. However, sponge diseases, artificial sponge production, and a ban on sponge diving eventually ended this lucrative industry. Turkey

Over the years, tourism became a major activity and income source for local communities. The abundance of visitors has also enlivened Bodrum's retail and service industries. Leather goods, particularly for traditional woven sandals, are well-known products. Other traditional goods, such as tangerine-flavored Turkish delight, nazar amulets, and handicrafts are popular souvenirs. Apart from small shopping facilities, the city hosts a few shopping malls, such as Midtown and Oasis. There are also marinas for yachts and small ships, such as Milta Bodrum Marina, D-Marin Turgutreis, and the award-winning Yalıkavak Marina. The

Carian Trail The Carian Trail ( tr, Karia Yolu) is an 820 km long-distance footpath exploring the South Western corner of Turkey through the modern provinces of Muğla and Aydın. The trail is officially opened in 2013 and winds through some of the less ...

, which passes by Bodrum and the surrounding Kızılağaç and

Pedasa Pedasa ( grc, Πήδασα or τὰ Πήδασα), also known as Pedasus or Pedasos (Πήδασος), and as Pedasum, was a town of ancient Caria. It was a ''polis'' (city-state) by . Alexander the Great deprived the place of its independence by g ...

ruins, attracts hikers from both inside and outside Turkey.

Culture

Architecture

Traditional Bodrum houses are characterized by their prismatic shapes, simple designs and locally sourced building materials like stone, wood, clay and cane. They also tend to have white dominated exterior walls with some blue parts (doors, windows). The tradition of white-washed walls is associated with the bug and scorpion repellent properties of lime, which is found in white paint. It is also traditionally applied in most hot regions for heat-reflecting properties of white color. Blue is also believed by locals to protect against the malicious effects of envy (similar to the Anatolian belief Nazar, originated in Mesopotamia). According to

Muğla Muğla () is a city in southwestern Turkey. The city is the center of the District of Menteşe and Muğla Province, which stretches along Turkey's Aegean coast. Muğla's center is situated inland at an altitude of 660 m and lies at a dista ...

Municipality, in order to acquire a building permit one has to agree to paint the walls of the new building white. Use of any paint other than white on the exterior walls of a building was officially banned by Muğla Governor Temel Koçaklar in 2006. This was implemented to protect the historical fabric and cultural identity of the city.

Events and festivals

Bodrum International Ballet Festival Bodrum International Ballet Festival ( Turkish: ''Uluslararası Bodrum Bale Festivali'') is an annual international ballet festival held in the Turkish port city Bodrum. Organised by Turkish State Opera and Ballet since 2002, the festival takes pl ...

has been held in Bodrum every summer since 2002. Bodrum has also hosted the

Bodrum International Biennial Bodrum () is a port city in Muğla Province, southwestern Turkey, at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Its population was 35,795 at the 2012 census, with a total of 136,317 inhabitants residing within the district's borders. Known in ancient t ...

since 2014. Bodrum Baroque Music Festival is another, annual, music event held in the city.

Transportation

Airports

There are no civilian airports located in the district's borders and Milas–Bodrum Airport and

Kos Island International Airport Kos International Airport ( el, Διεθνής Αερολιμένας Κω; also known as Hippocrates) is an international airport on the island of Kos in Greece. It is located near Andimachia Village, and is operated by Fraport AG, all operat ...

are the main airports that serve the city. Milas–Bodrum Airport is located northeast of Bodrum, with both domestic and international flights. Kos Island International Airport, to the SW, located in Andimachia, Greece, accessible by boats from Bodrum across a stretch of the Aegean Sea. Aside from year-round flights to Greek destinations, Kos airport's traffic is seasonal. Built in 1987,

Bodrum-Imsik Airport Imsik Airport is a regional airport that serves Bodrum, Turkey. The airport has one asphalt-surface runway that is 1,570 metres long, and 30 metres wide. References Airports in Turkey {{Turkey-airport-stub ...

once served the city before its closure to commercial flights in the late 90's. Due to financial and legal problems caused by a landownership dispute, the airport was sold to Presidency of Defense Industries in 1997. It is currently being operated as an air base.

Bus

The main bus station of Bodrum district used to be located in the city center, but this has changed in 2021 when it was moved to a newly-built facility in Torba, around 6 km away from the town to ease traffic jams in the city center during the high season. The old bus station still has the interdistict buses, but intercity bus services to other locations in Turkey were redirected to the new station. The new station is powered by solar power, and contains 6 electric car charging units, which was described to be a first for a bus terminal in Turkey by the Muğla Mayor Osman Gürün. Most of the public transportation in the city is based on local shared taxis called "

dolmuş In Turkey and Northern Cyprus, dolmuş () are share taxis that run set routes within and between cities. Background Their name is derived from Turkish for "seemingly stuffed" referencing the fact that in days past these taxis were often filled t ...

". Each of these privately owned minibuses displays their particular route on signboards behind the windscreens.Turkish Dolmus Taxi or Minibus
turkeytravelplanner.com The word derives from the

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

for "full" or "stuffed", as these shared taxis depart from the terminal only when a sufficient number of passengers have boarded.Bus Services in North Cyprus
essentialcyprus.com, January 28, 2009. Apart from these minibuses Muğla Municipality also has a scheduled bus service program between towns on the Bodrum peninsula. Public transportation between major towns such as Gümbet,

and the main bus station is non-stop.

Port

The port has ferries to other nearby Turkish and Greek ports and islands. Bodrum has three large marinas and cruise berths. The first marina, Milta, is located in the center of Bodrum. The second marina is located in Turgutreis, and the third, Palmarina, in Yalikavak.

Wildlife

Maquis shrubland biome, which is the typical vegetation of the Mediterranean climate, is widespread in Bodrum, especially near the coast. Forests cover 61.3% of the district. Conifers such as pines, larches, stone pines, cedars and junipers are the dominant trees in the region. Forested areas are prone to fires and wildfires are common in the district's history. 95% of forest fires in Turkey are believed to be caused by human activities and there are concerns that forests are deliberately being set on fire to enlarge the city. The ruling party AKP has been criticized in the media for giving building permits to construct new hotels on burnt and deforested areas. Wild boars and foxes are prevalent in the area, as are other animals such as pygmy cormorants, Dalmatian pelicans and lesser kestrels. The region is also home to the endangered and internationally protected Mediterranean monk seal.

Notable people

* Herodotus – ancient Greek historian *

Scylax of Caryanda Scylax of Caryanda ( el, Σκύλαξ ὁ Καρυανδεύς) was a Greek explorer and writer of the late 6th and early 5th centuries BCE. His own writings are lost, though occasionally cited or quoted by later Greek and Roman authors. The peri ...

– ancient explorer * Julian of Halicarnassus was a bishop in the early 6th century. * Mausolus – Carian ruler * Artemisia II of Caria – Carian ruler *

Dionysius The name Dionysius (; el, Διονύσιος ''Dionysios'', "of Dionysus"; la, Dionysius) was common in classical and post-classical times. Etymologically it is a nominalized adjective formed with a -ios suffix from the stem Dionys- of the name ...

– ancient Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric in the Roman period * Turgut Reis – Ottoman Turkish admiral *

Halikarnas Balıkçısı Halicarnassus (; grc, Ἁλικαρνᾱσσός ''Halikarnāssós'' or ''Alikarnāssós''; tr, Halikarnas; Carian: 𐊠𐊣𐊫𐊰 𐊴𐊠𐊥𐊵𐊫𐊰 ''alos k̂arnos'') was an ancient Greek city in Caria, in Anatolia. It was located i ...

, literally 'The Fisherman of Halicarnassus' or

– Turkish writer born in Istanbul, resident of Bodrum for decades and a symbol for the town * Neyzen Tevfik – Turkish

ney The ''ney'' ( fa, Ney/نی, ar, Al-Nāy/الناي), is an end-blown flute that figures prominently in Persian music and Arabic music. In some of these musical traditions, it is the only wind instrument used. The ney has been played continually ...

virtuoso and pundit *

– Turkish singer born in

Bursa ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...

, resident of Bodrum for decades and a symbol for the town *

Janet Akyüz Mattei Janet Akyüz Mattei (January 2, 1943 – March 22, 2004) was a Turkish-American astronomer who was the director of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) from 1973 to 2004. Biography Mattei was born in Bodrum, Turkey t ...

– director of the

American Association of Variable Star Observers The American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) is an international nonprofit organization, founded in 1911, focused on coordinating, analyzing, publishing, and archiving variable star observations made largely by amateur astronomers. ...

( AAVSO) from 1973 to 2004 *

Abdurrahman Nafiz Gürman Abd al-Rahman ( ar, عبد الرحمن, translit=ʿAbd al-Raḥmān or occasionally ; DMG ''ʿAbd ar-Raḥman''; also Abdul Rahman) is a male Arabic Muslim given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' Abd'', '' ...

– military officer in the Ottoman and Turkish armies *

Zeynep Çamcı Zeynep Çamcı (born December 11, 1986) is a Turkish actress and screenwriter. She is best known for hit surreal comedy series ''Leyla ile Mecnun'' and popular series '' Beni Böyle Sev''. She won the 2013 Best Actress Award at the Internationa ...

– Turkish actress

Twin towns — sister cities

Bodrum is twinned with: *

Prizren ) , settlement_type = Municipality and city , image_skyline = Prizren Collage.jpg , imagesize = 290px , image_caption = View of Prizren , image_alt = View of Prizren , image_flag ...

, Kosovo * Portimão, Portugal * Eskişehir, Turkey * Wakayama,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

References

External links

Turkish Republic Municipalities of Bodrum

Ministry of Culture and Tourism: Bodrum

Bodrum Webcam

Bodrum Instagram Account
* {{Authority control Populated places in Muğla Province Turkish Riviera Populated coastal places in Turkey Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Dorian colonies Aegean Sea port cities and towns in Turkey Districts of Muğla Province Halicarnassus Important Bird Areas of Turkey