Bodrum with its position in or near so many of the great civilization and events of ancient history also makes Halicarnassus (Bodrum’s ancient name) an important site for historians. Finding one source of complete historical information on Bodrum is apparently impossible, so the account that follows is a distillation from several sources.

Herodotus, the “Father of History”, was born in Halicarnassus…

The first settlement in this area which left structural evidence behind was on the rocky little island where the Castle of St. Peter now stands (the castle was once completely surrounded by water). When the Knights of St. John arrived to build their fortress, they found the ruins of an older castle, now known to have been built by the Dorians around 1100 BC.

Herodotus, the “Father of History”, who lived in the Fifth Century BC and was born in Halicarnassus, wrote that the Dorians came from Troezen on the east coast of the Peloponnese. They called their new island Zephyria and the settlement Zephyrium.

The visitor will find the theater a comfortable place to sit and contemplate Bodrum while watching boats leave and enter the harbor. Interesting features of the theater include a stone altar once used before plays for sacrifices to Dionyus, and several holes cut through some of the seats, probably used for sun shades. Allowing 40 cm of space per person, the theater could seat 13.000. A short climb further up Goktepe brings one to several rock-cut tombs. Dating from the Roman and Hellenistic period, these excavated tombs once carried several sarcophagi, as well as mementos buried with the dead (some which are on display in the Castle Museum).

One type of memento found in several graves were small ‘tearcups’. These thimble-sized cups were to collect tears from mourners, then left in the tomb at burial. The more cups a person had, the more popular he was. Mausolus died in 353 BC, succeeded by his wife-sister, Artemisia II.

Map of Bodrum

Photos of Bodrum