Bodrum
“Where are you going?”, I jokingly told the captain as he stripped off some of his clothes. “Treasure hunting”, he said with a smirk. Our boat was next to Kara Ada, a little island off the coast of Bodrum. After putting on his goggles, the captain dove into the water and began swimming to what appeared to be a huge underwater hole. “Whoa what the hell is that?”, I said to my friend. “Ah yes. According to a legend, a long time ago a meteorite landed on this island. It created that underwater cave. Wanna go see it?”. “Yes, let’s check it out!” We took off our shirts and dove into the water. After catching up with the captain, I could see a huge circle of darkness underneath my feet. A little unsettling. The captain took his face out of the water and said, “People sometimes drop a lot of sh**t in this cave. I want to go find something for my lady!”. He then dove into the cave and began his exploration. Meanwhile, I spotted a really high ledge on the island. My friend and I swam to land and quickly tiptoed through a landmine of donkey crap. I got to the ledge and looked down. I could see the underwater cave down below. “Do you really want to jump?”, my friend said with a concerned yet amused tone. Still unsure, I mentally debated for a few minutes. Then, I made my decision.
This was an episode from one of our boat trips in Bodrum, a port city located in southwest Turkey along the Turkish Riviera. Bodrum was one of my most favourite Turkish cities simply because it had such an amazing history and is set in a really beautiful area. In ancient times, what is now Bodrum was Halicarnassos (Ἁλικαρνᾱσσός), a city founded by Dorian Greeks. In the middle of the 6th century BC, Halicarnassos was taken over by the Persian Empire and became a very important port city. It also became the capital of the satrapy (Persian province) of Caria. The most famous Halicarnassian was Herodotus, a Greek historian who wrote the Histories, a detailed account of the Greco-Persian Wars. The Histories is the singular most important work in early Western historiography. Herodotus was the first writer to conduct a systematic investigation of events. This later led him to be known as the “Father of History” by the Roman statesman Cicero.
Halicarnassos was also famous for being the home of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World - the Mausoleum at Halicarnassos. This huge 148-ft tall tomb was built for Mausolus, the satrap of Caria, and his sister-wife Artemisia II of Caria. The fact that our English word “mausoleum” comes from “Mausolus” is probably a good indicator of how awesome this thing looked. Each of the four sides of the mausoleum was given to one of four Greek sculptors, who adorned each side with the most beautiful sculptures. The mausoleum was destroyed by an earthquake in 1494. All we have now are fragments and pieces. In 334 BC, Alexander the Great came by and laid siege to Halicarnassos. The Myndos Gate, which can still be visited today, is actually a possible remnant of that siege. After the Greek kingdoms, the Romans took control of Halicarnassos in 129 BC. When the Byzantines took over, Halicarnassos was a shadow of its former self. In 1402, Crusader knights arrived and used most of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassos to build the impressive Castle of Saint Peter (Bodrum Castle), which still exists today. The castle became the centre of the knight-built town of Petronium, which is where Bodrum got its name from. The Ottomans would conquer Bodrum in 1522. In 1923, Bodrum would become part of the Turkish Republic.
Over the years, Bodrum has become a booming resort city. Many people use it as a “launching pad” for their yacht trips to other Turkish coastal cities and even to the Greek islands. I like to think of Bodrum as like a mix of Çeşme and Antalya. It has pretty much the same architecture and “vibe” as Çeşme, but its nightlife is similar to Antalya’s. If you explore the Old Town in the day (which I highly recommend), you will notice a lot of the white-blue houses and buildings surrounded by colourful bougainvillea. Very Çeşme-esque. If you want a fun night one, “Bar Street” in Bodrum’s Old Town is the place to go. There’s always stuff going on there in terms of DJ events and clubs. The beaches always have tons of visitors. Camel and Bodrum beaches are the two most popular ones. But the one thing I would recommend is to take a private boat trip to the most popular swimming areas near Bodrum. The story in the beginning of this post takes place during one of those boat trips to an island called Kara Ada (“The Black Island”), located about 20 minutes from Bodrum.
The boat’s captain swam to the island and ran up to where my friend and I were standing. “Ha! The donkeys love to sh**t here a lot!”. “Are you thinking of jumping? Do it! People jump from here all the time!”. He then proceeded to jump down into the water. My friend soon followed suit. I looked down again. From this view, the underwater cave looked like a void of nothingness. And I was going to jump into it… But, somehow, I was able to suppress whatever voice was telling me not to jump, and went for it. A loud splash later and I swam up to the surface where I laughed and felt the most alive I’ve ever felt. It’s a common theme that will appear throughout the trip. We returned to the boat and continued to swim at several locations around the island. One of them was nicknamed “aquarium”. When I was confused as to why I couldn’t see any actual aquarium, I was told to look into the water. Sure enough, when I put my face into the water, I could see fish of all kinds, and even the white sand down below. That’s how clear the water was. It was a swimmer’s dream.
Bodrum is one those places you can’t really go wrong with by visiting it. Out of all of the cities on the Turkish Riviera, Bodrum has the most interesting and rich history. It’s a party city, especially at night, but I never felt “overwhelmed” by it. If you’re visiting, the one thing you have to do is to book a private boat trip for the day. I guarantee that your boat will probably first take you to Kara Ada which, though uninhabited, is still a very interesting place with some amazing swimming areas around it. This is the only way to truly appreciate the waters around Bodrum. The rich history, charming Old Town, awesome nightlife, great beaches, and incredible boat trips, all make Bodrum a place worthy to be on your Turkey trip itinerary.
Things to do -
Visit Bodrum Castle (Castle of Saint Peter)
Visit Myndos Gate (really only for big ancient history people)
Visit the beaches (Camel and Bodrum beaches are the most popular)
Book a private boat trip (Lunch included. A great one is the Mars Boat. The captain is Erdal Mustafa Engin. The whole trip cost me $203)
Visit Kara Ada (almost all private boat trips come here)
Enjoy the nightlife at Bar Street
Explore Old Town and visit the bazaar
