HISTORY

Bodrum, the native land of the famous historian Heredotus is an important tourism center in our country, which attracts attention by reason of its natural beauties, besides its history.

The history of Bodrum, known as Halicarnassus or Halicarnassos goes back to the 13th century BC. Excavaties reveal the 5000 year old history of this town. Many civilisations found their home here. Carians for excample, Homer tells in his Ilia, that the Carians helped to defend Troya.

We know that the native people, namely the Lelegs and the Carians had lived on the hills in the Peninsula of Bodrum. In the year 1000 B.C., those who came here along with the Doric migrations settled in the locality where the fortress stands today and mixed with the native people here. So, the city of Halicarnassos was founded. Heredotus, known as the father of history, was born in Bodrum in 484 BC- and he said that Bodrum had been founded by the Dorians. The next settlers were Carians and Lelegians. In the 6'th. century BC, the region came under Persian rule. Its most brilliant period was around 353. BC. when it was the capital of the Satrap of Caria (In this century it was famous for its trade, sailing and boatbuilding.) Artemisia who was a wanior-woman played a significant role in the protection of the Asian Union and she achieved fame by adopting a stance against Rhodes as the Admiral of the Carian fleet in 480 BC.

The Mausoleum is Bodrums oldest antiquity and was built by Artemisia II in honour of her husband King Mausolos. It became one of the wonders of the ancient world, Mausoleum still is the general term for a large tomb. The entire structure stood at over 50 meters in height. The fırst reliefs from the Mausoleum reached the British Museum in London in 1846, these included frescos and otherobjects.

The most prominent feature of Bodrum is the castle of St. Peter.The castle's origins date back to the knights of St. John.This group of expatriates began in the llth century with a church and hospital in Jerusalem. Although belonging to he Catholic religion care was denied to no-one

When the knights arrived they instructed their builders to remove all usable materials from the tomb of King Mausolos as the castle construction began in the 1400's.

The knights refered to the town as Mesy not knowing that they where in the ancient Halicamassus. The fortress became known as the Castle of St. Peter, the Liberator, it served as the sole place of refugee for all Christians on the West Coast of Asia during the time of the crusades. For over a century the castle served as a stronghold in the knights community. Under Turkish care the castle has undergone several uses including being a military base, a prison and a public bath.

The theatre is another witness to the great past of Bodrum. Situated in the hillside over looking Bodrum this theatre whose capacity is around 13.000 was built during te Carian reign in the Hellenistic age (330 - 30 BC). The theatre consists of three different sections: a place for the audience, a place for an orchestra and the stage. It became an open-air museum after the excavations in 1973.

The city which was captured by the Lydians in the fîrst half of the 6th century B.C., and by the Persians in the year 546 B.C., was joined with the Satrapy of Saird and later.

In the year 377 B.C. Maussollos got hold of the Western Anatolia, had many cities constructed in the region of Caria, and had the capital of Caria removed from Milas to Halicarnassos. With the aim of enlarging the city, he had 6 of the 9 Leleg cities removed to this region, and he had the city surrounded with walls and had many palaces, theaters and temples built in the city. The most important one of these, is the monumental tomb constructed for Maussollos and his wife Artemisia II. The construction had started in the year 355 B.C. and at the time of its completion in 340 B.C., it was one of the 7 wonders of the world. According to the inforaıation supplied by the historian Pilinius, the tomb consisted of 4 parts; there was a high base at the lowest level, a gallery of 36 columns upon it, and a roof of 24 steps upon which the statues of Maussollos and his wife were placed. The architect of the monumental tomb was Pytheos, and the relief engravings were made by sculptors such as Skopas, Leochares, Bryaxis and Timothes. The stones of the monumental tomb which was ruined by an earthquake in the 14th century, were used by the Knights of Rhodes in the construction of the fortress that exists today. The tendrils found in the tomb and the statues at the top, are kept at the British Museum today.
When Artemisia II died in the year 351 B.C., she was succeeded by Idrius who was in turn succeeded by Ada, who was dethroned by her brother Pixodaros. Meanwhile Alexander the Great entered Anatolia and made Ada ascend the throne. The Queen's tomb, discovered in recent years, is displayed at the museum today. The city which was captured by Lysimachos following the death of Alexander the Great, was later subjected to Rhodes and Pergamum and still later Rome got hold of Anatolia totally. Owing to the fact that Bodrum was founded upon the ancient city of Halicarnassos, not much is left to our day from the ancient city. The theater, the stoa of Mars and Apollon situated within the gardens in the city, the theater on the hill belonging to the Hellenistic period have been restored today. Former sources of information state that, the temple of Mars and the stoa of Apollon were under the road in front of the theater, and the temples of Hermes and Afrodities were on the public square of today.

The fortress is the city symbol. The Knights of Rhodes had it constructed in the year 1402, and it was reinforced with the Italian, English, German and French towers. It was taken by the Turks in 1523, and it is used as an undenvater museum today. The undenvater section and the section of Princess Ada, are the sections which attract the greatest attention here.

The Myndos gate is located on the west side of Bodrum, this is one of the two entrances of ancient Halicarnassus. It was part of the towns wall. The gate is named after the place Myndos because it faces the ancient Myndos place (now Gümüslük). A big handshake should go first to the companies Ericsson and Turkcell, who sponsored the excavation of Bodrum's town walls, which are a remarkable example of ancient Western Anatolia architecture. Bodrum Antique town walls' restoration project started in 1998 under the protection of Ministry of Culture and the joint sponsorship of Ericsson and Turkcell. Only some parts of the city walls remained until today. An important part of the town wall was the Myndos Gate where the soldiers of Alexander (*the great*) had a hard time to come into the town of Halicarnassus in 333 BC. After they captured the city they destroyed all buildings except the Mausoleum, which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.