BodruM

History

Bodrum was called Halicarnassus of Caria in ancient times. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, The Mausoleum of Mausolus, was here. The first settlement in Bodrum which left structural evidence behind was on the rocky little island where the Castle of St. Peter now stands. When the Knights of St. John arrived to build their fortress, they found the ruins of an old castle, now known to have been built by the Dorians roughly around 1100 BC. In 1523 the Suleyman the Magnificent expelled the Knights from Bodrum.

In 1770, Bodrum itself suffered a shelling by the Russian Navy and it was used as a Turkish Naval Base during the Greek revolt of 1824. During the 1st World War the French battleship "Duplex" tried to make a landing and fired on Bodrum, but the locals prevented this. The Ottoman Empire lost the Bodrum area to Italy, however, and in 1919 Italian forces occupied the town. 

The success of the Turkish war of independence drove the Italians out by 1922 and Bodrum finally became what its beautiful surroundings seem meant for; a place to enjoy life and relax. Rich with night life, food and beaches, Bodrum is now a destination for all travelers around the world looking for something special.