Bodrum History

Bodrum History

Bodrum's mythological name is Halikarnassos. XI. It is believed to have been founded by the Carians in the 16th century. Herodotus, Halicarnassus, BC. VII. He says that he was in the Hexapolis union, which included 6 cities founded by the Dorians in the century. Halikarnassos was expelled from the union after a Halicarnassian who won a competition held in honor of Apollo refused to leave his prize to the temple.

B.C. It is known that the Lydian king Kraissos ruled the city in 550 BC. B.C. When the Lydian state disappeared from history in 546, the Carians came under Persian rule. During the reign of Mausolos (377-351 BC), the capital, which was Mylasa (today's Milas), was moved to Halicarnassus. In the city were the palace of Mausolos, the satrap of Caria, and Mausoloion, one of the seven wonders of the world.

Maussoloion is a work that could not be completed during the Mausolos period, its construction was continued by his sister and wife, Artemis, but it was still not completed and was later completed by the architects with their own means. Unfortunately, the structure built as a tomb for Mousolos and the palace of Mausolos did not survive until today. The stones of the artifact, which was destroyed by a great earthquake, were later used by the Knights of St. John in the construction of Bodrum Castle.

Mausolos, who succeeded in the resistance that other Carian cities could not show in the region occupied by the Macedonians, managed to keep the city alive. B.C. The city, which became a satellite of Rome in 192 BC. Rhodes sailors in 189 BC. He briefly came under the dominion of Mithridates, king of Pantos, in 88 BC. When it comes to the Roman period, it is known that Halicarnassus was located within the province of Asia.

The city passed into the hands of the Anatolian Menteşe Principality in the second half of the XII century. XIV. It was ruled by the Knights of St. Sean John of Rhodes in the 19th century. The city was annexed to the Ottoman lands by the Turkish Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in 1452. After that date, Bodrum, which had an important place in the Ottoman lands as a natural harbor as well as shipyards for the Ottoman Navy, remained a place of exile and an insignificant small town for a long time after the Republic. Bodrum, which started to develop after the 1970s, became one of the priority regions in tourism, and its star shone. Visited by many artists looking for a quiet town and longing to be alone with nature, Bodrum is one of Turkey's most important tourism and entertainment centers today.

We can safely say that Bodrum has a reputation today in the heyday of Karya.

Mills

The wind, whose power people have used for a long time, has been used for milling grains in Bodrum for years. The windmills, which are in ruins today, have been a source of livelihood and food for people in Bodrum and its surroundings for years.

It is possible to see Windmills on every hill of the Bodrum Peninsula, where there are no streams. In the mills built on the hills where cool winds prevail in the scorching heat of summer, the millers did the work of those who brought the wheat, again in exchange for some grain.

Today, Yeldeğirmenler not only tells history. Your ancestors used to obtain clean and cheap energy years ago.

Gumbets (Cistern)

There are many cisterns built during the Ottoman period in Bodrum and all over the peninsula. Cisterns were water tanks with dome-shaped structures that collected rain water through holes under them. These collected waters were used for garden irrigation and for animals to drink. They were built by the wealthy of the period in their own name.

Baths

Turks are a clean nation with their historical nobility. After the conquest of Istanbul, thousands of baths were built in this city and all over the State as a result of their acceptance of Islam and their meticulous implementation of the rules of cleanliness in Islam. For example, in the seventeenth century, there were 168 big bazaar baths in Istanbul alone.

Turkish baths and their features:

Turkish baths are divided into three main parts. 1-Undressing places. 2- Washing places. Washing places a) Cold b) Bath 3- Heating place: Külhan.

Undressing Places: There is a wide sofa and partitioned benches around it. People who are bathing lie down and rest on these benches.

Washing places: It is called the bath section, which is entered through the cold room. Here are some; divided into sections. "The place called the head of the Kurna, where everyone is washed one by one, the closed and solitary bathing cells called "halvet". And the "navel stone" on which one lays down and sweats. This is the place that is built higher than the marble-covered floor of the bath and can be in various geometric shapes.

Heating place Külhan:

This is under the bath. There is fire burning. The flame and smoke coming out of the fire passes through the walls, through special paths under the marble floor, and comes out of the chimney called "tüteklik".

There is a hot water boiler on the stove in the furnace and a cold water tank on it. The bottom of the stove A few channels in the nave extend to the bottom of the navel stone in the middle of the bathing area. The effective flame and smoke of the wood burning in the hearth goes under the navel stone through these channels. Because the dark place under this stone gets very hot, it is called "hell".

Bazaar baths are open to women on certain days of the week and men on other days. The "double baths" are two adjacent baths, one for women and the other for men. These baths are open every day.

Another aspect of Turkish baths is that they are "Finnish baths" based on steam baths. Today, in the world of sports, these baths are perfect for losing weight by sweating quickly. In this respect, all athletes benefit from Turkish baths.

Health benefits of baths

Baths are the best places for washing and cleaning the body with hot water and soap, provided that you do not stay for too long. Washing the sweating body by rubbing it with a soft cloth or sponge provides comfort by facilitating blood circulation in the body. Rubbing the body with hard scrubs can cause skin wounds. It should be avoided.

Used materials

Clogs: Slippers made of wood

Peshtemal: a fabric made from a special cloth used to wrap around while taking a bath.

Pouch: A cleaning material made of special pouch fabric for cleaning the softened dirt from the body in a hot and steamy environment.

Clay: Oily soil that has been used for a long time in baths to clean hair and skin. Today, it has left its place to various cosmetic products.

Callers

One of the most important features of the baths are callaks. Tellaklar are good massage experts as well as helping the bath customers to wash themselves. When you lie down on the navel stone of the bath and leave yourself to the hands of the tellak, you begin to feel all the bones and muscles in your body. You realize that there are muscles you forgot to train. You will be amazed to see how refreshed you are when the cleaning and massage phases are over and you take a rest.

As in all parts of Turkey, very high quality Turkish baths are waiting for you in Bodrum. When you come to our district, you should definitely try to enjoy a Turkish bath.

Bodrum castle

It was built by the Knights of Saint Jean on the island of Zephia between 1406 and 1522. In 1402, the eastern Turkish khan Akak Timur (Tamerlane) invaded İzmir, and after the Seant Jean Knights destroyed their castles in Kos, Crete and Izmir, the castle was 180x185 meters in size and was built on top of it. There are 5 towers: the French Tower, the English Tower, the Italian Tower, the German Tower and the Serpent Tower. The highest point of the castle is the French Tower with 47.5 meters. Because the knights relied on their navy, they fortified all the walls except the sea side. These walls are reinforced with double body walls.

There are 249 coats of arms on the walls of the castle and 16 in the garden of the museum. It is not known what most of the coats of arms mean, as the paints on them have been lost with the effect of time.

The castle courtyard stores the most famous trees and flowers of the ancient period. You can see plants and trees such as laurel, plane tree, olive, oleander, Mersin in the courtyard. It is known that the shadow of the plane tree was loved by the nobles in ancient times.

Bodrum was under the rule of Menteşe Principality in those days. The castle was used to control the region together with the Navangia castle built in Kos for a long time.

During the time the Bodrum Castle was controlled by the Knights, it housed 50 Knights and 150 soldiers. Fortress commanders were changed every two years.

The navy sent by the Turkish Sultan Fatih in 1480 for the conquest of Rhodes and Bodrum damaged the walls and towers of the castle, but failed to take it. The castle, which was taken by the Turks on January 5, 1523, after the conquest of Rhodes, was not used as a defense tool and was turned into a prison in 1895.

History of Bodrum Castle

The castle is actually famous for its value as well as the stones used in its construction.

The stones of the maussoleion, which is considered one of the seven wonders of the world, were used in the construction of the castle, and it was created from the maussoleion, which was destroyed in a heavy earthquake.

During the First World War, the French Dubleix was bombed on May 26, 1915 by the British warships Bacchonte and Keret on May 28, and the castle was abandoned after the prisoners were moved to the interior. When Bodrum was occupied by the Italians on May 11, 1915, the castle began to be used as a headquarters.

II. During World War II, the Turkish army used the castle until the end of the war. After this period, the castle, which was neglected for a long time, became a warehouse in 1960 when George F. Bens brought the sunken artifacts from Autalya, Finilce and Gelidonya. In 1962, retired teacher Haluk Elbe was appointed to Bodrum to transform the Bodrum castle into a museum. On 6 November 1964, the Bodrum museum was opened to visitors.

The three-room building, which was built as an infirmary in the Ottoman period, was opened to visitors as the underwater works section. Underwater archeology, which is currently the only museum in our country and one of the few in the world The museum is located inside the castle.

Ottoman Tower

The story of the Ottoman Shipyard begins with the destruction of the Ottoman navy by the Russians at Çeşme Harbor in 1770.

In 1775, the first shipyard was established to the west of Bodrum Harbor for the construction of new ships needed. The shipyard, which built ships for the Ottoman Navy for a long time, was surrounded by walls and a tower was rising above the walls. This tower is known as the Ottoman tower today.

The shipyard and the Ottoman Tower, whose restoration works are still ongoing, are open to visitors.

Karia

Carians lived in today's Milas long ago. Despite being of Asian origin, the Carians became Anatolian and sided with the Trojans against the invaders. Carians, who claimed to be natives of Ankara, were superior in valor. This state, which is small but advanced in civilization, includes Herodotos, the father of history, the first female admiral Queen Artemisia I and II. He raised Artemisia and kept the Hittite legacy alive in Anatolia. Like the Urartu, Phrygian, Lydian and Lycian peoples, they had a very respected past and prepared leaven for the dough of later civilizations.

Mausoleum

When you come to Bodrum, it will be enough to follow the modest Mausoleum sign on Turgutreis Street to reach the Maussolleion, one of the wonders of the world you will probably want to see. Maussollos BC, who made Halicarnassus one of the most important cities in history. After he came to power in 377 BC, he brought the capital city of Mylasa (Milas) to Halicarnassus.

Maussollos moved the other six settlements in the vicinity here and surrounded the city with long and high walls. The ancient theater, whose restoration continues today, is one of the projects of Maussolos. However, the dream of Maussollos, who died before he could finish the other project he started, continued his wife Artemis, who was also his sister. The project, which could not be completed even during his lifetime, went down in history with the name of Maussolleion, after the architects completed it with their own means. Today it is considered one of the seven wonders of the world. Maussolleion, which resisted history for 1500 years, entered the dark period of its history when it was ruined by a heavy earthquake.

Many of the remains inside the work, whose stones were used in the construction of Bodrum Castle by the Knights of St. John, were taken to England by British scientists and collectors during the Ottoman period. You can see these works in the British Museum (British Muesum) today.

It is accepted that the Maossolleion consists of four parts. There is a hall with 36 columns sitting on a solid base, longer than the width, and a platform reached by 24 steps. On this platform, there is a platform with statues of Maussollos and Artemis. There was also a depiction of a chariot drawn by four horses in the pyramid. The walls were decorated with frescoes by the best masters of the time.

Mylasa

It is one of the oldest Carian cities. The city, which was the capital of Mylassa Caria for a long time, passed under the rule of the Persians in the VI century BC. B.C. He joined the rebellion of Karia and Ionians in 500 BC in Mylassa, but BC. In 414 the Persians were defeated. B.C. After 479 Mylassa joined the Greek-controlled Delas unit. B.C. After 387, the administration passed to the Persians again.

Mylassa was an important city in the Hellenistic period. The city, which maintained its importance in the Roman period, became the capital of the hinge Turkish tribe in the 14th century.

In the basement, you can see the Gümüşkesen monument, which draws attention with its magnificent and finely decorated Mauseleien-like structure, Roman tombs, and the remains of a temple thought to have been dedicated to Zeus Stratius. The ax gate, which takes its name from the ax symbol on its side, the ruins of the Zeus Osogos temple, the acropolis and the wall ruins surrounding it, and the Hellenistic tombs are other ruins that you can see. Another relic that you will find very interesting are the rock tombs known as barber beds.

Myndos

Myndos is a city that many of the ancient writers frequently mention. The city, which was founded by King Mausolous in the place where Gumusluk town is located today, was besieged by Alexander the Great but could not be taken.

Although there is not much information about it, as there is not enough excavation work yet, it is reported by ancient writers that there is a theater and a stadium inside. Today, there is nothing but a Byzantine church, a few fortification walls, a submerged breakwater and the remains of a tower, but a large part of the land is left. Columns, mosaics and ceramic pieces are seen everywhere. It housed the ships of Cassius, who killed Caesar (Caesar) with Brutus in 44 BC. It is famous for printing its own money in Hellenistic and Roman times.

Gumusluk, which is a charming fishing village today, will allow you to take a trip to history and taste delicious fish in fish restaurants.

Myndos Gate

The walls that King Maussollos turned around Halicarnassus, BC. It is thought to have been built in 364 BC.

The Myndos Gate, which is standing today from the walls built to resist enemy attacks, is located on both sides of a gate courtyard.

It consists of two towers located in the building and two other towers connected to these towers. It was named Myndos Gate because it is the gate of the walls on the side of the ancient city of Myndos, located in the place known as Gümüşlük today.

Thermal

It is reported by ancient writers that there was a city called Termera in Akyarlar. It is known to be a Leleg city. However, there is not enough information about it since excavations have not been carried out yet.

Ruins

The town, which is one of the oldest settlements of the Carians, is very close to Bodrum. Located in the gulf known as Kerme Bay, now called Gökova, this charming town is a place where blue and green intertwine.

If you expect more than sea, sun and sand from your holiday, the ruins should be among the places you must visit. In addition to water sports such as rowing, surfing, sailing and diving, land sports such as Jeep Safari, motocross, mountain biking, trekking, hill climbing, mountaineering, canyon trekking are waiting for you here.

If you are interested in paragliding, a great airflow that will keep you in the air for 4-5 hours is at your disposal. If we say that there are people who can stay in the air for 7.5-8 hours in Ören, we will probably increase your excitement.

Pedasa

In addition to Halicarnassus, one of the 12 ancient cities on the peninsula is Pedesa.

Pedasa is on one of the forest-covered hills, 4 km north of Bodrum. Since there is no road, it can only be reached on foot. This excursion will offer the enthusiast a pleasant walk and an extraordinary discovery opportunity. The ruins can be viewed in a circle with a diameter of 150 meters on the hill. These are usually the remains of fortifications and citadels. On the slopes falling to the south and southeast of the area, mausoleum-shaped tombs peculiar to Leleges will be seen.

Underwater Archeology Museum

People's use of the sea begins thousands of years ago. Boats for many purposes such as fishing, transportation and transportation have traveled from port to port in the seas for thousands of years.

The fact that the Mediterranean is among the densely populated areas has made it a very busy region with sea traffic. Coastal trade, international trade, and pirates seeking prey in the derelicts swarmed.

Today, many shores of the Mediterranean are full of ruins and shipwrecks that shed light on history. Bodrum is one of the luckiest regions in this regard. The first and only Underwater Archeology Museum established in Turkey is located in Bodrum.

The pioneer of underwater research in Bodrum is George F. Bass. He made the world's first underwater excavation in Gelidonya in 1960. The fact that Texas A&M Nauthical Archeology department established its headquarters in Bodrum further increased the importance of Bodrum.

The most important difficulty of submarine archeology is that objects that have been under water for centuries are unstable on the water surface due to chemical changes in accordance with their environment. For this reason, these objects are covered with various chemical materials or kept in storage tanks in Bodrum Underwater Archeology Museum. The fact that these facilities are only available in Bodrum increases the importance of the region.

When you visit Bodrum today, you can see the maritime part of human history in this museum. Amphorae and many tools, gemji wrecks, boats will take you to many centuries in the past.

Bodrum Underwater History

The most important tools used in the discovery of human history are the remains of the past. Remains on land lost their properties with the effect of time or disappeared because they were used for other purposes.

Deniz has preserved these artifacts better. These artifacts could not be plundered or used for other purposes, especially since deep diving under the sea was not possible in ancient times.

Since Bodrum is an important natural harbor in the Mediterranean, it has always been on the routes of ships, so many ships have sunk in its vicinity for various reasons. In the submarine excavations carried out since 1960, many artifacts that will shed light on the history of humanity have been unearthed. The Underwater Archeology Museum, located in Bodrum Castle, where these artifacts are exhibited, is always open to visitors.

Ancient theater

The theater is leaning against the southern slope of Göktepe, in the north of present-day Bodrum. The theater, whose construction was completed during the reign of King Maussolous, consists of three parts. Skene (Stage), Orchestra (half round) and cavea. (seating area) It is known to be one of the oldest theaters in Anatolia.

The sitting area of the theater was carved into the rocky slope. The stage building has two floors. The building, which has a long and rectangular structure, has a door at each end.

The stage building was changed during the Roman period. The section decorated with masks and bucranios was used as a house in the Byzantine era.

Rock tombs

There are rock tombs from the Hellenistic and Roman periods above the theater and on the slope.

Artemis

The first tomb for the goddess Artemis was built on the marshy shore near the river in Ephesus in 800 BC. Artemis, the goddess of Ephesus, sometimes called Diana, was not the same as the Greek Artemis. The Greek Artemis was the goddess of the hunt. Ephesus Artemis from the waist she was the goddess of fertility, fertility and fertility, as depicted with many breasts up to her shoulders.

In this ancient temple was a sacred stone, thought to be a meteorite that probably fell from Jupiter. The temple was destroyed and rebuilt several times in the following centuries. Around 600 BC, the city of Ephesus became a major trading port and an architect named Chersiphron built a large new temple with high stone columns.

When the temple was destroyed during the war in which the Lydian king Croesus conquered Ephesus and other Greek cities in Anatolia in 550 BC, Croesus had the architect Theodorus build a new temple that outshined all the previous ones. The new temple was 90 meters high and 45 meters wide, four times the size of the previous one. A massive roof was supported by more than a hundred stone pillars.

B.C. A new temple was built by the famous sculptor of the time, Paros from Scopas, in place of the temple, which was destroyed by fire in a fire started by a man named Herostratus in 356. According to the Roman historian Pliny, the new temple was 130 meters long and 68 meters wide. The ceiling was supported by 127 columns, 18 meters high. Construction took 120 years. When Alexander the Great came to Ephesus in 333 BC, the construction of the temple was still going on.

M.S. At 57 St. When Paul came to Ephesus to spread Christianity and was successful, Demetrius, the blacksmith of the city and one of the owners of the statues in the temple, fell into great fear. because Demetrius was the owner of some of the statues in the temple and he had a good income from those who made pilgrimages to the temple every year and converting people meant he lost his livelihood. Demetrius, who took other people with whom he traded with him, made an exciting speech that ended with "Long live Artemis of the Ephesians" and excited the people. Immediately after St. They arrested two of Paul's aides. As a result of the revolt that followed, St. Paul left the city with his arrested aides and returned to Macedonia.

In 262, the great temple of Artemis was burned down during an incursion of the Goths. A century later, the Roman Emperor Constantine had the city rebuilt. But he did not have the temple restored because he was a Christian. Despite Constantine's efforts, Ephesus could not return to its old days. because the port where the ships moored was destroyed. The sea was moved away from the city by the silt carried by the river. Over time, the inhabitants of the city left the city. The remains of the temple were used to build other structures and statues.

John Turtle Wood of the British Museum began researching the temple in 1863. In 1869, he found the foundations of the temple in the mud at a depth of 6 meters. He took the sculptures and some relics he found to the British Museum.

In 1904, from the same museum, D.G. A team led by Hograth continued the excavations and discovered that the site had 5 temples built on top of each other. Only a single column was erected in the marshy area to indicate the location of the temple to visitors today.

Queen Island

Queen Ada is the spiritual mother of Alexander the Great. She is a member of the Hekatomnos dynasty that ruled Caria (today's Muğla region) 2400 years ago for 60 years. Queen Island BC. She ruled Caria from the capital Halicarnassus as Persian Satrap in 344-341.

Queen Ada is exhibited in the feast house inside the Baltalı tower with its magnificent view, at the highest point of Bodrum Castle. There is a double-edged Carian ax on the tower door. When you enter through the iron door, there is an andron and a metope displaying all the beauty of the Classical age. In this section, information boards about the period in which Queen Ada lived can be seen. The head of the skeleton in the sarcophagus, which was found during a foundation excavation in Bodrum in 1983, was taken to the University of Manchester, England. Dr. The skull, which was carved by Neave and his team, together with the University's Archeology Museum Director Dr John Prag, was found to belong to Queen Ada. The videotape shows Queen Ada's tomb and excavation, as well as the fleshing of her skull.

The feast house is entered through the crown door decorated with ochre-painted iron belts and Carian axes. There are lightning bolts of the sky god Zeus, god depictions and Medusa heads on the wood. The hall is decorated with half-Ionic columns. On the lintel carried by the columns, the life of Queen Ada is depicted with comic book technique.

The Queen Ada dummy is seen in all its glory in the narrow side niche. There are gold ornaments on the peplo (one-piece dress), sewn from raw silk, and blue beads on the belt. On the bones of Queen Ada, Prof. Berna Alpagut made a study. According to this, the woman died at the age of 40. She has been found to have given birth more than once. 32 females were found present. Examining the tooth section, Prof. According to Whittaken, the tooth age was determined to be 44 (+-6). Ada, the daughter of Hekatomnos, according to historical data, BC. She was born before 379, she must have died around 330.

Cevat Şakir Kabağaçlı

Fisherman of Halicarnassus

Saying “If the sound had a color, the Fisherman's would be blue”, Sabahattin Eyüpoğlu says the following about him. “Archipelago Blue was his greatest passion. He never liked Bodrum Castle because he stole the stones of the Maussolleium.”

A nature and history buff, the Fisherman of Halicarnassus was also a freedom fighter. He never wrote on the lined paper in his life, he used to say this as a reason.

“Following the line drawn by others restricts my freedom.”

Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı, who is known as the fisherman of Halicarnassus and uses this name as a pseudonym in his works, never left Bodrum, where he came as Exile, wrote his works here, and is one of the important figures of Turkish literature. He is one of the artists who have an important share in making Bodrum what it is today.

Neyzen Tevfik

“A magician who filled the universe with a piece of reed”

These words belong to Hakkı Süha Gezgin. The tramp of the time, a neglected, disheveled man, a ney player, a satirical poet with no bones in his tongue.

Neyzen Tevfik Kolaylı, who was born on March 24, 1879, is an interesting personality who gave a concert in the Sultan's palace, played the ney in the mansions of the statesmen of the time, played in taverns, and fell into an alcohol coma in the streets.

Today, this person is regarded as Turkey's greatest ney master and of course one of the most sharp-tongued poets.

Neyzen Tevfik played the ney in the presence of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and when his request was asked, he only asked for an identity card.

Here is just one of Neyzen Tevfik's lines that got him in trouble many times.

“When I asked whom, they did not give you the correct answer.

Some said thieves, some rascals, some deyyus,

I phoned to the party to get your tag

According to the record we have, they now called him Meb'us.”

Neyzen Tevfik, who left many works behind when his turbulent life ended on January 28, 1953, is a legendary personality in Turkey.

Zeki Muren

Zeki Müren, born on December 6, 1933, is regarded as Turkey's sun of art. Zeki Müren, who speaks Turkish perfectly, is the greatest artist of Turkish Classical Music ever. After getting to know Bodrum, Zeki Müren settled in a house he found with a summer rental advertisement in a newspaper. He went into seclusion and never left Bodrum. He loved Zeki Müren, who loves Bodrum, in Bodrum, the people of Bodrum. After this date, Bodrum became a town whose name was frequently mentioned in the print media, televisions and radios. Many artists who love this town, introduced by Zeki Müren, either bought or rented a house in Bodrum or started to spend their holidays in Bodrum. Zeki Müren's name had an impact that huge advertising campaigns could not achieve. Bodrum also benefited from this effect in the following years. because many artists are now associated with Bodrum and Bodrum was gaining fame day by day.

September 24, 1996 was the last concert day Zeki Müren met with his fans on television. He got worse on the stage when he appeared with the friends he could not break for many years and the offers of the TRT institution, which he filled their screens for years, and could not save him in the later interventions.

Today, Zeki Müren's house in Bodrum is open to visitors as a museum. A memorial day is held every year. Thus, in a sense, Bodrum pays its debt of loyalty to Zeki Müren.

In recent years, intellectuals and artists who have chosen the quietest corners of the peninsula to settle in, add a lot to Bodrum's culture.