A Quick Stop in a Tourist Town

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I stared at the departure schedule in disbelief. There was no way it could be correct, despite being posted on a big sign in huge permanent letters. An uneasy feeling, almost nausea, crept into my stomach when I remembered where I had gotten the schedule information in the first place. It seemed that my guidebook had another big strike against it, nothing new there. I walked into the tiny waterfront shop and asked the man what the schedule for the hydrofoil to Rhodes was. He looked at me with a dumbfounded look on his face and pointed to the large sign that I had seen by the door. I stepped outside and stared out across the water while I took a moment to think about what the ‘new’ schedule meant to me. I had initially planned on spending my first day in Bodrum relaxing and my second day exploring the sites. I was expected on the island of Rhodes in two days time and I was not going to change that. The only departure that would get me there was an early morning voyage the next day. There wasn’t really anything to think about. I walked back into the office and I purchased a ticket on the hydrofoil for the following morning.

There wasn’t any time to lose. I had about six hours before the two sites I wanted to see in Bodrum closed for the evening. I quickly walked across the wharf area to the imposing gray walls of the huge Bodrum Castle. The official name of the castle was the Castle of St. Peter, or the Petronium. It was a beautiful fortress built by the Knights Hospitaller in 1402 and expanded several times afterwards. The castle occupies a strategic promontory adjacent to the mouth of Bodrum’s calm harbor and was the second most important fortress for the Knights Hospitaller. The castle was handed over to Ottoman forces in 1522 as part of a surrender agreement that resulted from the Ottoman siege of the Order’s headquarters on the island of Rhodes. As a result of the ‘peaceful’ handover of the castle, its walls did not suffer from the constant bombardment that was typical of an Ottoman siege. Because of that, the fortress’ walls are still in excellent condition even today.

The sprawling castle was a world-class site in its own right, but its beautiful stone ramparts and well-trodden stone paths were not the main reason for my visit. I like to think of myself as an amateur archaeologist. My interest in archaeology can be traced back to the mysterious stories from the jungles of the Maya and the treasure-laden tales of lost shipwrecks rediscovered that I voraciously devoured out of the pages of National Geographic in my youth. I had the opportunity to explore the jungles of the Maya while I was in Mexico and Central America and it was an exciting walk down memory lane. It was with a similar excitement that I paid my admission at the tiny kiosk just inside the first wall of the fortress and started walking up the age-polished ramp towards the heart of the castle. My ticket gained me access to the inner recesses of the castle, but, more importantly, it gave me access to the world-renown Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology. The museum was the main reason I was in Bodrum, other than the ferry to Rhodes. It was the largest museum in the world dedicated to underwater archaeology and it had a great reputation. Many of the grand treasure troves I had read about were just within the citadel’s inner walls. I handed my ticket to the man guarding the main gate to the inner part of the castle and then I walked through a beautiful doorway into a verdant courtyard lined with exhibits. I spent the next several hours slowly exploring the castle and everything in it.

The first courtyard contained excellent exhibits on amphorae, the graceful pointed bottles that served as shipping containers in the ancient world. I had seen small portions of amphorae in other museums in Turkey and elsewhere, but I was still blown away by the quantity and variety of the bottles on display. I learned interesting little bits of information about amphorae including how they were stacked in the ships, how they were sealed, what types of things they carried (I had thought they were used just for wine, but I learned that dry materials were shipped in them as well) and, most interesting to me, that each city had a specific type of amphorae that they used, which has allowed archaeologists to know where the ships were from and, thus, track the ancient trade networks. Other interesting exhibits I came across as I walked included an excavated portion of a ramp that archaeologists believe was part of King Mausolus’ palace and several partial carvings from his mausoleum, which was another of the wonders of the world and was located nearby.

It was turning into a pleasantly warm day. The deep blue sky and the refreshing ocean breeze added to the peaceful atmosphere in the castle. It seemed criminally negligent to be rushing around at such a beautiful and important site. I decided to slow it down a bit, so I purchased an ice cream from a nice man at a snack shop and then I took a seat in the shade. The castle grounds were planted with a huge variety of locally important plants, many of which had a huge significance in the mythological world and all added to the beautiful park-like atmosphere. When I had finished my ice cream I continued my walk. The walkways eventually led me to a large wooden doorway. I stepped over the threshold into one of the many towers at the castle. Inside there were a few video displays that walked us through the excavation of a few of the more important shipwrecks that had been found off of the Turkish coast. The videos were very informative, but I couldn’t force myself to sit through all of them - It was just too beautiful outside. I left the tower and continued my walk along the amazing castle walls. I worked my way over to the ramparts that overlooked the sea. I stood watch at a broken down cannon that was pointed out to sea - A hapless sailboat was in my sights, but, alas, I had no cannonball! I next explored the interesting English Tower - Each nation that made up the order of the Knights Hospitaller supplied their own tower and enough knights to defend their portion of the castle. The English Tower contained an interesting display of the mediaeval weaponry that may have been in use in the castle’s history, as well as several Ottoman banners. On the exterior of the tower there was a huge lion of clearly ancient origins that was possibly another piece of the ancient mausoleum.

I explored another room that contained a re-creation of one of the most famous wrecks at the museum. I immediately recognized the artifacts and the layout of the wreck - It was the Kas-Uluburun shipwreck from the 14th century BC, which was one of the main wrecks that had fueled my youthful imagination. I looked over the lovely blue-tinted display that roughly resembled what archaeologists had found on the ocean floor. There were several different sizes of amphorae strewn about in haphazard piles and there were huge ingots of copper and tin and deep blue glass. Some display cases in the next room contained some of the more precious artifacts taken from the wreck including weaponry and several golden artifacts - One of the golden artifacts was an Egyptian scarab with the only known seal of Nefertiti.

As luck would have it, a few of the more famous exhibits were closed during my visit, but I did get to see a few more really impressive groups of artifacts including one of the largest collections of ancient glass artifacts. One of the more hidden towers had a fairly macabre exhibit of torture devices and dungeon implements - The sign at the door to the narrow staircase that led to the dungeon warned that the scene was not for the faint of heart, but I thought the sight of a few comical dummies being tortured, accompanied by a soundtrack of clanking chains and screams, was kind of funny. After I had spent nearly four hours wandering around the castle’s walls and exploring the exhibits I decided it was time to go. I quickly peeked into the restored mosque on the way out of the castle. I was surprised that I wasn’t asked to remove my shoes at the door, but that wasn’t the most surprising thing about the mosque - Inside I discovered a huge replica of one of the ancient boats loaded down with its typical cargo!

I walked back down the slippery ramp that I had climbed into the castle earlier that day and I headed back out onto the wharf area. The castle and the museum, which I thoroughly enjoyed, had taken more time to explore than I had expected, but it looked like I still had enough time to take in the last of the two sites that I wanted to see. I consulted my map and then headed along the waterfront in the direction I needed to go. I found the street I was looking for, which was nothing more than a narrow alley, and then I headed off into the residential area. I came to the next road I was searching for and then I turned left. I was surprised to see that the usual tourism related shops and touts had not infiltrated the neighborhood I was walking in. In fact, the people I passed on the street seemed surprised to see me. I found the corner I was looking for and was surprised yet again by the complete lack of signs. I began wondering if my map was wrong, because all that I could see was a tall fence. I found a vehicle gate that was closed, but with a gap wide enough to squeeze through. On the other side I saw a few column drums and a small ticket booth. I decided I was where I wanted to be, so I squeezed through the gate and went to the booth. I wasn’t surprised to find it deserted. I looked around and spotted a man waving at me from across the site as he quickly walked my way. When he got to me I asked if the site was still open and he smiled and said it was. I purchased my ticket and then I set off to explore my second ‘Wonder of the World’, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus.

I walked over to the edge of a large square pit that dominated the site. The bottom was littered with toppled sections of fluted columns and large blocks of stone organized in a way to fool the visitor into thinking more of the structure was there than actually was. In the center was a huge, stone-lined trench-like feature that a sign told me was the original burial chamber. I was surprised and a little saddened by the sight. I was overlooking what had once been considered one of the grandest buildings in the world, but there was so little left that it was impossible to form a picture of what once was. I had seen most of the few remaining artifacts from the mausoleum when I toured the British Museum a month before, so they were fresh in my mind. The small site museum helped fill in the blanks. The tiny museum had several recently found sections of architectural details and part of one of the friezes that once decorated the building’s flanks, as well as a very well laid out exhibit that detailed all that we know about the mausoleum. There was a scale model and several contemporary drawings and paintings that each interpreted the building a bit differently. In the museum I learned that the Mausoleum, or literally the building of Mausolus, was constructed between 353BC and 350BC in the center of the city of Halicarnassus, as Bodrum was once known. The monument was begun after the death of King Mausolus as a tribute from his mourning wife, Artemisia. She had the finest artists and architects from Greece come to Halicarnassus to build what she wanted to be a grand tribute to their wealth and importance. The current accepted form of the completed tomb was derived from ancient descriptions of the building and archaeological investigations. It stood on a roughly square base that rose with slightly tapering sides to a third of the height of the tomb’s 135 feet. There were two huge bas-reliefs encircling the base that depicted, with amazing artistry, the battle between the Greeks and the Amazons on one and the battle between the Centaurs and the Lapiths on the other. On top of the cube-like base, a graceful colonnade of slender fluted columns rose another third of the building’s height. Between the columns stood statues of god and important people. The top third of the mausoleum consisted of an ornate, pyramidal roof with several freestanding statues of warriors and lions. A four-horse chariot with statues of King Mausolus and Artemisia crowned the roof. The mausoleum was so impressive that Antipater of Sidon included it on his list of the Seven Wonders of the World.

The mausoleum stood proudly above Halicarnassus and the ruins that followed for more than sixteen centuries before a series of earthquakes shattered the columns and sent the structure crashing to the ground. By the time the Knights Hospitaller showed up on the scene the ruins were unrecognizable. The knights used the ruins of the mausoleum as a quarry for building materials for their grand seaside castle. The polished stone blocks became the thick walls of the fortifications and the sculptures were ground down to make lime for the concrete. Because of that there are only a few sections of the bas-reliefs remaining and even fewer of the freestanding statues. Several pieces of the mausoleum can still be seen in the walls of the castle, including several column sections, and most of the remaining sculpture, as I said, can be found in the British Museum. What remains on site are just a few sections of haphazardly organized fluted columns and some blocks - Perhaps future excavations will reveal more, but for now all that remains will remain hidden beneath the surrounding homes and streets. The term ‘mausoleum’ now refers to any grand or monumental tomb, so King Mausolus managed to be remembered through the ages despite the destruction of his tomb.

I spent nearly an hour exploring the ruins of the mausoleum trying to picture what it would have looked like. Eventually the time came to leave. I thanked the caretaker for letting me stay a little past closing time and then I headed back out into the busy streets of Bodrum. I had managed to see the major sites in Bodrum despite my unexpectedly hurried schedule. Was there more that I would have liked to see? Sure, but that will have to wait until next time. I made my way back to the waterfront and I found a nice café where I sat down with a coffee and a plate of baklava. I sat there and watched life unfold around me. The café seemed to give a good cross section of Bodrum life. There were wealthy tourists sitting among well-to-do Turkish people all being served by the starving-artist waiters - It was the same scene you could expect to find on the boardwalk of any seaside tourist town anywhere in the world. As I watched the sun dip below the horizon I thought about the fate of Halicarnassus. The once important city was completely gone. It was the birthplace of Herodotus, who in turn was the Earth’s first known historian, and it contained one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, yet there was little left. Apparently there were a few ruins from the ancient city on the outskirts of town, sections of the city wall and such, but that was all. I suppose the secrets of Halicarnassus will remain hidden beneath the antique streets of Bodrom until the day they decide to reveal themselves to the world.

I headed back to my hostel to get cleaned up and get ready for dinner. The hostel I had selected was given high ratings in my guidebook, but it could be summed up best using the descriptive words I used in my journal - It was a ‘hideous dump’! When I got back to my room I discovered that I was the only person in the room that was not asleep. It was not even seven o’clock yet, so I felt no remorse in turning the lights on and getting everything in order - I knew my roommates would return the favor sometime in the middle of the night when they stumbled in from the nightclubs anyway. I was leaving early in the morning on the ferry, so I made sure I had a clean outfit out and then I packed my bags. The protests from my sleeping roommates became too great, so I finished up and left the room - I will never understand the young people that travel to far off lands in order to party all night and sleep all day; they are missing so much!

I headed off into the labyrinthine alleys that made up the colorful tourist sector of Bodrum. I walked around for about half an hour taking in the sights and then I took a seat at a nice sidewalk café in the middle of the hustle and bustle. The restaurant, being in a tourist town, only served tourist food, so I ordered a pizza. The food ended up being quite good and the atmosphere was festive. After dinner I made sure I knew how to get to the ferry terminal and then I headed back to the hostel to go to sleep. It was close to eleven o’clock when I got back to my room and, as I expected, there was nobody to be found - The clubs were apparently open.

Despite the loud ruckus at about four in the morning when everybody returned from their night out, I got a good night of sleep. I woke up on time and quietly got cleaned up and packed and then I walked out of the room. I had just over an hour to get to the ferry, so I intended to get a nice breakfast on the way. I walked down a flight of stairs to the main door and there I was stopped in my tracks - The door was locked! I was amazed. I had not been given a key and there was no way to unlock the door from the inside. There is no point in even going into my feelings on being locked inside a building, but it is safe to say I wasn’t happy. I immediately explored all options of escape and they all required a precarious climb along a ledge and then a drop down to the street below - Had I not had the gear it wouldn’t have been a big problem. I returned to the locked door and I started beating on it hoping that someone with a key might come to my rescue. The minutes quickly ticked away. The departure time for the ferry got closer and closer and I was on the verge of attempting one of the daring escapes when one of the inside doors opened and two people with backpacks emerged. They were surprised that the door was locked, but luckily they had a key - I was saved. It ended up that they were on the same ferry as me, so we walked towards the docks together.

The streets were deserted and all of the shops were closed. All, that is, except for one pastry shop that had several delectable treats for sale. I quickly purchased some snacks for breakfast and then I hurried over to the dock. I was a bit late, but, as it turned out, the boarding and immigration process had not begun. Within the hour we were all on board the lovely little hydrofoil with Turkey behind us. I took in the last lovely views of the castle as we pulled out into open water and then the captain gunned it and the boat came up out of the water onto its little skis. The boat was surprisingly fast as it smoothly sliced through the water. I stood alone on a little porch on the port side of the hydrofoil. The wind was blowing through my long hair as the lovely scenery of the Turkish coast flew past. I was having a lot of fun. We passed an old lighthouse that crowned one particularly lovely bluff and then we turned away from the coast and headed off into the deep blue water. I was leaving Turkey for the first time in over a month. I would be returning in a few days, but until then I was directing all of my attention to the small island that was rapidly approaching on the horizon…

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Photos

At the English Tower
Note the ancient stone lion and the antique air conditioner - And you thought the knights didn't have AC.

The Mausoleum
This is a model of what archaeologists believe the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus looked like.

The Museum of Underwater Archaeology
The museum was filled with amazing artifacts from ancient shipwrecks.

A Castle by the Sea
The ramparts of the Bodrum Castle go right down into the sea.

The Castle of St. Peter
This is the entry into the castle and the Underwater Archaeology Museum.

The Knights Hospitaller
The knights built the Castle of St. Peter in Bodrum. Much of the castle was built using materials from the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus.

Art on the Walls
At the castle.

The Bodrum Castle
On the Castle Grounds.

Amphora in Hiding
This is what a lot of artifacts look like when they are found.

Stacking Amphorae
I never understood why the amphorae had pointed bottoms, but now I do.

The Wooden Doorway
At the Bodrum Castle.

A Sphinx
Some of the art at the Bodrum Castle.

Bodrum
This is a view of Bodrum from the Castle.

Ready, Aim, Fire!
The cannon was broken down a bit, but it still was cool to look at.

In the English Tower
A collection of medieval weapons and Ottoman banners were on display inside the English Tower.

A Glimpse of a Shipwreck
This was one of the shipwrecks that I learned about as a kid and was excited to see.

Nefertiti's Seal
This tiny golden scarab had Nefertiti's seal on it which made it very special.

Blue Glass
I was amazed when I first saw the blue ingots of glass as a child, because I didn't know that the ancient civilizations had glass.

Gold
Some of the golden artifacts in the Underwater Archaeology Museum.

Weapons
In the Bodrum Museum

A Snake-Like Thing
This was on one of the more obscure towers.

Comments

[Alice]

Great blog!
It looks great and it has tons of cool info. bravo!