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[Homepage]
[Bodrum]
[Istanbul]
[Türkiye]
[Blue Voyage]
[Vacation Rentals]
[Bayazit Tours]
[Accommodations]
[Virgin Mary's House]
[Online Reservation]
[Itinerary]
[Tours Schedule]
[Terms & Conditions]
Bodrum Castle after sunset
The Bodrum Castle was built by the Knights of St. John who came to the region in 1308. The castle, in 1964, was opened as a museum. Although the museum's departments have something to interest everyone it was the peacocks which first caught my attention on a school trip. Perched on amphorae thousands of years old they fanned their tails, screamed at one another and succeded in drawing a large crowd of visitors.
Archaeology and peacocks. A strange kind of museum, but ranked among the top nine European museums of the year in 1995. Bodrum Castle is possibly one of the best preserved medieval castles of the Mediterranean region. Knights of St. John, to cared for elderly, ill Christians making the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The castle remained in Christian hands until it was taken by Suleyman the Magnificent in 1523.
Under the Ottomans the castle lost its military function, but was restored and extended for settlement purposes. Within the complex a small Turkish hamam (bath) was built which was converted into a prison in 1895. At the end of the First World War it was used as a military headquarters by the Italians until it was handed back to the Turks in 1921 at the time of the War of Liberation. Until restoration work commenced in 1960 the castle grounds were used by the residents of Bodrum for grazing their animals.
It is no coincidence that the Bodrum Underwater Archaeological Museum contains such a considerable number of amphorae. They were presented to the museum by sponge divers who used the containers to collect sponges until 1960. The amphorae constitute the world's greatest collection of commercial amphorae. The display begins with amphorae made in 14 BC in Kenan and ends with pitchers produced in the village of Geyre in 1922.
Their gradual reduction in size over the years is an indication that inflation has always been a valid concept! Places of worship are usually the best preserved buildings and the Gothic style chapel in the castle's lower courtyard is no exception. The Ottomans added a minaret which was later toppled in a French bombing in 1915.
The chapel opened in 1964 as the museum's caenean Room. This year it is displaying a life-size reconstruction of the seventh century Byzantine trade ship which sunk off the coast of Kas and was the subject of excavations conducted by George Bass of the University of Pennsylvania in the early 1960's.
The castle on the rocky headland at the mouth of the harbor of Ancient Halicarnassos is the symbol of contemporary Bodrum. From an entrance bearing the coat of arms of castle commander Jacques Gatineau 23 steps lead down to the dungeons of Bodrum Castle. The intact coffin of the Carian princess contained a golden crown, two gold necklaces, three rings and two bracelets. Gold decorations had also been sewn onto her clothing.
Goods sold in the medieval shop of Bodrum Museum are in keeping with products of the period. These medieval buildings have been brought back to life to house the Institute of Underwater Archaeology - now a model museum rating among the world's underwater museums. The museum was used for storage from 1960 and opened as a museum in 1964 but excavation, restoration, work on new exhibitions and arrangements in Bodrum Castle are by no means finished.
Bodrum Museum's undisputed claim to housing the world's richest collection of Islamic glass is thanks to the trade ship found at Marmaris' Serçe Harbor. This medieval ship known as the "Glass Wreck" will be displayed in an enclosure built for the purpose. One of the exhibits of Bodrum Museum most worthy of attention is the Yassiada Byzantine wreck which brings the sea-faring era to life.
The small chapel inside the museum poses a problem, for it was built in 1415, restored at a later date by the Spanish knights and even rebuilding the minaret installed at the time of Süleyman the Magnificent would not be enough for it is desired that the place be opened as a mosque for prayer.
Treasure found by a coincidence in 1993 brought the archaeologists to the dungeons of Bodrum castle. This is "a godless place". One of the castle's latest surprises emerged during work on the foundations of a new exhibition room in the garden in front of the English Tower; the dungeons.
At the bottom of the north facing walls is the room thought to have been used as a torture chamber during the years 1513-1522. In the dungeon bearing the coat of arms of Emery d'Amboise, Minister of State of the Knights of Saint John and commander Jacques Gatineau, who had the castle built, excavations produced the instruments of torture and equipment which provoked fear and pain. Goods sold in the medieval shop of Bodrum Museum are in keeping with products of the period.
Candelabra, incense, swords, armor, flags and a musician playing in the corner... all the ingredients to recreate a medieval atmosphere. Two of the towers named after two of the various nationalities that made up the Knights of Saint John; the English and Italian towers.
Whilst touring the castle, one of the biggest surprises is to see an aerial view photograph of the castle taken many years ago. It shows nothing more than the ruined castle and two dying trees. The same view of the castle as it is today would reveal an oasis of plants in the courtyard. Planted areas are kept green by water from the castle's 14 cisterns. The only remaining plant from the old photograph is the plane tree in the lower courtyard.
There is even a "Medieval Store" in the castle with authentic items on sale such as thyme oil for upset stomachs and replicas of clay containers used in the Mycaenean era by mothers for storing their own milk. The museum houses an important glass collection, and a craftsman performing the traditional skill of glass-blowing can be seen in action opposite the chapel in the lower courtyard. The exhibits in the museum are frequently changed and renewed so there is always something new for the visitors. It would not be wrong to say that Bodrum Museum is one of the world's most important museums of nautical archaeology.
Bodrum Museum is the castle of the heritage of the sea, and at the same time a castle in its own right. In the case of the Yassiada wreck the remains of a sunken ship and a model of the same are on display for the first time in world museology. The visitor can climb up above the life-size model of the ship that set off in 626 to transport 900 amphorae of wine to the Byzantine army fighting the Persians on the eastern front and study the cabins.
Looking down from the deck the amphorae stored in the hold can be seen. In the Serçe Harbor wreck more than 200 unbroken glass containers such as bottles, glasses and carafes were found. This glassware acquaints us with the form, technique and quality of Fatimid glass made in the south of Syria in the eleventh century. Coats of arms given to distinguished families as a sign of nobility in the Middle Ages were used by the knights on their ancestral banners and shields. 249 of these coats of arms are to be found on the castle walls.
Knowledge of the families and the orders the majority of these coats of arms belong to enable archaeologists to say when the walls were built, restored and extended. Whilst touring the castle one of the biggest surprises is an aerial view photograph of the peninsula the castle is located on taken many years ago. It shows nothing more than the ruined castle and two dying trees. The same view of the castle as it is today would reveal an oasis of plants in the courtyard. Planted areas are kept green by water from the castle's 14 cisterns. The only remaining plant from the old photograph is the plane tree in the lower courtyard.
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