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Bodrum - district and town of Muğla, Turkey

Bodrum is a tourist resort on the Southern Aegean coast of Turkey. It's a budget, mass-market destination with facilities to match, and in 2020 the Bodrum metropolis had a population of 181,541.

The metropolis covers a large peninsula, but in tourist literature "Bodrum" is used to market an even greater area, effectively any resort served by Milas-Bodrum airport. This page describes the city and its westward extension through Gümbet, Bitez and Yahşi, its southeast extension as far as Yalı, and its north coast extension of Torba and along the highway from the airport. Turgutreis describes the west coast of the peninsula from Akyarlar up to Gümüşlük. Yalıkavak describes the villages on the peninsula north coast to Göltürkbükü. Some brochures even include Didim, which lying 100 km north is too far even to hear the discos of Bodrum.

Understand

Windmills of Bodrum

: "Yokuş başına geldiğinde Bodrum'u göreceksin. Sanma ki sen geldiğin gibi gideceksin." : "When you reach the hill, you will see Bodrum. Don't think you'll leave as you came." :: - The "blue voyages" of The Fisherman of Halicarnassus put Bodrum on the tourist map
Bodrum was originally a Grecian city, but fell under Persian rule from the 4th century BC; they appointed a hereditary provincial or regional governor called a "satrap". Nowadays this word is a political jibe, implying a corrupt and cruel petty ruler: in the movies the satrap always gets killed in the last act by his favourite concubine, who helps the hero escape at the cost of her own life. But one satrap more able than most was Mausolos, who ruled the province of Caria from this walled city called Halikarnassos, and he came to rule several others. However, he was sufficiently insecure about his legacy to commission a vast ornate tomb for himself, still unfinished at his death in 353 BC, and this gave us the word "mausoleum".

Halikarnassos then fell in turn to Alexander the Great, Seleucid rulers, the Romans and Byzantines. The Knights Hospitaller arrived in 1402 and rebuilt the castle, which had stood on an islet but was now fused to the mainland. Waste not, want not; they used stone from the mausoleum for the castle and called it Petronium ("St Peter's fortress") - hence Bodrum. They scarpered in 1522 when Suleiman the Magnificent approached, and the town became Ottoman.

Nothing much else happened for 400 years, and Bodrum was just a sleeping fishing and sponge-diving village. It became the exile of Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı (1890-1973), the Cretan Turkish scholar, writer and environmental activist. This fellow had already served 14 years in jail for shooting dead his father, who didn't approve of his wife. After a further 3 year term for "seditious" writing, he settled here and his lyrical descriptions of traditional life began to reach a wider readership. His pen-name was Halikarnas Balıkçısı, the Fisherman of Halicarnassus, and a boho community collected around him. His "blue voyages" in traditional fishing gulets, for leisure not for wresting a living from the sea, inspired a crowd of wannabes. European tourists flocked in search of a bygone Med undiscovered by tourists, and unscathed by the concrete apartment blocks that spoilt the Spanish and Italian coastlines, and guess what they found? Bodrum rapidly evolved into another Benidorm, a budget mass-destination, plus holiday homes for jaded Istanbulites. However this does mean good visitor facilities, price competition, and you don't have to go far to discover quiet coves and the ruins of antiquity.

The climate is typically Mediterranean, with hot sunny summers and mild rainy winters - see the Southern Aegean climate chart. Climate plus popularity add up to a longer holiday season than other Turkish resorts. May is a good time for shore-based activities but the water temperature lags a month behind the land, so June-October is better for water sports, with sea temperatures above 24°C.

Get in

By plane

Milas–Bodrum Airport (IATA: BJV), Havalimanı Sk (35 km northeast of Bodrum), 37.2506°, 27.6642°, +90 252 511 1000. The international (dış hatlar) terminal east side has many charter flights from Europe in summer, but is a very quiet place in winter. The domestic (iç hatlar) terminal west side has year-round daily flights from Istanbul, from IST by Turkish Airlines and from SAW mostly by Pegasus. The general aviation terminal, in case you brought your own private jet, is a wing of the international. The airport has the usual facilities, very overpriced, and car hire from the major companies. The first modern terminal (now the domestic) was built in 2000 and the international in 2012, as holidays in Bodrum until then had involved a three hour transfer from Dalaman. 2023-03-08

To town: package tourists are bussed straight to their hotels. Bus 48-24 runs spasmodically from the airport to Bodrum intercity bus terminal (at Torba) and downtown. The Havas bus isn't running in 2023, as the taxi drivers are gleefully aware.

You could also fly into İzmir or Dalaman airports, both 3 hours travel from Bodrum.

By bus

Buses from Istanbul take 11 hours overnight via Gebze, Bursa, Balıkesir, Manisa and Izmir, for a fare in 2023 of 450 TL. From Izmir it's an hourly service taking 3 hr 30 min for 200 TL. From Ankara is 10 hours and from Antalya it's 7. Operators on these routes are Metroturizm, Pamukkale and Flixbus.

Aras Seyahat makes a grand cross-country journey daily, from Kars via Erzurum, Erzincan, Sivas, Kayseri and Konya.

Yeni Otogar 📍 (lit: New Bus Station) opened in 2022, 5 km northeast of town, at the road junction for Torba. Already it's looking battered by its travelling public, and the cafe and toilets are overpriced. The dolmuş transfer into town should be included in your inter-city ticket; check when buying.

City bus station 📍 is downtown next to the bazaar, and feels like part of it.

By boat

Tilos Travel sails from Kos twice a day year-round, taking 25 min for €23 in 2023. It's a small catamaran for foot passengers only; a day-trip either way is easily possible. The landing pier in Bodrum is in the marina by the castle.

Sky Marine also sails from Kos twice a day May-Oct, a 20 minute trip in a small cat for €10. Mausolos, a mighty satrap Bodrum Cruise Port 📍 is where Med cruises dock. It's also the pier for the Sky Marine ferry, which doesn't use the marina.

Ferries no longer sail direct between Bodrum and Rhodes, travel via Kos which is connected to the extensive Greek ferry network.

Several agencies in Bodrum charter yachts and traditional gulets; the best conditions are Jun-Sept. Bodrum is a Port of Entry into Turkey, check out the Greek regulations if you plan to enter their waters, and beware Dikilitas Reef 2 km west of Bodrum.

Get around

Most town buses start from Yeni Otogar the inter-city bus terminal and run to downtown Bodrum, so this service is every couple of minutes. They then fan out across the peninsula:

  • Bus 2-28 to Gümbet beach strip, Bitez, Müskebi, Ortakent and Camel Beach, every 20 min daily 07:00-00:00.
  • Bus 2-34 to Gürece, İslamhaneleri, Akçaalan and Turgutreis, every ten minutes daily 07:00-00:00.
  • Bus 2-45 to Gürece, Gümüşlük and Gümüşkaya, hourly daily 07:00-22:00.
  • Bus 2-6 to Gökçebel and Yalıkavak every 20 min daily 07:00-22:00.
  • Bus 2-48 to Bitez, every 15 min daily 07:00-21:30.
  • Bus 2-2 to the western suburb of Konacık, every 15 min daily 07:30-23:00.
  • Bus 2-4 to Konacık, Gürece, Bağla and Akyarlar at the south tip of the peninsula, M-Sa hourly 08:00-19:00.
  • Bus 2-20 runs from Torba village via Yeni Otogar to downtown Bodrum, M-Sa every 30 min 07:00-20:00.

Others run to Çamarası, Dağbelen, Gündoğan, Mazıköy, Mumcular, and Yalıçiftlik; the full list is posted on the Muttas regional transport website. A swarm of dolmuşes also reaches those destinations and others.

See

The Mausoleum in its prime

  • Bodrum Castle / Museum of Underwater Archaeology, Kale Cd, 37.0317°, 27.4294°, +90 252 316 2516. Daily 08:00-17:30. Well-preserved bastion built from 1402 by the Knights Hospitaller, who called it the Castle of St Peter. Its towers are called the English, French, German and Italian for the four nations constructing them, a clue as to why this took most of a century; the Pope guaranteed its builders a place in heaven but failed to set a deadline. It withstood attacks by the Ottomans but fell to them in 1523. They converted the chapel to a mosque but didn't have much use for the castle, which was variously a garrison, a prison, or unoccupied. Since 1962 it's housed the Museum of Underwater Archaeology, displaying remarkable finds from local shipwrecks. The standout is the Uluburun wreck from the 14th century BC, late Bronze Age, laden with copper ingots, a rare insight into trade and travel in that era. Adult 150 TL 2023-03-07
  • Maritime Museum, Nazım Hikmet 4 (north side of castle), +90 252 316 3310. Tu-Su 09:00-17:30. The sailing and fishing traditions of Bodrum, such as gulets, sponge-fishing and sea-shells. Adult 20 TL 2023-03-07
  • Kızılhisarlı Mustafa Paşa Mosque just north of the castle was built in 1724.
  • Merkez Adliye Mosque another block north was built in 1901.
  • The marina, now full of leisure craft, was once the shipyard and general harbour. In the 18th century there was a spell of military work as the Ottoman navy was strengthened, but Bodrum's main product has long been the traditional gulet. These are two or three-masted but nowadays run on diesel, with only auxiliary sail power.
  • Tepecik Mosque is at Neyzen Tevfik Cd 88, midway along the marina front. It was built in 1735.
  • Kumbahçe Mosque 📍 on Atatürk Cd has a richly tiled interior.
  • Mausoleum of Halikarnassos, Turgut Reis Cd 93, 37.0379°, 27.4241°, +90 252 316 1219. Tu-Su 08:00-17:00. Mausolos was satrap (regional governor) here for 18 years. Before his death in 353 BC, he commissioned a tomb for himself so grand that it was accounted one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and "mausoleum" became the term for any above-ground tomb. It was 45 m high and richly decorated. His wife Artemisia ruled for another two years then was interred with him the not-quite-finished tomb; in legend she was made into an icon of grieving widowhood, supposedly mixing his ashes into her drink (These legends seldom pointed out that she was his sister). Earthquakes shook the tomb to bits by 1494 AD, or at least that's what folk said when its masonry and decorations somehow ended up in their own mansions (Several prize pieces even shook themselves into the British Museum). Today you explore the foundations, and there are exhibits and a video presentation. Adult 25 TL 2023-03-07 The Mausoleum today
  • Bodrum Amphitheatre (Antik Tiyatrosu), Kıbrıs Şehitleri Cd, 37.0401°, 27.4215°, +90 252 316 8061. Tu-Su 09:00-17:00. This was begun by Mausolos in the 4th century BC, but took its present form under the Romans in the 2nd century AD. It was restored in the 1970s and 90s into an event space with seating for 10,000. Free 2023-03-07
  • Myndos Gate is the only survivor (if these two stumps can be called a survivor) of the monumental gates of the 7-km city wall of Halikarnassos. The area includes a short course of wall foundations and is free to explore 24 hours. Myndos, the destination of the road west, now lies buried beneath the coast resort of Gümüşlük. In its heyday Myndos itself had such grand gates that Diogenes urged them to be shut, before the entire town got out. Wisecracks like this made him the doyen of the "cynic" school of philosophy.
  • Ottoman cemetery 📍 on Neyzen Tevfik Cd has interesting funerary monuments.
  • Windmills 📍 (değirmenleri) in various states of dilapidation stand on the ridge west of the bay, in a line of seven. They were used from mid-18th century right up to the 1970s to grind corn into flour. The area is free to stroll around and you mostly come here for the sunset view over the next bay, pity about all the trash. Similar windmills dot the peninsula beyond.
  • Zeki Müren Art Museum, Zeki Müren Cd 19, 37.0302°, 27.4398°, +90 252 313 1939. Tu-Su 09:00 - 16:30. Zeki Müren (1931-96) was a prolific, flamboyant and frankly camp singer-songwriter. He was born in Bursa, launched his career in Istanbul and retired to Bodrum when his health failed. His house has been made into a museum with memorabilia such as his costumes. He had rather a lot of costumes. Adult 20 TL 2023-03-07

Further out

Zeki Müren had rather a lot of costumes

  • Camel Beach 📍 is a small resort strip to the west, where the big attraction is that camels parade up and down the strand. These are as authentically bad-tempered and overpriced for rides as any you'd encounter in Arabia. A waterbus plies here from Bodrum Marina. Ideally you'd get here by Kamil Koç - camel coach - but they've been taken over by Flixbus.
  • Pedasa 📍 was a small city-state in 400 BC, but the territory was handed over to Halikarnassos. You reach it up a dirt road (2WD okay in dry weather) and follow the steps from the parking area up to the ruined acropolis. It's free to explore any time.
  • Kara Ada 📍, meaning "black island", is a wooded and almost uninhabited island visited on boat trips. You pay extra to swim in the hot springs (sıcak suyu) that emerge in a cave on the north coast. They're only lukewarm, they're smelly from the sulphur, and the cave has sharp rocks on its low ceiling and shallow base.
  • Uyku Vadisi 📍 means "Sleeping Valley" - it's a scenic canyon through limestone bluffs above the village of Gökçeler, 45 km east of Bodrum. You can also explore İncirli Caves here. The hotel may pretend that you have to pay them admission - don't part with a single lira unless you wish to use their facilities.

Do

  • Beaches in town are pebble but good for swimming. For sandy beaches go further west to Gümbet or Bitez.
  • Hamam or Turkish baths are at Fabrika Sk 48 southeast side of the city bus station. They're segregated by gender with both sides open daily 07:00-23:00.
  • Windsurfing is better on the more exposed west coast around Turgutreis, since the calm sheltered waters of Bodrum are its selling point.
  • Scuba diving: Some half-a-dozen dive shacks offer day trips for qualified divers April-Sept. There are several shipwrecks, a Dakota DC47, rock formations (including Kara Ada) deepening into caverns, and eelgrass meadows with not much marine life - this is the Med. Bodrum is a good place for scuba training for its clear calm waters, and this includes advanced and specialty courses.
  • Boat trips: some dozen companies offer trips by modern launch or traditional gulet. They're based around the marina but may pick up from other resort beaches.
  • Bodrum Aquapark, Bekiroğlu Cd 6, 37.0365°, 27.3944°, +90 532 342 2144. May-Sept daily 10:30-17:00. A park with 23 waterslides, a 350-m wave river, a wave pool, a range of other pools, and a disco. Food is overpriced and they search you to keep it that way. 2023-03-08
  • Football: Bodrumspor play soccer in TFF 2. Lig, Turkey's third tier. Their home ground Bodrum Şehir Stadı (Old Stadium), capacity 4563, is 500 m north of town centre towards Hwy D330.
  • Bodrum Golf & Tennis Club, Pazardağı Çk, Ortakent, 37.0519°, 27.3383°, +90 252 358 7280. This is the closest golf course to Bodrum. There are others to the northeast at Regnum Resort and at Vita Park. 2023-03-08
  • Dolphin Park Bodrum, Guvercinlik (20 km northeast of Bodrum towards airport). The dolphins are in the sea but in a fenced enclosure. You watch them perform tricks and may swim and interact with them. Staff seem to invent prices as they go along. The park remains closed in early 2023. 2023-03-08
  • Modern & Jazz Festival and competition is next held 19-23 April 2023.
  • Ballet Festival is July / Aug, but is not confirmed for 2023.

Buy

  • Lots of little convenience stores, there isn't a big western-style supermarket.
  • Always haggle at street markets. For clothing you're aiming for half the quoted price.

Eat

Reconstruction of Uluburun wreck

Bodrum catering is aimed at flesh-eating visitors. Most places serve halal as well as alcohol, but vegans and GF-ivores have limited choices.

Downtown

  • Orfoz at Zeki Müren Cd 13 is extolled in many guide books, but visitors find the food nothing special and the "tasting menu" little more than tapas.
  • Körfez, Neyzen Tevfik Cd 2, 37.0351°, 27.4293°, +90 252 313 8248. Daily 09:00-23:00. Quality seafood restaurant on the marina front, where they ensure you pay for the view. 2023-03-11
  • Bodrum Kumru, Adliye Sk (by Kumbahçe Mosque), +90 252 313 0131. Daily 09:00-22:00. Cheap and cheerful eatery, great value. 2023-03-08
  • Curly's Demeter Pool Garden Restaurant Bar, Dere Sk 45 (next to Kavala Apts), +90 532 620 9087. Daily 09:00-02:00. Garden restaurant mostly doing roasts and steaks. 2023-03-08
  • Umurça Pide Salonu, Derviş Görgün Cd 19, 37.0383°, 27.4384°, +90 252 313 1872. Daily 10:00-21:00. A sfiha restaurant, that's flatbread topped with mincemeat. 2023-03-08
  • Umurça Unlu Mamulleri, Derviş Görgün Cd 20 (next to Pide Salonu), +90 252 316 3874. Daily 06:00-23:00. A bakery also doing desserts such as baklava. 2023-03-08
  • Berk Balik, Cumhuriyet Cd 167 (on promenade a block north of Zeki Müren Museum), +90 252 313 0066. Daily 11:00-00:00. Friendly fish restaurant with views of the castle. 2023-03-08
  • Sunger Pizza, Neyzen Tevfik Cd 160 (next to Hilton by Marina), +90 252 316 0854. Daily 08:00-23:00. Good menu selection besides pizza. 2023-03-11

Gümbet

  • The Windy Bay, off Melengeç Sk, Gümbet, 37.0309°, 27.4064°. Daily 09:30-00:00. Good spot for inexpensive food. 2023-03-11
  • Cafe De Colombia, Mister Hadi Sk 6, Gümbet, 37.0329°, 27.4073°. Th-Tu 08:00-04:00, W 08:00-00:00. Inexpensive steakhouse open late. 2023-03-11
  • Vira's, Bıtırak Sk 27, Ortakent, 37.0183°, 27.3382°, +90 252 348 3992. Small hotel on Yahsi seafront serving good Turkish cuisine. B&B double 1000 TL 2023-03-11

Drink

On Camel Beach

Have no truck with ticket touts claiming that a particular pub or club has a special party tonight with some big name presiding. There will be no such thing.

  • Körfez is a long established rock bar on the waterfront at Cumhuriyet Cd 59, open M-F 13:00-01:00, Sa Su 13:00-03:00.
  • Funk is an open air club just north of Körfez, pricey and couples only. It's open nightly 21:00-04:00.
  • Adamik is another old stager, just north of the castle and open 24 hours.
  • Kule Rock City is a rock bar on Cumhuriyet Cd open 20:00-05:00, couples only.
  • Club Catamaran east of the castle is on a large catamaran, with a glass deck for the dance floor. At night the boat putters out into the harbour where lights have been set into the ocean floor. Lights plus food scraps thrown overboard draw fish to swim beneath the glass floor. It's open nightly 21:30-03:00.
  • Karnas Vineyards are in the hills 20 km northeast of town and have a restaurant.

Sleep

Bodrum Castle

Gümbet

In the Amphitheatre

The next bay west, 4 km from Bodrum city centre, with mostly budget accommodation

Torba

Villa in Torba

The north-facing coast, along the highway from the airport to Bodrum town, and near the inter-city bus terminal

Further out

  • Lujo Hotel, Çomça Mevkii Sk 10, Meşelik, 37.1377°, 27.5606°, +90 252 311 5555. Slick upscale resort hotel, most visitors are on package holidays. B&B double 5000 TL 2023-03-09
  • La Blanche Island, Pina Yarimadasi, Meşelik (headland just west of Lujo), +90 252 322 0000. It's a peninsula not an island, but does feel away from it all. Mixed reviews for comfort, cleanliness and food. B&B double 4000 TL 2023-03-09
  • TUI Magic Life, İçmeler Kümeevleri 60, 37.0048°, 27.4627°, +90 850 281 0113. Great reviews for comfort and service at this all-inclusive resort hotel. It's mostly block-booked for package holidays by TUI but they may have availability for independent travellers. B&B double 5000 TL 2023-03-09
  • Bodrum Holiday Resort, +90 252 313 6401 850. Friendly service; good rooms in the main building but those in the annex are tiny, and the site is hilly. 2023-03-10
  • Kempinski Hotel Barbaros Bay, Hacıgiden Cd 33, Yalıçiftlik (14 km southeast of Bodrum), 36.9927°, 27.5109°, +90 252 311 0303. This is some distance from town or anywhere else, so regard it as a secluded luxury destination in its own right. Good facilities, some visitors have found it rattling empty. B&B double 4000 TL 2023-03-11

Stay safe

Lampoons like this 1921 cartoon got Cevat Şakir exiled to Bodrum

  • Usual precautions about safeguarding valuables, swerving clear of drunks and lowlife, and beware traffic - including marine traffic, such as mad bats on jet skis.
  • Keep children away from the many stray dogs. Turkey is considered high risk for rabies, so if you get bitten, you need immunising.

Connect

Bodrum, its approach roads and the peninsula have 4G from all Turkish carriers. As of March 2023, 5G has not rolled out in Turkey.

Go next

: "Senden öncekiler de böyleydiler, Akıllarını hep Bodrum'da bırakıp gittiler . . ." : "Don't think you'll leave as you came", continues the poem, : "Others before you thought the same, as they departed they left their soul behind in Bodrum . . ."

Bodrum

bodrum.bel.tr
Postal code:48x xxDate Time:Please wait...Timezone:Europe/IstanbulPopulation:175,000Coordinates:37.03, 27.43

Bodrum

2nd-order administrative division

Muğla

Primary administrative division

Turkey

turkiye.gov.tr
Population:82.3 MDial code:+90Currency:Lira (TRY)Voltage:230 V, 50 Hz