Bodrum is established upon one of the antique cities of great reknow, "Halicarnassos". The artifacts in the Bodrum Museum prove to us that this city and its surroundings of approximately 5000 years. Even though the famed hisrorian, Herodotus, wrote that Halicarnassos was established by Dorisans (7.Century,B.C.), it is believed that this city was established by the Argolis Tribe of Karians (11.Century, B.C.) Halicarnassos, after it lived under Karian, Lykian, Persian, Macedonian, Egyptian and Roman sovereignties, was captured by the "Rhodes Knights" domination whenin 189 B.C. The city came under Ottoman
Kanuni Süleyman (Sultan the Magnificent), in 1522, captured the city along with the island of Rhodes. Situated in the West of Mugla, within the Gökova and Güllük Bays, Bodrum is one of the most prominent tourism and entertainment centers of the world with its natural, historical and cultural endowments and its highly attractive bonemian way of life. The major local arts inculde carpet and kilim manufacturing and the building of the special trilandil type of Bodrum trough is an art within itself.The population of the city, which is 21273 during winter months, increases ten folds during the high tourist season. Other interesting sites on the Bodrum peninsula are : Güvercinlik, Torba, Gölköy (Karyanda), Türkbükü, Gündo¤an (Farilye), Yalikavak (Paadan),Gümüslük (Myndos), Kadikalesi ( Pedosos), Tugutreis, Akyarlar, Kara incir, Bagla,Yahsi, Ortakent (Water-side), Bitez, Gümbet, Bardakçi (Salmakis), Black Island and others. If it is first time in Bodrum the first site you should visit is the Bodrum Castle. The Castle was built in 98 by the knights of Saint Jean in the 15 Century B.C. You can see the British, French, Italian and German towers and the underwater archeology museum in the Castle that is a typical example of castle architecture in the
Middle Ages. You will be amply bewildered by the submerged treasures of Çelidonya Burnu (Cape) and Seytan Deresi "Devil’s River" in the underwater archeology section of the Museum where archeological remains belonging to all phases of the 5000 yeaar-old civilization are exhibited. See the Mousoleum and the Antique Theater that was build by Queen Artemis in the 4.Century B.C. It is generally known that the orginal statues of the Mousoleum, that has reknown as one of the acient world, were taken to the British Museum.