Homer's description of Bodrum as "The land of eternal blue" and the words of another resident of Bodrum, Cevat Sakir, who said "The heavenly bliss of life in Bodrum is better than any eternal bliss that may await us" were not without foundation in reality. Throughout history Bodrum, known as Halikarnassos in ancient times, has always been fought over and people have been unwilling to share its beauty with others.

Built on a peninsula formed by the meeting of the eastern and western harbours, Bodrum, with its narrow streets winding down to the sea, is famous for its castle, its world-renowned yachts, its shipyards and the dazzling white houses and tombs lining the shores of its two harbors.

Today Bodrum has everything that one would expect to find in a vacation getaway. It is an important tourist center in both winter and summer. Bodrum has what it takes to make everyone feel at home, from the rich yacht owners who come from around the globe to the penny-counting tourists who just wants a reasonable room so that he can stretch his budget to make his vacation last all summer.
The Underwater Archeological Museum of Bodrum is one of the biggest and important museums of its kind in the world. The relics recovered from excavation which started in the 1960's are on display in this museum located in the Bodrum Castle.


Mediterranean amphora collection as well as findings resulting from research on sunken ships in the immediate vicinity are on display. The significant sunken ships are those at Yassiada, Seytan Deresi and Serçe Limani. The remains of the oldest known sunken ship in the world are also here and well-worth seeing.

Mausoleion Open Air Museum, gets its name from the fact that the tomb of Mansolosiun, the King of Caria, is located here. His wife, also his sister, had the most famous architects of the day to design the structure. It was almost completely destroyed in the Great Anatolian earthquake. There is a small museum here at the site of this tomb which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The word "mausoleum" is taken from King Mausolos' name. Many of the stones of this Mausoleum were used in the construction of Bodrum Castle. The beautiful reliefs on the grave, however, were taken to the British Museum during the excavations in the 19th century .