Bodrum

The last time Mui and I were in Bodrum was in 2013. It was a port of call on a cruise that left İstanbul and eventually dropped us off in Florida nearly a month later.

On that occasion, we visited the Bodrum Castle, which was built in 1402 by the Knights of St John and later taken over by the Ottoman Empire in 1523. Used as a fortification for nearly 400 years by the Empire, the castle was eventually abandoned after WWI. In the 1960s, after some restoration work, the castle became the site of the award-winning Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology.

You really can’t come to Bodrum and not visit this museum, so it was our first stop today … all the more fun because it was Deniz’s first time here.

Mui and Işıl did a quick wander through the castle and then found a café where they sat and enjoyed beverages while Deniz and I took our time, following uneven streets and staircases to visit each nook and cranny around the castle … checking out the various exhibits featuring artifacts excavated from the many ancient wrecks that are found in the waters around the area … seeking shade where we could to get relief from the sun that was bright and brutally hot.

Despite the discomfort of the hot and humid conditions, we made the most of our visit, the ₺90 admission covered by the MüzeKart we purchased for ₺60 before we left İzmir. Yup … already ₺30 ahead of the game with the card that is good for one year, and which is accepted at nearly all the museums that are operated under the auspices of the Turkish Ministry of Tourism.Les mer