The Bodrum Peninsula, globally renowned for its natural beauty and cultural depth, is one of Türkiye’s most distinctive regions. With a history spanning 3,500 years, it brings together the cultural and artistic heritage of ancient civilisations, its exceptional natural landscape, characteristic architecture, agricultural wealth, gastronomy, climate, sea and magnificent bays. Its lively nightlife, continue until the early hours, and its wide range of high-quality accommodation in various styles make it a destination capable of meeting the expectations of every visitor.

Captivating humanity since ancient times, Bodrum carries the traces of numerous cultures and civilisations, including the Leleges, Carians, Persians, Dorians, Hellenes, Romans, Byzantines and Ottomans.

Halikarnassos —described by the renowned historian Homer as the “Land of Eternal Blue”— was founded on lands where Anatolian and Greek civilisations intersected. Archaeological findings from various cultures indicate that the region and its surroundings possess a history extending back some seven thousand years. One of the most important port cities of ancient Karia, Halikarnassos was the birthplace of many significant figures, including Herodotos, known as the “father of history”, and Artemisia I, the first female admiral in recorded history.

It is said that humanity’s presence in Bodrum stretches back three millennia. Herodotus of Bodrum (484 BC) writes that the city was founded around 1000 BC by the Dorians on the site where the castle stands today, at a time when the area was still an island.

In the 6th century BC, the Carians first came under Lydian rule and later that of the Persians. The Persians divided Anatolia into satrapies, and the region of Karia was administered by the Hecatomnid dynasty. Mausolos, ruler of the Carian Satrapy, moved the capital from Mylasa to Halikarnassos and rebuilt the city extensively. Halikarnassos enjoyed its most prosperous period during these years. During his 24-year reign, Mausolos began constructing his monumental tomb—the Mausoleion—later recognised as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. After his death, construction continued under Artemisia II, who was both his wife and sister.

In 334 BC, Alexander the Great of Macedon conquered the Persian-controlled territories of Anatolia. After being burned and destroyed by Alexander, the city was unable to regain its former strength. Following Alexander’s death, the region was governed for a time by his generals, later coming under the control of the Ptolemies and then Rhodes. However, unlike other coastal cities, Halikarnassos managed to retain its independence. In 133 BC, when the Romans inherited the Kingdom of Pergamon and established the Province of Asia in Anatolia, Karia became part of this province. After the division of the Roman Empire in AD 324, the city became a bishopric dependent on the Metropolitanate of Aphrodisias.

The city passed into Turkish hands in the final quarter of the eleventh century and became part of the Menteşe Beylik in the thirteenth century. With Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent’s conquest of Rhodes, Bodrum became part of the Ottoman Empire. At the end of the First World War, on 11 May 1919, the town was occupied by Italian forces; the occupation ended on 5 July 1921 during the Turkish War of Independence.

The name Bodrum derives from the Knights of St Petrium, founders of the Castle. This name, pronounced Bodrum by the Turkish inhabitants of the period, became officially standardised with the establishment of the Republic.

In the early years of the Republic, Bodrum was a small harbour town with a population of around five thousand, known for fishing, sponge-diving and agriculture before the rise of tourism. From 1965 onwards, with the rapid development of tourism, population growth and construction increased, transforming Bodrum into a fast-developing tourism centre. Today, situated in one of the most distinctive and beautiful geographies in the world, Bodrum continues to draw attention with its cultural and historical richness, steadily enhancing its appeal as a destination.