Bodrum, Turkey

Bodrum, Turkey: Saint Peter’s Castle in the Distance

Bodrum is a harbor town on Turkey’s southwestern coast. To its west the Aegean sea stretches toward Greece, and to it’s south and east lies the Gulf of Gökova. Hal, the owner of our favorite Turkish restaurant back home, upon hearing that we were interested in visiting Turkey, sat at our table one night and for the next hour-plus planted the seeds of interest in seeing Turkey’s Aegean and Mediterranean coasts in addition to Istanbul. Among the harbor towns he pointed us toward were Fethiye, Antalya, and (obviously) Bodrum.

Bodrum is like South Beach to Turkey, except with Turkish spoken instead of Spanish, Cuban cuisine replaced with Turkish cuisine, easily accessible beaches, and reasonable prices. Come to think of it, the only thing South Beach has in common with Bodrum is that they both lie on the water. Even then, the water off Bodrum’s coast is clear and peaceful compared to the surf of southern Florida.

While Turkey is a Muslim country, Bodrum is as secular a getaway as could be found anywhere in the world. The town is split roughly in two, with the harbor and it’s hundreds of yachts and sailboats (among them the one waiting for us to cruise on for a week) making up a westerly crescent and a more homey, local bay forming the easterly crescent. Along both ends lie modern hotels, whitewashed dwellings, high end designer shops, myriad outdoor shopping bazaars, restaurants, and dozens of food service options from patisseries to (our great delight) kebab shops. Interspersed among them all, often concentrated closer to the water, is an impressive variety of bars, nightclubs, and dance clubs, most complete with burly doormen and bouncers.

With a surplus of adult beverages flowing so readily, it might be easy for visitors to Bodrum to forget this is a Muslim country, but with only a sweeping look from one spot of the harbor one can spot three mosques, and if you wait long enough you’re certain to hear the call to prayer.

Standing sentinel between both crests of Bodrum is Saint Peter’s Castle, a six-century-old castle also known simply as the Crusader’s Castle. It was built by crusaders on their way to the Holy Land, which is another few hundred miles to the southeast across the Mediterranean. Today it sports a massive Turkish flag and houses one of our intended destinations, the Museum of Underwater Archaeology.

We could get used to this. Thanks for the tip, Hal.