Bodrum
13-14 September
post by scott
Bodrum is a fairly large coastal town popular with yachties and European tourists due to its large marina and proximity to the Greek Islands. There are endless rows of seriously luxurious boats lined up in the marina complemented by the old men with captains hats sitting around playing backgammon. We had booked the cheapest room we could find and decided to spend a couple of nights here just to “have a look around”, so to speak. It was a nice place, but I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to visit Bodrum especially when there are so many other gems around this country.
The main problem was that despite being built around a huge natural harbour, there was no real esplanade or public thoroughfare along the water. In most spaces, shops or restaurants crowded onto the water and where there were a few small areas of pebbly beach you would have to pay for a chair or umbrella just to sit there. It was a shame because the water here is amazingly clear and beautiful. We got in and did a few laps up and down the bay with fear of sharks abated by the fact that you would be able to see them coming from a mile away!
Bodrum Fort
Apart from the boat trips on offer, the main tourist type attraction in Bodrum is the old fort which is now also an “underwater archaeology” museum. This is pretty appropriate because the town is very old and has seen centuries of maritime trade and the inevitable shipwrecks that come with that, so the sea floor around here is littered with old amphoras, coins, weapons and other treasure. The fort itself is pretty impressive and it was fun just to walk around and check out all the towers, chambers and dungeons.
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Probably the most interesting part was the torture dungeon, where captain Redbeard (who at the time was an honest sailor) was captured by the Knights of St John and held for three years before escaping to a life of piracy. After walking down the narrow staircase there is an inscription above the door saying something that translates roughly to “God does not exist in this place”.
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night life
Bodrum at night was a pretty vibrant and fun place to be. There are seafood restaurants everywhere you look with flycatchers out the front trying every trick to get you in for some octopus. After dinner one night we were walking home and one of them followed us down the street trying to get us into his restaurant, yelling – “Hey I love you! I love you!”. Perhaps it was more than just a restaurant? Shops are open all night and there are also buskers and caricature artists lining the streets. It was hilarious to watch people get caricatured but I wasn’t game to get one myself!
Two days here was more than enough though and we wanted to keep moving so it was back to the otogar (bus station), and further down the coast to Marmaris.