BODRUM TODAY

Founded on the antique city of Halicarnassus, modern Bodrum is one of the most important touristic centers of Turkey. The characteristic architecture of the town, tangerine gardens, yachting and sympathetic people have created the Bodrum of today. The people and their houses are in perfect harmony with the sea. Hundreds of Bodrum made yachts carry visitors from all over the world along the Aegean coast making them enjoy the beauty of nature. The inhabitans of the region are friendly with the tourists and helpfull to them in every case. Traditional still boat building is still carried on in the towns shipyards. These boats built by the people of Bodrum, which once gave the Ottoman empire the famous admiral Turgut Reis (Dragut), are very much appreciated by the foreigners who by them. Divers continue the centuries-old tradition of sponge fishing meanwhile bringing the artifacts they find at the bottom of the sea to the Underwater Archaeology Museum established in the castle, thus helping the museum to become the richest in the world in its field. In the fisher taverns one can enjoy all kinds of the freshest sea foods, especially the fish soap and octobus salad, the two most characteristic plates of the Bodrum cuisine. Natural dyed carpets, known as Karaova or Milas, are woven in the inner regions of the Bodrum peninsula. One can find a variety of carpets in the carpet shops of the town. Unfortunately, unlike carpet weaving, the ‘’kilim’’ weaving tradition is slowly passing away. As in untiquity, the inhabitant of Bodrum wears sandals in the summer seasun. These hand made leather sandals are liked very much by tourists, Turkish and foreign. Those who sail out to the sea during the day, enjoy the night in taverns listening to Bodrum songs. The joy of Bodrum nights continue on the streets, filled with the sounds of many languages, until the break of down.