Bodrum History !

The history of modern Turkey starts with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, President of the Turkish Republic from 1923 until his death in 1938. Dramatic steps were taken by Atatürk, Father of the Turks, this title was officially given to him during his presidency. In his program of modernization,secular government and education played a major role.Making religious faith a matter of individual conscience,he created a truly secular system in Turkey, where the vast Moslem majority and the small Christian and Jewish minorities are free to practice their faith.

As a result of Atatürk's reforms,Turkey-unlike scores of other countries- has fully secular institutions. These are his main reforms: *the Latin alphabet *the introduction of the surname *voting rights for women

and it was he, who made the 23,of April World *Children's Day Atatürk still nowadays is highly admired. That's why you see his picture everywhere during your stay. The history of Bodrum, known as Halicarnassus or Halicarnassos goes back to the 13th century BC.Excavaties reveal the 5000 year old history of this town.Many civilisations found their home here.Carians for excample,Homer tells in his Ilia,that the Carians helped to defend Troya.

Heredotus, known as the father of history,was born in Bodrum in 484 BC.- and he said that Bodrum had been founded by the Dorians. The next settlers were Carians and Lelegians in the 6'th. century BC., the region came under Persian rule.Its most brilliant period was around 353.BC when it was the capital of the Satrap of Caria. Artemisia who was a warrior-woman played a significant role in the protection of the Asian Union and she achieved reputation by adopting a stance against Rhodes as the Admiral of the Carian fleet in 480 BC.

The Mausoleum known as being Bodrums oldest antiquity and was built by Artemisia II in honour of her husband King Mausolos.

It became one of the wonders of the ancient world.Mausoleum still is the general term for a large tomb.The entire structure stood at over 50 meters in height. The most prominent feature of Bodrum is the castle of St. Peter. The castle's origins date back to the knights of St.John. This group of expatriates began in the 11th century with a church and hospital in Jerusalem.

Although belonging to the Catholic religion care was denied to no-one. The fortress became known as the Castle of St. Peter,the Liberator, it served as the sole place of refugee for all Christians on the West Coast of Asia during the time of the crusades. For over a century the castle served as a stronghold in the knights community. Under Turkish care the castle has undergone several uses including being a military base,a prison and a public bath. But now it is one of the finest museums in this region open to all. The Amphi-theatre The theatre is another witness to the great past of Bodrum due to the Greeks Situated in the hillside over looking Bodrum this theatre whose capacity is around 13.000 was built during the Carian control in the Hellenistic age (330 - 30 BC ). The theatre consists of three different sections:a place for the audience,a place for an orchestra and the stage.It now became an open-air museum after the excavations in 1973.