Holidays to Bodrum

Holidays to Bidrum are a great idea, but lets see what is there.

A quiet town of fishermen and sponge divers until the mid-20th century, Bodrum was popularized among Turkey's educated classes by a group of intellectuals centered around the writer Cevat S,akir Kabaag(açl?, who himself had first come here in exile. Since then, Bodrum constantly endeavored to attract people with artistic backgrounds, encouraging them to choose the region as a location for their secondary residences and many of the these people gradually became regulars who would stay throughout the year. Bodrum now hosts many poets, singers, artists, as well as commercially-minded investors and package tourists. Differences between the sensitivities of the first groups of residents, adamant in defending Bodrum's heritage and soul, with the interests of the latters is an always imminent issue and one that surfaces frequently. For example, a group of trees felled in Bodrum for any reason is very likely to make local and even national news in Turkey.

The Bodrum region has attracted considerable foreign and domestic investment in real estate, specifically in second homes for customers from across Turkey as well as from Western Europe.

The current permanent population for the town of Bodrum was recorded as 32,227 in 2000 census although it is certainly much higher in reality, and reaches several times that figure in summer.

The sheltered anchorage contains yachts and locally-built gulets used by seafaring tourists.

Bodrum (from Petronium; formerly Halicarnassus is a Turkish port town in Mug(la Province, in the southwestern Aegean Region of the country. It is located on the southern coast of Bodrum Peninsula, at a point that checks the entry into the Gulf of Gökova, and it faces the Greek island of Kos. Today, it is an international centre of tourism and yachting. The city was called Halicarnassus of Caria in ancient times. The Mausoleum of Mausolus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was here.

Bodrum Castle, built by the Crusaders in the 15th century, overlooks the harbor and the International Marina. The castle grounds includes a Museum of Underwater Archeology and hosts several cultural festivals throughout the year.

The region includes the municipalities of Bodrum, Turgutreis, Ortakent, Türkbükü, Yal?kavak and Gümüs,lük, and numerous recent tourist-oriented developments were built or are being built across the district area. The peninsula extends across an exceptionally dry belt contrasting even with its immediately neighboring regions, and poor rainfall results in a constant shortage of potable water, an issue that became more critical lately, with newcoming settlers and the visitors. So a Holiday in Bodrum can be a great idea.