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Halikarnas, as you've hopefully surmised by now, was not always a popular nightclub. Five-thousand years ago, Halikarnassos was the center of Caria, a region located between ancient Ionia and Lykia, and because of its strategic coastal location, the target of enemy raids throughout history, from the Persians through to the Ottomans. Legendary figures, Herodotus, the world's first known historian, and Artemisia, a Carian queen and the first famous female warrior, were Carians. During Persian rule, Queen Artemisia gained widespread fame for her central role in the victory over Athens.
In 377 BC, King Mausolos ascended the throne of Caria and moved the center of his kingdom from ancient Mylasa (modern Milas) to Halikarnassos (modern Bodrum). Under Mausolos, Caria's territories were extended to include Lykia and Rhodes, which was cunningly won by the king's wife and sister, Artemisia II. The city's extraordinarily robust walls were constructed by Mausolus to fend off attackers. Upon her husband's death, Artemisia II had the famous Mausoleum - considered one of the world's ancient wonders - constructed in memory of Mausolos (from which the English word Mausoleum is derived). The next female ruler of ancient Caria was Queen Ada who after a brief reign was ousted by her younger brother Pixodaros. Determined to regain control, Queen Ada conspired with Alexander of Macedon (a.k.a. Alexander the Great). After a fierce three-month war against the tenacious Carians, Alexander's army conquered Halikarnassos and Queen Ada was restored as ruler. But, the city suffered gravely during the war, and never fully recovered its former grandeur.
By the end of the 3rd century BC, it had become an Egyptian colony and later fell into the hands of the Romans who granted Halikarnassos independent status. By the time of the Byzantine period, Caria had become a neglected backwater. By the late 13th century, after Mentese Bey defeated a Byzantine force in Caria, Turkish rule of the region was formally recognized. Although the Menteseoglu principality (former Caria) became an Ottoman province, Petronion (former Halikarnassos) remained in the hands of the Knights of St. John. The Knights, who hailed from seven different European countries, rebuilt the dilapidated castle of Petronion, using material from the Mausoleum, as a stronghold and base for their operations. Their coats of arms can still be seen on the castle walls.
By 1522 Sultan Siileyman, in a treatise with the Knights, took control of Petronion among other nearby regions. Turgut Reis, born in Gumusluk in 1485, having suffered greatly under the Knights of St. John finally fulfilled his dream of taking revenge by becoming the grand admiral of the Ottoman naval fleet. Flash forward about 200 years to 1966 when a historical novel by "The Fisherman of Halikarnassos," about the life of Turgut Reis appeared.
The Fisherman, Bodrum's most famous 20th century inhabitant, initially arrived, in 1925, under extreme duress. He had been exiled to the then sleepy town as punishment for criticizing the treatment of soldiers during the Turkish war of independence in a newspaper article. Some punishment! The Fisherman (whose real name was Cevat Sakir Kabaagagh) fell in love with paradisiacal Bodrum immediately and decided it was where he would live out his days. Today, long-time inhabitants of Bodrum still recall spending time in the company of "The Fisherman of Halikarnassos" with fondness.
Çökertme Mevkii, Yalıkavak 48430 Bodrum Yalıkavak
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