An Aegean ancient wonder

This Article was sourced from the Daily Mail Online, and was written by FRANK BARRETT, MAIL ON SUNDAY TRAVEL EDITOR (NB: sub headings added by Roving Jay)

20th February 2011

History

Not many holiday resorts can trace their history back to 1500 BC. Majorca’s Palma Nova, for example, dates all the way back to around 1965 AD. But in a previous life what we know today as the Turkish resort of Bodrum used to be Halicarnassus, the main port of the Kingdom of Caria.

Once a very prosperous and extremely beautiful town, delightful Halicarnassus lured King Mausolus to move his capital there and he built a royal palace.

It is not his palace for which he is remembered, however, but the tomb lavishly constructed for him by his wife (who also happened to be his sister – don’t ask!).

The ornate monument must have been breathtakingly massive in the ancient world, standing 138ft high and topped off by a sculpture of the king and queen riding in a chariot.

It says something for the devotion of Mausolus’s subjects that they were happy to finance this flamboyant tomb from their own pockets. It was so astounding that it became one of the Seven Wonders of the World and gave its name to a new word – mausoleum. (Its pyramidical structure has been much imitated and copied, not only in cemeteries and monuments but as an architectural feature, to top off New York skyscrapers, for example.)

The Mausoleum survived intact for 1,600 years, managing to resist the attentions of Alexander the Great and various pirate attacks, but succumbed to a succession of earthquakes.

Its remains were plundered by the Knights of St John of Malta when they built a fortress here at the end of the 15th Century. Much of what wasn’t recycled into the fortress was carted off by other treasure hunters – a wonderful lion sculpture from the ancient monument, for instance, can be seen in the British Museum.

Though most of the Mausoleum is long gone, the site is still worth visiting. It has pleasant gardens, excavations and a covered arcade that contains a copy of the famous frieze partly recovered from the castle walls. The original is also now in the British Museum.

Hipness

King Mausolus would no doubt be relieved to learn that the ancient name of his city is being kept alive – albeit as a nightclub. The Halikarnas, situated at the eastern end of Cumhuriyet Caddesi, is where at the weekend the smart set gather on the mammoth dancefloor with space for up to 5,000 people. There is also an excellent laser show as well as an illuminated 50ft water fountain.

The other major club in town is the Bodrum Club, housed on a 2,000-person capacity catamaran that sets sail every night at 1am for a four-hour disco – you may need your sea legs as well as your dance shoes for this.

Bodrum’s Marina Yacht Club

During the day, the smart set (if they’ve managed to drag themselves out of bed after their all-night dancing) head for lunch at Bodrum’s Marina Yacht Club, which boasts three restaurants and four bars. Service starts with breakfast and carries on until the small hours with offerings of late-night snacks.

There is no shortage of good, and good-value, accommodation in Bodrum itself: TripAdvisor lists no fewer than 47 places, rating the improbably named WOW Resort as the best. The major development in new hotels, however, is taking place outside the town.

Highlife

One such is the five-star all-inclusive Xanadu in Turgutreis – an attractive resort from where you can now get a fast ferry service the short distance to the Greek island of Kos. This Xanadu is a sister hotel to the well-established and popular Xanadu in Antalya. Everything is on a huge scale from the guest rooms (the bathrooms are vast) to the monster buffets indoors and outdoors.

There’s a great spa, a fantastic beach and lots of quiet coves. And, if you need a change from swimming or sunbathing, a short bus ride will take you to Bodrum.

Turkey may be keen to join the EU and sign up to the euro, but at the moment its biggest appeal for British travellers is that its non-eurozone currency continues to offer us excellent value for money.

People think they’re paying Bodrum a compliment when they call it Turkey’s answer to St Tropez. But for my UK pounds, St Tropez can’t hold a holiday candle to Bodrum – there’s no comparison.

Bodrum Travel Guide Turkey

History, hipness and high life in Bodrum