37:02.26N 27:25.48E

Trip to Bodrum was fairly simple.  Little wind so no sailing but as we turned from west to north around each point the winds grew.  Typical situation that as the air temperature increases over land the midday breeze grows.  Passing by the Greek island Kos the winds shoot in from the west and could have provided a nice short sail.  But we were tired from the night before so instead just kept motoring.

Entering Bodrum marina is a little confusing since the entrance can’t be easily picked out amongst all the structures and seawalls but sticking to the charts gets it done.  We had made reservations two days before and they were able to confirm a space the day before we arrived.  Very crowded place since everyone seems to want to be located here.  If you like high end shops, discos, a hundred tavernas, town bizarre and one huge castle/fort this is the place for you.  The marina is very well run and extremely calm even in high winds.  Solid floating concrete docks really help.

Our reserved spot was a squeeze between two other boats.  We haven’t been this tight since San Remo.  I do not think we need to use our dock lines being so packed in.  But all is fine

The town is the place the Turks go to be seen and enjoy things.  Like most tourist places the local charm is gone but still they are polite in Turkey. 

The fort at the harbor entrance is huge.  Supposedly the strongest fortress in the Med at the time.  With the fall of Constantinople (Byzantine) in 1453 to the Ottomans, the Knights of Rhodes strengthened the fort using pieces of the partially destroyed Mausoleum of Maussollos, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  It was held by the Knights until 1522 when Sülyman the Magnificent arrived at Rhodes with 400 ships and 200,000 men.  The Knights gave the fort up without a fight since they had lost Rhodes and headed off to Sicily, then Malta.  The chapel was converted to a mosque and the fort remained in Ottoman control.  During the mid 1800’s the British started the historic excavations.  It was also used as a prison and military base during the Greek revolution.  >From 1922 till 1962 it was unused.  Then with the discovery and excavations of historic shipwrecks it became the Museum for Underwater Archeology which it remains today.

While here in Bodrum we met up again with the Pipedreamer’s Wayne and Katie.  They beat us here by a day even after a sidetrack for unplanned engine repairs.  We had a nice visit, great steak dinner and too much wine.  They are heading north along the Turkish coast toward Istanbul.  We will leave Turkey from here to head west.  It’s a small sea and I would not be surprised to meet again.

Where the beautiful people walk in Bodrum.  High end shops, cafes and very slippery shiny marble walkway.

View of the fort from the marina.  Those are gulets lined up to the left waiting for the season to start.

Once inside the fort it is a museum of underwater archeology.  Several extensive recoveries and restorations of old sunken ships are on display here.  One of the best collections in all the Med.

Cheap wine was stored in these amphorae.  Seems that transporting wine was huge in the old days and as today good low priced wine will have a market.  These were recovered from a shipwreck just off the coast.  Interesting in that a graduate student from the University of Pennsylvania was the driving force and made several recoveries in the 60’s and 70’s now displayed in the museum.

View of the harbor/marina from the fort.

Some of the formal wear of the Knights

Nice stained glass in the English Tower in the fort.

Inside is almost like a botanical garden in places.

View of the fort from the eastern side along the waterfront with all the restaurants and small hotels.