Tracing Ancient Halikarnassos in Bodrum
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Beneath the white houses of Bodrum lies a Carian capital, and this route crosses it from west to east in chronological order. You begin at the Myndos Gate in the walls, move to the foundation of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, climb to the theatre on the slope and finish at the knights' castle sealing the harbour. Four stops, three kilometres, about four hours. Its pleasure is that you can follow the stone: when the Mausoleum fell its blocks were carried to the castle, so the first stop and the last are continuous.
Route Stops
Myndos Gate.
The city's western gate and the point where Alexander's siege was fiercest. Look at the ditch and the two towers and picture where the walls enclosed the city; every stop that follows lies inside that ring.
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus.
Twenty minutes east on foot. Only the foundation of Mausolos' tomb remains, but the scale of the site still reads. The word itself began here; a mausoleum means the tomb of Mausolos.
Bodrum Ancient Theatre.
Fifteen minutes uphill. Climb to the upper rows of this Carian period theatre; the two bays, the castle and both stops you have just walked come into view together. Read the route once more from here.
Bodrum Castle.
Come down to the shore and cross to the castle at the harbour mouth. Some blocks in its walls came from the Mausoleum. Inside, the Museum of Underwater Archaeology holds the Uluburun wreck; the route begins in an ancient city and ends beneath the sea.
