Bodrum Castle

Bodrum Castle catches the eye of visitors with all its splendor in the most central location of Bodrum. We can say that it is one of the first and most important places to see in Bodrum. Bodrum Castle also includes world-famous Bodrum Underwater Archeology Museum in its complex. That's why we recommend you spend at least one day here during your visit to Bodrum.
Bodrum Castle was closed to visitors in 2017 by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for restoration. As of May 2020, a part of it, and in 2021, a large part of the castle and a large part of the exhibition halls were opened to visitors again.
 

History of Bodrum Castle

Bodrum Castle was built by the Knights of Saint John in an area known as Zephyria, which is now a peninsula although it used to be an island.
Bodrum Castle is known as the Savior St. Peter Castle because during that time it became the sanctuary of all Christians in Western Anatolia. The duties of the knights were to track down the refugees, find them and comfort them, treat them and bring them to the castle. Bodrum Castle was the most important strategic point of the Knights of Saint John after Rhodes. In connection with the fortress of Antimachia on the island of Kos, this place controlled the busiest shipping route of those times.

The ruins in the surrounding area and the excavations in Bodrum Castle strengthen the argument that the current castle was built on a previous castle built in the time of the Dorians. It is also thought that there was a small Turkish castle from the 11th century AD among these ruins.

The first walls of the castle, which was started to be built right after Bodrum was captured by the Knights of Rhodes in 1402, were built by the German Architect Heinrich Schlegelhold. In the following years, the castle continued to grow with new towers and additions. The
stones, architectural pieces and reliefs of the Mausoleum, which was destroyed after an earthquake in Halicarnassus, were used in the construction of this castle. The Vatican placed great importance to the construction of this castle and sent Christians to build it. In 1409, the Vatican issued a proclamation, declaring that whoever works on this construction will have a place in heaven.
The highest point of this square shaped castle is the French Tower, which is 47.50 m above sea level. In addition to this tower, John Candali built the English Tower in 1480, Angelo Musvettola built the Italian Tower in 1436, followed by the German Tower and the Serpentine Tower. The last change in the castle was made by Grand Master Pierre d'Aubusson in 1476-1503.
To the right of the inner courtyard is a small chapel in gothic style. This chapel, which belongs to the knights, was built in the same period as the construction of the castle, between 1402-1437. It was later repaired by Spanish knights in 1519-1520. To the south of the chapel is a bathhouse built during the Ottoman period. This bath, which is adjacent to the castle walls, has a rectangular plan and consists of cold, warm and hot sections as usual in Turkish baths.
In the northeast corner of the castle is the English Tower. The foundations of the tower are placed on the bedrock. The three-floored tower has two entrances, one outside the city wall and the other inside the inner castle on the north. Today, this tower is used as the museum's storage area for glass findings. On the lower floor of the tower, there are two interconnected dungeons that go down to sea level. A lion made in the archaic period is seen on the western wall. On this lion is the royal coat of arms of the British King Henry IV (1399-1413).

The oldest tower of the castle, The Serpentine Tower, is named thus because of the snake relief next to its entrance.

The Knights of Rhodes ruled in Bodrum Castle until January 1, 1523. After the conquest of Rhodes by Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottomans, it was taken over by one of his commanders, Grand Admiral Parlak Mustafa Pasha.