Welcome to Bodrum, the place once named “the land of eternal blue”. With its warm climate, friendly people and beautiful villages, the Bodrum peninsula has rightly gained a reputation as the playground of Turkey’s rich and famous - and now foreign holidaymakers are discovering its delights too!

The Bodrum Peninsula is a region of immense variety, combining ancient and modern with simplicity and sophistication. The area still has miles of unspoilt coastline, carved by dozens of coves and inlets dotted with small resort towns. 

A few miles inland you can still discover small pockets of the rural community where a more traditional way of life continues untouched by tourism. Your holiday to Bodrum a memorable one. Each town along the peninsula has it's own distinct personality.
Whilst Bodrum town itself is highly sociable, full of character and with a wealth of amenities, dining and shopping possibilities, scenic Gumusluk set in a pretty little bay is free-spirited and laid back, whilst the traffic-free hamlet of Karakaya enjoys superb views from it's rustic hillside setting. The beauty of a holiday on the peninsula is that there is a wide choice of towns, resorts, villages and rural retreats to explore all within a short drive or easy reach by local dolmus transport services. During the summer months, daily ferries operate from Bodrum to the Datca peninsula as well as to the nearby Greek island of Kos.
Around the Bodrum peninsula, you can swim in clear, tide-less warm seas, many with shallow waters making it ideal for families. The calm waters and good visibility also provide ideal conditions for diving and snorkelling. There are any number of watersport centres on the peninsula that arrange diving excursions and provide lessons for beginners eager to try out this underwater sport.

Bodrum Castle's origins go back to the Knights of St. John, a group of expatriates who drew their ranks from Europe. This "Order of the Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem" began in the Eleventh Century with a church and hospital set up for pilgrims in Jerusalem. The hospital operated under the strict code that care be denied to no one, although those who did not belong to the Catholic faith were confined to a separate ward.
The order began with solely religious powers and functions, but the Crusades and other political events forced it into military pursuits. The Christians beliefs of the order took on a fanatical nature, and the Knights thought of themselves as soldiers of Christ and defenders of the Holy Places of Jerusalem. The Order enjoyed numerous battle successes during the Crusades, gaining many rich donations and Papal favors in the process.
The Knights were composed of seven different Languages or Tongues, so called because of language differences. They came from France, Italy, Spain, England, Germany and Provence and Auvergne (both now provinces of France). Each of these pious Catholic groups operated under the leadership of a knight of their own country.
After erecting a castle on the island of Cos, the Knights needed a stronghold on the mainland of Asia Minor. In 1374 they acquired Symrna (where the city of Izmir now stands), which a league of Christian powers had conquered earlier from the Seljuks and built a castle there. The Mongol leader Tamerlane had his hordes destroy this edifice in 1402, however, starting off a century-long struggle between the Knights and the Ottoman Turks.