Bodrum, Turkey

Bodrum traces its beginnings to the dawn of history. It is situated on the site where during the Classical Era, there was a city known as Halicarnassus. In 546 BC the city fell under Persian rule, living its Golden Age in the reign of King Mausolus who transferred the capital of the Carian State from Mylasa (the site of the present day Milas) to Halicarnassus. Mausolus died in 353 BC., but his memorial tomb, the Mausoleum, became renowned as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. In 334 BC. Alexander the Great conquered Halicarnassus and thereafter it never regained its former glory. In 1402 the Knights of St. John began building their castle of the St. Peter, today Bodrum's landmark, which they ruled for over a century. Sultan Suleyman the Magnificient took possession of it after his conquest of Rhodes in 1522. During the early years of the Turkish Republic Bodrum was a small fishing village, with a population of some 2000 inhabitants, distant from the main cities of the country. The town was rediscovered by Turkish intellectuals and artists in 1970. From then on Bodrum gained it well deserved reputation as an international holiday resort. the Bodrum peninsula is a haven for some globally endangered and rare animal species like the Mediterranean monk seal, the audouin gull and eleonorae falcon.