Bodrum
Bodrum | |
|---|---|
District of Muğla Province | |
 | |
  Bodrum | |
| Coordinates: 37°02′00″N 27°26′00″E / 37.03333°N 27.43333°ECoordinates: 37°02′00″N 27°26′00″E / 37.03333°N 27.43333°E | |
| Country |  Turkey |
| Province | Muğla |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Ahmet Aras[1] (CHP) |
| • Kaymakam | Bekir Yılmaz[2] |
| Area | |
| • District | 656.06 km2 (253.31 sq mi) |
| Population (2013) | |
| • Urban | 36,401[4] |
| Website | www.bodrum.com.tr |
Bodrum (Turkish pronunciation: [ˈbodɾum]) is a district and a port city in Muğla Province, in the southwestern Aegean Region of Turkey. It is located on the southern coast of Bodrum Peninsula, at a point that checks the entry into the Gulf of Gökova, and is also the center of the eponymous district. The city was called Halicarnassus of Caria in ancient times and was famous for housing the Mausoleum of Mausolus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Built by the Knights Hospitaller in the 15th century, Bodrum Castle overlooks the harbour and the marina. The castle includes a museum of underwater archaeology and hosts several cultural festivals throughout the year. The city had a population of 35,795 in 2012. It takes 50 minutes via boat to reach Kos from Bodrum, with services running multiple times a day by at least three operators.
Etymology[]
In classical antiquity Bodrum was known as Halicarnassus (Ancient Greek: Ἁλικαρνασσός,[5] Turkish: Halikarnas), a major city in ancient Caria. The suffix -ᾱσσός (-assos) of Greek Ἁλικαρνᾱσσός is indicative of a substrate toponym, meaning that an original non-Greek name influenced or established the place's name.
It has been proposed that -καρνᾱσσός (-carnassos) part is cognate with Luwian word "ha+ra/i-na-sà", which means fortress.[6] If so, the city's ancient name was probably borrowed from Carian, a Luwic language spoken alongside Greek in Western Anatolia. The Carian name for Halicarnassus has been tentatively identified with