Bodrum Kalesi
A castle of the Knights of St John on Bodrum's harbour, home to the Museum of Underwater Archaeology.
The Turkish name
Bodrum Kalesi
At a glance
- Province
- Muğla, Bodrum
- Built
- From 1402, by the Knights of St John
- Ottoman from
- 1523
- Museum
- Sualtı Arkeoloji Müzesi, since the early 1960s
Read more
This page was written from these sources.
- Bodrum Castle ↗Wikipedia · Checked 2026-09-23
The story
Bodrum Kalesi, the castle of St Peter, stands on a rocky point between Bodrum's two harbours. The Knights of St John began it in 1402 as a mainland stronghold facing their island of Kos, and knights from several nations built it together, which is why its towers are called English, French, German and Italian. They used stone and reliefs from the ruined Mausoleum of Halikarnassos to strengthen it.
The Ottomans took the castle in 1523, turned its chapel into a mosque and added a minaret. It later served at times as a military base and a prison, and after the First World War it stood empty for about 40 years.
Since the early 1960s it has housed the Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology. Among its displays are amphoras, a hall of ancient glass and the Uluburun shipwreck of the 14th century BC.
