Halicarnassus
Bodrum is built on the site on one of the most famous ancient cities in the world, the Halicarnassus. In the ancient times the area was called Caria, and covered the total of the city of Mugla and part of Aydin. The ancient historians recorded that the Meander river in the west and the Dalaman Çay in the east drew Caria's borders. The natives of Caria were the Carians and the Lelegians. Homer states in "Iliad" that the Carians were natives of Asia Minor and claims that together with the Trojans, they defended Anatolia against the Greeks.
Herodotus, who lived between 484-425 B.C., was called "the Father of History". According to him the Carians came to the Asia Minor from the islands, where they lived under the name of Lelegians and were part of the Minoan civilization. He further stated that the Carians were sea-worthy people, and they were the first people to design a handle to hold the shields with, as well as making carvings on the shields for decaration purposes.
In the 6th century B.C., Caria was under the rule of Lydians. The relationship between the Lydians and the Carians thrived in year 700 B.C. and according to their traditions each nation considered the other as brothers.
After the Persian King Cyros conquered Sardes, many West Anatolian cities, including Halicarnassus , rapidly passed under the control of the Persians. The Persians had a habit of placing the conquered cities under the administration of families close to them. In 480 B.C., during the Persian King Xerxes' crusade to Greece, Halicarnassus was being ruled by Queen Artemisia I, daughter of Lygdamis.
Artemisia I, who backed the Persians on the crusade, against the Greeks later extended her control to dominate over Kos, Nisyros and Kalydnos, as well. Artemisia I, as the first female sea admiral of the world, participated in the  Salamis naval battle .Agreement between the Persians and the Athenians, the total Asia Minor was passed under the control of the Persians. The Persians divided Asia Minor into states. The Caria region was put under the administration of the Hekatomnos family, who lived in Mylasa. The first Satrap of the state was Hyssaldomus. He was followed by his son Hekatomnos, who came to the throne in 387 B.C. Hekatomnos had three sons (Maussollos, Idrieus, Pixodaros) and two daughters (Artemisia II and Ada). After his father's death, Maussollos, transferred the capital of Caria to Halicarnassus in 367 B.C.Halicarnassus developed rapidly into a well-to-do city, as it as easy to defend and in a good location for trade routes.The city became a popular settlement for many centuries. Maussollos put heavy taxes even taxed people with long hair, and with the collected taxes paid sculptors and architects to decorate and beautify the city. Than Maussollos conquered Lycia and the islands of Rhodes and Kos.
Maussollos ruled Caria for 24 years, and was succeeded upon his death in 353 B.C. by his wife and sister Artemisia II.
 

The Bodrum Castle rests on a rocky peninsula between two harbours. The sea lines three of its sides. The castle is almost square shaped, and has dimensions of 180 meters (540 feet) by 185 meters (555 feet). Its highest point from sea level is the French Tower with a hight of 47.5 meters (143 feet). There are 249 different coats of arms on its walls, which are like signatures depicting the dates of renovations and additions made in the castle throughout its history. The inner bayle, which can be reached by passing seven gates, is like a natural park with its Mediterranean flowers, cactus plants and shrubs and many peacocks and doves promenading around. The small chapel, which rests in the shade of the mulberry tree is in Gothic style and is the most beautiful building in the castle. The chapel is now an exhibition hall for the life-sized cross section of the sunken Byzantine vessel from the 7th century A.D.
After visiting the Turkish bath on the left side of the chapel, if you follow the road on the left of the chapel, a Roman statesman will welcome you by standing among the amphorae. The building you reach after theAmphora Park is the glass exhibition hall. The glass objects dating from between 14th century B.C., and 11th century A.D.
The Bodrum Castle (Continued from page 1), which were excavated from under the sea or under the earth are on display in this hall, in a mystical setting of dim lights. An aquarium depicts the method of underwater excavations.
Mausoleum
Today, unfortunately all that remain from the Mausoleum are the hollow where it once stood and reliefs and designs depicting it.
The place where Mausoleum once stood, seems like a pit and in order to understand what actually was, one has to visit the adjacent exhibition hall. Mausoleum, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the World, had dimensions of 32 meters (96 feet) by 38 meters (114 feet) and it rose from an era whose dimensions were 105 meters (315 feet) by 242.5 meters (727.5 feet). According to the historians of ancient days, Mausoleum was made up of four parts. There was a large platform from which 36 ionic columns rose to form a temple. The roof was shaped like a pyramid with 24 steps and over the roof there was a carriage drawn by four horses. In the carriage were statues of Maussollos and Artemisia. The Roman writer Pliny who lived in the first century AD, has mentioned the exact height of the monument in his work "Naturalise Historia", but this could not be deciphered as that specific part of the book is faded. However, on the list of Seven Wonders of the World, the height of the Mausoleum is given as 80 ionic ft which is equivalent to 55 meters (165 feet) ao a building with 20 floors. These dimensions are taken as a basis for the model in the exhibition hall. The writers of ancient times state that the architect who built the Mausoleum was Pytheos, however the name of Satyros was also mentioned. Vitrivius, the author of "De Arkitektura" stated that the most famous sculptors for this monument stood intact for one thousand and five hundred years, until being destroyed by an earthquake on August 8, 1304. Unfortunately, the hollow where the Mausoleum once stood cannot reflect the Mausoleum's magnificence. When you come to Bodrum, you will have to summon up your full imaginative powers, in order to visualise the grandeur of the Mausoleum while looking at this hollow.