Yesterday we played tourists and finally visited the Bodrum Castle. Even though cheap me questioned 20 lira ($10) entrance fee, I had to admit that it was a bargain based on the experience we’ve had there. It was absolutely amazing and magical. The castle is 600 years old and was used by the crusaders – it has English, German, Italian, French towers. It’s enormous and very well preserved – immaculate, with gardens, peacocks and pigeons. Very well positioned – you can see the sea and mountains for miles. And just has a very good feeling about it – everything is just so… open and strong, does this makes sense?
The only part I didn’t care for was the dungeon. It was disturbingly real – from the narrow passage and tiny door, cage in the floor and torture devices. I shivered and wondered about how many people died there. There was a mass slave grave nearby too…
The best part was the dining hall with lion heads and giant table, surrounded by the armor – for some reason you could vividly imagine the knights eating there, celebrating their victories. Another stunner was a hull of the ship embeded inside the church and reconstructed by some Texas AM students (go Americans!). You could see the amphoras recovered from the bottom of the sea nearby. Also, displays of the ancient coins and entertaining math about what you can buy with them including people’s services.
There were numerous steps – steep and not so much, courtyards, observation terraces which our toddler could easily navigate – he had a lot of fun running around everywhere. We came home exhausted and happy.