Wednesday, October 6

Bodrum, Turkey. What perfect weather!!! The temperature is just right! Not a cloud in sight, but a beautiful town to view from our veranda. Neither of us had any tours booked today, but we did wander into the port terminal for a little while. Mostly we just enjoyed the view and the weather, and tolerated the lone cricket that somehow got onto the Lido Deck a few days ago and chose today to sing very loudly non-stop from our favorite corner which acted like a megaphone for him.

Modern Bodrum, formerly called Halicarnassus and founded about the fifth century B.C., is a center for tourism and yachting. The harbor was full of both sailing and motor yachts of every size and description. The town spreads around the harbor in a circle of very white and clean-looking buildings. I am still somewhat startled by just how sharp the demarcation is between town and not-town here in the Middle East.

The Mausoleum of Mausolus was built here for King Mausolus who died in 353 B.C. At 148 feet high and decorated with reliefs and sculptures, it was one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world as much for its size as its beauty. It stood for 1700 years before being destroyed by earthquakes. Crusader Knights arrived in 1402 and used the remains to build the Castle of Saint Peter, also known as Bodrum Castle, one of the last examples of Crusader architecture in the East. In this photo, the original site of the Mausoleum is behind the castle. On the hill behind the castle you can see Mausolus’ amphitheater which could seat 13,000 spectators and is still used for a September arts festival.

Since we are sailing around the “ancient world,” I suppose that it’s no surprise that we are stopping at, or at least sailing near, most of the original Seven Wonders. We counted up this afternoon that we will have been at the closest port to five of the seven (although won’t have actually been on their grounds in person every time), and last night we sailed past Rhodes...but that was at 3:00 a.m., and we didn’t get up for it. The only one we will miss completely is the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.