Hellenic day

This Sunday I decided with a few crew go see some hellenistic sites handpicked from the guide book.

Becin castle

Becin Castle is overlooking the town of Milas, the castle itself has lot of ruins in various states of disrepair and there seemed to be an old shepherds hut on top where you could see that the animals had resided below and the shepherd on top. The castle itself was not really hellenistic and had been occupied by all sorts of groups at different epochs. Only sort of preserved structure giving any clue to its use was the old hammam where some of the plaster remained in the steam room and one could recognize the heating compartment. Otherwise the ruins gave a nice backdrop towards the city of Milas and the fig and pomegranate trees gave a nice atmosphere to walk around the fortifications.

Didyma

Didyma (Temple of Apollo)

Next on our stop was Didyma in Didim, this was the largest temple of its time dedicated to Apollo but it was never completed. The temple is massive looking at the small people around the pillars and inside where the spring was used to house the oracle. Both the spring was dry and the oracle gone when I visited.

Miletus theatre

After this we still had some time to motor up to Miletus theatre. A massive stadium that could seat 15.000 persons at best. It still had the tunnels and walkways behind for spectators to get to their seats. Simply stunning construction and when it was still in operation it was next to the sea which now had receded far away. The whole area covers several sq kilometres and other buildings and I think one could spend days here exploring the old ruins. 

Bodrum

Having settled into the Yalikavak marina we finally had a chance to take a few hours off and I decided to go to Bodrum to see the sights as I had never been there before. According to the guidebook the only places that have any value historically is the Bodrum castle and the Mausollus mausoleum.

Yalikavak marina

Moonlight II in Yalikavak

The city itself is pretty large and the castle is smack in the middle of it. One can straight see the protective capabilities of the fortress in medieval times as there is a bay on each side of it. Entry to the castle was 30TL which gives you access to the whole area. The route has arrows in red and green and it did not make much sense to me but it seemed the red arrows were dead ends. There were a few displays scattered in various spaces but nothing major. Very nice scenery and I got a few nice shots that I will probably post at a later stage but for now you have to make do with these.

Bodrum castle

After having wondered around the fort for some hours we had enough and headed for a coffee and then decided to check out the mausoleum that was supposed to be one the wonders of the world in its time.

Bodrum castle

Entry to the mausoleum was 10TL and all there is a big hole in the ground with the burial chamber and some drainpiping visible as the rest of the mausoleum was apparently used to build the fortress. Lot of rocks were strewn around so it looks mostly like a sad DIY mausoleum now. At least there was a small exhibition center showing how it had looked in its heyday.

Mausollus mausoleum then

Otherwise the whole seaside was littered with restaurants catering for tourists and of course there was the shopping. For anyone having visited Istanbul I can tell you the same wares were peddled here, copy everything. I think the only really good articles are the leather clothes.

Mausollus mausoleum now