The Castle which was completed in 99 years was built by the
Knights of
Rhodes in the 15th century in the honour of
St. Peter. It is erected onto the
Zephyrion Island where
Halicarnassos was first established. During the construction of the castle the stones and reliefs of
Mausolos were used at the walls of the castle . During the
Ottoman period a minaret was attached to the church inside the castle and thus the church was turned into a mosque. Also a small turkish bath was constructed. The castle which occupies an area of approximately 30.000 sqm has five towers. These are the
French Tower, the
English,
Italian,
German and
Yılanlı towers. The castle which was used as a prison during the
Ottoman period and many parts of which were demolished during the bombings in the
World War I has been restored in the year 1962 and some parts of it which were turned into museum halls were opened to visit in 1964. The museum comprises three sections. In the
Mycenean hall earthen pots and pans of the
Mycens and artifacts such as sculptures, sarcophasus, earthenware jars, etc. from the archaic and hellenistic period are displayed. In the second section of the museum underwater opuses are displayed. Here monuments, jewellery and seals from the
Old Bronze Age,
Archaic,
Classic,
Hellenistic Periods are displayed. Also here is located the
Underwater Archaeology Museum. This museum has been founded in the year 1979. Here the
Uluburun Shipwreck,
Gelidonia Shipwreck,
Glasswreck,
Late Roman Ship wreck and objects obtained from these wrecks are displayed. Within the scope of the museum there is also a video hall where the excavation works on
Uluburun shipwreck are shown and a restoration and conservation laboratory for the cleaning and conservation of the findings. The Castle bath has also been arranged and opened to visits as museum in 1991. In the year 1995
Bodrum Underwater Archaeology museum has been given the “
Best Museum” award. The museum is open to visit everyday except Mondays between 08.00-17.00 during winter and 09.00-19.00 during summer.
