Bodrum is the first town I visited on my Türkiye trip. My flight landed in Istanbul but I then took another flight to Bodrum – a coastal town in the southwest of the country that I had never heard of before. This time, the itinerary was fully made by my travel mate, I did not really involved since work had been consuming my time lately.
As soon as the airport bus entered the town, I knew I would fall for it. The Mediterranean vibes were so bold with all the buildings painted in dusty white with sprinkle of blue accents. I could sense the blend of middle eastern x greek influence in every corner of the street – that looks foreign to me as this was my first visit to Middle Eastern country.
Everything just looks so aesthetic, I was constantly screaming ‘wow’ along the way to my Pensione (hotel). I’ve never been to Greece but I have a strong feeling that Greece would exactly looked like this. Upon check in, I quickly dropped off my suitcase and rushed out as I could not contain my self from the excitement to explore the surrounding area take a tons of pictures.
WHAT TO DO
Stroll around the beach side and the marina
Bodrum is a tiny town that can easily explored by foot, a day is definitely enough to wander from one corner to another along the beach lanes. Your eyes will be spoiled with all the beautiful restaurants and quaint cafes sprawling by the bay. If you checked out the beach side area of those cafes, you’ll find a bunch of people gathered, having some cozy chat while waiting for the sun to set. Some of them are either enjoying good Turkish chai, refreshing Efes (Turkish Beer), or delicious Dondurma (Turkish ice cream). Oh.. what a vibe!
After I had my Turkish chai in one of the cafe, I continued my afternoon stroll to the western part of the town, checking out the castle a bit before heading to the port. I swear the sunset at that time was so gorgeous, I lost words to describe. Obviously that sunset walk along the pier became the highlight of my time in Bodrum.
Visiting Local Market
The next day, we decided to do a little local market visit to check what the local living is like. In the town square, there was a cozy food court surrounded by fruit vendors. I could not resist buying a box of big fat fresh strawberries that seems to call out to me which I don’t regret at all because the taste were incredibly sweet and delicious!
Photo hunt of everything
As I mentioned earlier, every corner of the town are incredibly picturesque. I could not get enough to take as many picture of it. Also, I am so glad I brought clothes that color coordinated with the town perfectly. Though the weather was out of my prediction as most of my outfits are summer-ready but it turned out that Spring in Türkiye is still quiet wintry.
Oh, did I mentioned that Bodrum has so many stray cats? (later I discovered this is actually common throughout Türkiye) but Bodrum’s cats specifically are incredibly photogenic! I mean.. look at these pictures! How could two different cats shared the same pose? lol. Even the souvenir magnet from Bodrum are themed with these felines, seems like the cats have become the symbol of the town.
Hike up to the ancient Amphitheater
To be very honest I actually had a few complaints during the hike to this ancient theater as it is located on a hill about 40 minutes from the pier. But when I realized the view from the top was delightful, I quickly revised my complaints because it was worth it!
The amphitheater is one of the masterpieces of the ancient Greek city of Halicarnassus (Now known as Bodrum) during the reign of King Mausolos. Just like other amphitheater, the arena was used for gladiator battles and theatrical plays. Fun fact, it actually still being used nowadays for concerts in the summer.
WHERE TO STAY
Since you are in Bodrum, I highly recommend to book a room with a decent sea-side view. It might be a bit pricey since Bodrum has become increasingly popular amongst tourist but I guess you should make the most of the experience in Bodrum.
My Pensione called Bac Pensione, it was not particularly fancy but it perfectly located in the middle of everything and the best part is, it got a superb view overlooking the Bodrum bay.
The city was a surprised entree to me, did not know that Türkiye has this pretty little coastal gem in the southwestern corner of their country.
