Slowly by slowly I´m on the track of the Knights of Saint John castles, after almost 30 years ago of visiting Malta. Now I had to opportunity of visiting Bodrum castle in southern Turkey.
During the years of 1402 up to 1452, the Knights Hospitaller built in two phases the Bodrum Castle. In fact the task belonged to the Knights of St.
John who built it in order to guard that tip of Mediterranean and its northern access from Turkish expansion, as the castle faced early threats
from the Seljuk Turks.
Between 1453 and 1480, Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror launched naval attacks and bombarded the
castle. In 1480 his fleet caused damage to the English Tower and seafront
walls, but the fortress held strong and was later reinforced using stone
from the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus.

As Suleiman the Magnificent’s forces conquered Rhodes, the Knights
surrendered Bodrum Castle in 1522 as part of the peace terms and its fortification continued.
In 1773 during the Russo‑Turkish War (1768–1774), a Russian naval detachment under Admiral Elmanov bombarded the castle and landed troops (~1,000+), but the local Ottoman garrison repelled them.
The
castle was heavily garrisoned and later was used as a prison (from 1895), with the
chapel converted into a mosque and a minaret added.
In May 1915, the French
warship Duplex bombed Bodrum Castle, causing significant damage, forcing
evacuation of prisoners, and damaging the minaret and southern ramparts. From 1915, Italian forces briefly controlled Bodrum and used the castle as
headquarters before yielding it back to Turkish control in 1921 (via
agreement after the War of Independence)


Exhibition Areas
1. Haluk Elbe Art Gallery
2. Cannon Exhibition Area
3. Gateway Tower
4. Amphora Depot Exhibition Area
5. Southern Observation Terrace
6. Turkish Bath
7. Chapel (Castle Mosque)
8. Anchor Exhibition Area
9. Stone Artifacts Exhibition Area
10. History of Underwater Archaeology
10. Amphora Exhibition
10. Serce Limani Glass Shipwreck Exhibition
11. Yassiada Shipwrecks Hall
12. Spanish Tower: Tektas Shipwreck Exhibition
13. German Tower: Bozukkale Archaic Shipwreck Exhibition
14. History of Bodrum Peninsula and Halicarnassus
15. Italian Tower: Early Bronze Age Necropolises Exhibition
16. French Tower: Musgebi Necropolis
16. French Tower: Pedesa Ancient City Exhibition
17. Halicarnassus Eastern Necropolis Exhibition
18. Carian Princess Hall
19. Late Bronze Age Shipwrecks Exhibition
20. English Tower: Knights of Saint Jean Exhibition
The castle stood initially in a small island that had to be connected to the main land making it into an artificial peninsula.
The 1st phase of the Knights of Saint John build created most of the visible structures that can be seen today.
Best explained here, as the previous text can only be understood by the large numbers of my Turkish followers (which in fact speak a language that is not easy for most of the european language speakers).
The 2nd phase of construction by Knights of Saint John saw a secondary line of walls and two more more small towers.
As usual with Ottomans a minaret and Turkish bath was added.
And this is virtually the looks of the castle today, an impeccable work of art and a place of respect for History as the Turks are very good at preserving their history, even if part of it comes from Greek, Roman or Christian origin.
A bit of text for the later events.
A minaret of the Ottoman period was destroyed by a French ship during the preparation of the Gallipoli campaign and later rebuilt to the actual state.
The most important parts of the castle - excluding its walls, obviously! - are the towers, each of the Langues of Knights contributed with one. So each of the main nations has its own tower: there is a Spanish, an Italian, a French, an English and a German tower. The one above is the Spanish tower.
Another view of the Spanish tower.
The steps leading to the Italian and French towers.
The French tower.
Another view of the French tower. Its
topped over the harbor and exhibits the Müsgebi Necropolis and the ancient city of Pedasa.
The Italian tower, the tallest of them all, hosts the Early Bronze‑Age Necropolis hall and the Carian Princess burial displays
The German tower has shipwreck exhibits.
There is a moat between the two layers of walls.
Here you can see the two layers distinctively.
The English tower has some Knights armor and equipment.
As you're exiting, you may be passing through the main gate complex, and you’ll likely see the insignia of the Grand Master Philibert de Naillac (served 1396–1421), who initiated the construction of Bodrum Castle in 1402, together with the insignia of the Knight of Saint John.
Next: Guadalcanal, part 1.
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