Bodrum (from Petronium; formerly Halicarnassus (Turkish: Halikarnas, ) is a Turkish port town in MuÄŸla Province, in the southwestern Aegean Region of the country. It is located on the southern coast of Bodrum Peninsula, at a point that checks the entry into the Gulf of Gökova, and it faces the Greek island of Kos. Today, it is an international center of tourism and yachting. The city was called Halicarnassus of Caria in ancient times. The Mausoleum of Mausolus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was here.

Bodrum Castle, built by the Crusaders in the 15th century, overlooks the harbor and the International Marina. The castle grounds includes a Museum of Underwater Archeology and hosts several cultural festivals throughout the year.

The region includes the municipalities of Bodrum, Turgutreis, Ortakent, Türkbükü, Yalıkavak and GümüÅŸlük, and numerous recent tourist-oriented developments were built or are being built across the district area. The peninsula extends across an exceptionally dry belt contrasting even with its immediately neighboring regions, and poor rainfall results in a constant shortage of potable water, an issue that became more critical lately, with newcoming settlers and the visitors.

The first recorded settlers in Bodrum region were the Carians and the harbor area was colonized by Dorian Greeks as of the 7th century BC and the city later fell under Persian rule. It was the nominal capital city of the satrapy of Caria. Its location ensured the city enjoyed considerable autonomy.

Herodotus, the historian, (484-420 BC) was born here.

Mausolus ruled Caria from here on behalf of the Persians, from 377 to 353 BC. When he died in 353 BC, Artemisia II of Caria, who was both his sister and his widow, employed the ancient Greek architects Satyros and Pythis, and the four sculptors Bryaxis, Scopas, Leochares and Timotheus for to build a monument, as well as a tomb, for him. The word "mausoleum" derives from the structure of this tomb. It was a temple-like structure decorated with reliefs and statuary on a massive base. It stood for 1700 years and was finally destroyed by earthquakes. Today only the foundations and a few pieces of sculpture remain.

Alexander the Great laid siege on the city after his arrival in Carian lands and its capture was, in all likelihood, completed by his ally, queen Ada of Caria.

Crusader Knights arrived in 1402 and used the remains of the Mauseoleum as a quarry to build the still impressively standing Bodrum Castle (Castle of Saint Peter), which is also particular in being one of the last examples of Crudader architecture in the East.

The Knights Hospitaller of Rhodes were given the permission to build it by the Ottoman sultan Mehmed I, after Tamerlane had destroyed their previous fortress located in Izmir’s inner bay. The castle and its town became known as Petronium, whence the modern name Bodrum derives. Conveniently, the word "Bodrum" means basement in Turkish, and a common pun in reference to the town’s liberal morals decline its name as "Bedroom".

In 1522, Suleyman the Magnificent conquered the base of the Crusader knights on the island of Rhodes, who then withdrew to Malta, leaving The Castle of Saint Peter and Bodrum to the Ottoman Empire.