Gundogan Vacation Villa Rent - Rental Bodrum Holiday Villa in Turkey Villa Selim Villa Bahce

Exploring Bodrum

Today, Bodrum is a liberal and open-minded community that opens its arms to all people who enjoy the adventures of life. Bodrum stands on the site of the ancient city of Halicarnassus, once the capital of the kingdom of Caria. Herodotus who was the famous historian and the father of history was born in 484 B.C. in this city.

Throughout history Bodrum, known as Halicarnassus in ancient times, has always been fought over and people have been unwilling to share its beauty with others. Built on a peninsula formed by the meeting of the eastern and western harbors, Bodrum, with its narrow streets winding down to the sea, is famous for its castle, its world-renowned yachts, its windmills, its shipyards and the dazzling white houses and tombs lining the shores of its two harbors.

Today Bodrum has everything that one would expect to find in a
vacation getaway. It is an important tourist center in both winter and summer. The Underwater Archeological Museum of Bodrum is one of the biggest and important museums of its kind in the world. This museum is located in the Bodrum Castle (aka Saint Peter's Castle).

The intellectual climate of Bodrum is shaped by tourists and people living on the Bodrum peninsula from countries such as England, Ireland, France, Germany, Russia, Italy, Spain, and even the USA. The villa is within 20 minutes from the city of Bodrum, which allows for many entertainment opportunities (Turkish Blue Cruise Voyages, Greek Island Excursions, Historic sites, Nature Adventures, and excellent Night Life activities). Bodrum is well-recognized for its artistic heritage, and is therefore an open-minded community. Nightlife in Bodrum offers restaurants, bars, and clubs for all life styles.

Beaches in the area

Villa Bahce and Villa Selim are located near the village of Gundogan. This photo shows the closest beach to the villa (5 minutes by car). Gundogan is a quiet, peaceful community for those who enjoy the atmosphere of a traditional Turkish village. The Gundogan beach is a perfect place to spend a lazy day in the sun.

The Bodrum peninsula offers many communities with small beautiful beaches. The three pictures below show the beaches in the city center of Bodrum. If you enjoy busy areas with a lot of activity, you will enjoy a day at the beach in Bodrum. For those who enjoy much quieter beaches, try the beaches of Gundogan, Bitez, Torba, or Gumusluk.

Gundogan

Formerly known as Farilya, meaning “Sun Rise” is known by its modern name “Gündoğan”. Farilya has the marks of many civilizations that have once lived here. This seaside town of the most tempting city of the Aegean is just as beautiful as the other parts of the peninsula; beaches, pure oxygen and the sunshine predominate. The town has all three attractive attributes of the nature and still contributes to the making of history. Those native villagers and those who settled here are absolutely in love with the town. Gündoğan was built between 353 and 375 Century BC by the Romans in an enclave the sea and called Vara, the settlement was relocated to its current place following the famous pirate attacks about 900 years ago. Gündoğan has been a home to Lelegian, Mycenaean, Persians, Carians, Meds, Egyptians, Syrians, Macedonians, Romans, Byzantines, the Turkic Menteşe Clans and the Ottomans as of the year 1522. It is known that the native villagers are the descendants of Central Asian Turcoman who migrated here at the time of the Ottomans. The Greek name Farilya was changed to Gündoğan in 1961. Today Gundogan is an important town for fishing, sponge diving, olive and tangerine growing. The old and new settlers have protected the character of the place. They have not touched the houses surrounded with trees of olive, mandarins, bananas, pomegranates and oak. The scent of orange trees welcoming visitors along the seaside still remains. Gundogan has 4000 inhabitants.

Relax and take it easy with a chilled glass of wine or the local delicacies. There are large colorful cushions provided to sit on, on the many jetties circulating the Bay where you can chill out, people watch, sip a refreshing drink and watch the waves breaking on the rocks and children playing in the crystal blue waters. This is a great place for snorkeling where you enter the sea from the jetties. Sit at the beach bar and watch the sun go down and witness the spectacular sunsets. There is a small harbor with fishing boats, yachts, gullets and a sailing school offering dingy sailing, windsurfing, jet-skis, and waterskiing.

Across the Bay is `Rabbit Island` which has an old Greek church and standing remains of a Byzantine monastic settlement dated to the 9th Century A.D. If you wish to be active during your stay here, you will have plenty to do - archeological trips in the area, windsurfing, under water photography, diving lessons, horse riding, walking and trekking. History, dramatic landscape and a natural un-spoilt Bay and friendly people await you! As they say `Nothing less than history, sun, seaside, nature and friendly people can be found`. Nightlife - While there are some bars dotted along the harbor front, nightlife in Gundogan tends to be quite low key with most evenings spent savoring a satisfying meal or sitting out with a cool beer or a Gin and Tonic in hand watching the sun set on another day.

Daily Boat Tours

Bodrum offers many daily boat tours around the Bodrum area. These boats are a perfect way
	to enjoy a full-day of boating, at an affordable price of approx. $25 per person, including lunch. During the boat tour, the captain will stop at small secluded beaches or inlets for a quick swim. You will also have the opportunity for sun-bathing on the second floor of the boat.

Day Trips to Greek Islands

The Greek islands of Kos (9 miles) and Rhodes (124 miles) are only a day trip away by ferry.
The day trip to Kos is the most common tour, either you book the slower ferry boat or the fast Hydrofoil. A day trip to Rhodes starts at 9:00 a.m. from Bodrum, 2 hours by Hydrofoil (if the weather permits) and leaves Rhodes at 4:00 p.m. This trip is offered once a week and only in the summer season.

The ferry companies have a pick-up service when you book in advance. A minibus collects clients and brings them to the ferry boat pier at no extra charge. Daily trips by ferry starting from Bodrum are offered to Kos, Marmaris, Didim, Gökova, Datça and Rhodes.

Shopping / Dining

Like everywhere in Turkey, shopping in Bodrum is quite an adventure, with dozens of shops lining the busy narrow streets. Shops offer a variety of local goods, from carpets and kelims to leather-ware, jewelry, etc. There is an extensive, colorful craft market in operation on Tuesdays, and a fruit and vegetable market on Fridays. Bargaining is a typical part of the Turkish shopping experience for major goods like carpets.

In Bodrum some shops stay open late at night … some even all night. Bodrum is an exciting place for shopping, dining, and exploring life in this vibrant seaside town.

Night life

Bodrum is well-recognized for its artistic heritage, and is therefore an open-minded community.
Openly gay entertainers have chosen Bodrum as their home away from home. Nightlife in
Bodrum offers restaurants, bars, and clubs for all life styles. The intellectual climate of Bodrum
is shaped by tourists and people living on the Bodrum peninsula from countries such as England, Ireland, France, Germany, Russia, Italy, Spain, and even the USA.

Most of the bars in Bodrum’s mile-long ’Bar Street’ (aka Cumhuriyet Street), offer dancing, live music and outdoor seating with a view of the illuminated castle. For those who like to dance well into the night, one internationally well-known open-air club is the "Halikarnas" club.

Bodrum night life is also famous for its huge club on a catamaran (see below picture) that sets
sail late at night and takes the party out to sea until the dawn. For those not wanting loud and busy clubs, there are Turkish style nightclubs, called "meyhanes". In these local nightclubs, the
crowd sings and dances, while the local artists perform traditional Turkish music. This is an
excellent way to experience Turkish people's love of life. You may even catch local belly dancers having great fun on a night out with friends.

Nature Adventures

Datça Peninsula

The Datca peninsula is a nature lover's dream. Pine forests are intermingled with oak,
myrtle, gum and carob trees. Almond trees, olive and citrus groves, are to be discovered as you explore the mountains, valleys and plains of the peninsula. The Datca Peninsula is Turkey's narrowest and longest peninsula extending towards the Aegean Sea. Exploring the peninsula by car is a rewarding adventure for hikers, beach combers, and those who love to admire the beauty of nature.

Dalyan Watershed Preserve

Dalyan is a small town situated in the middle of the broad delta of the Dalyan river, within a
nature reserve established to preserve one of the worlds most important wetland areas. Dalyan is just a short journey by riverboat to the ancient city of Caunos and the famous Iztuzu Beach, where the Loggerhead Turtles return each year to breed. Its unique location in the middle of the conservation area alongside the meandering Dalyan River make Dalyan very popular with bird watchers and naturalists. If you love wetlands, this is a definite must-see.

Historical Sites

The southwestern Aegean region of Turkey is full of historical sites from many civilizations over time.

This section includes the archeological sites of the Bodrum area as well as ancient Greek ruins that can easily be worked into your trip to Turkey.

Some options include: Ephesus, Lycian Rock Tombs, and the ancient Greek city of Knidos. This map shows the geographic location of the historical sites discussed below.

Saint Peter's Castle

The massive Castle of The Knights of St. John sits on a peninsula between the two harbors
and is now a world-class museum of underwater archaeology. The castle was built by the rather shady Knights Hospitalier in 1402 A.D. They lost it soon afterwards to the all conquering Süleyman the Magnificent.

The views from the various towers of the castle are stunning, overlooking the harbor, the beautiful whitewashed buildings of the town, the surrounding countryside, and the deep blue Aegean Sea. There are interesting artifacts such as jewelry, coins, and flags. Approximately 250 coats of arms are carved into the castle walls, along with other embellishments and relics salvaged from the Mausoleum site. A tour of the castle should include a visit to the Sunken Boat Museum, located within the castle walls. It offers an amazing array of artifacts retrieved from shipwrecks from the period of the Bronze Age to the Middle Ages. The photos below illustrate a calm peaceful day exploring some of Bodrum's history within the St. Peter's castle.

Bodrum Amphitheatre

An ancient amphitheater from the 2nd century B.C. with 1300 seats looks out over the twin harbors of Bodrum from its location set high on a hill. It has been restored and is still used today for occasional concerts and performances.

Tomb of King Mausolus

The tomb of King Mausolus was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and dates back to the 4th-century B.C. The word Mausoleum comes from this famous memorial. The wife of the King of Caria had the most famous architects of the day design the structure. It was almost completely destroyed in the Great Anatolian earthquake. Many of the stones of this Mausoleum were used in the construction of Bodrum Castle. The beautiful reliefs on the grave, however, were taken to the British Museum during the excavations in the 19th century .

Lycian Rock Tombs

The rock tombs were built in 4 B.C. as a place where the kings and wealthy Lycians were placed on rock beds. They were also used during the Roman period. The ancient city of Caunos stands midway along the channel facing Dalyan. The settlement is believed to date from 3000 B.C. and later grew into a major port on the border between Lycia and Caria. The rock tombs can be visited on a day trip to Dalyan from Bodrum. Daily trips can be arranged in Bodrum by local tourism centers.

Ephesus

Ephesus is one of the most beautiful ancient cities in the world. The city has been excavated for more than one hundred years; the extensive remains are predominantly from the later Roman period.

This city was also a cult center attracting thousands of pilgrims for traditional worship of the female, first Cybele, then Artemis and finally the Virgin Mary. Ephesus was also home for the early philosopher Heraclitus.