BODRUM WAS ONE OF OUR FAVORITE PLACES in 2007, a quiet respite on the Adriatic coast. If only we had known!
Sugar-cube houses
My journal entry from that trip (hand-written, of course) said, Bodrum is about as picturesque a seaside town as you can imagine. Its “sugar cube” houses rise up the hillsides above two quiet harbors. If the size of the sailboats is any indication ,this is a playground of Istanbul’s well-to-do. Bodrum also has its own castle, the Castle of St Peter, built on the harbor in the early 15th century by the Knights Hospitallier. Our digs are on an alleyway off a narrow and twisty lane, nice and quiet if not luxurious.
Bodrum today
Bodrum is still on the Adriatic but it has become “Party Central,” the Cancun of Turkey. There is so much new construction we hardly recognized the place and summer population is ten times what we remember — more than half a million. Luckily we selected a place outside of town in the village of Torba. It was barely OK but the price was right, hard to find in an area where some rooms go for $600 a night. What price progress?
