x0x Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archeology

[See http://www.TurkRadio.us/bodrum_muzesi/ for more ]

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x0x Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archeology

By T. OGUZ ALPOZEN

A thousand year old shipwreck, a Carian princess who lived in the 4th
century B.C.-every tower of Bodrum Castle has a different story to
tell.
Bodrum was a forgotten Anatolian fishing village in the 1960s.

Its castle, substantially destroyed during English and French
bombardment
of 26-28 May 1915 in the First World War, lay abandoned in ruins. But
its
fate changed when artifacts were unearthed and recovered from
underwater
sites for research and display in the castle. Now, following 40 odd
years
of efforts, the once notorious dungeon of the castle has been turned
into
a museum. As one of the Mediterranean's greenest castle visitors are
greeted by a thousand and one species of flowers and birds living in
its
courtyards. Each of the castle's six towers tells the story of a
different
shipwreck. History comes alive here, gripping visitors and transporting

them back hundreds of years. Gods and goddesses, queens, knights and
sailors of past centuries are brought back to live. But before
recounting
these tales, let us touch briefly on the history of Bodrum, once one of

the largest fortresses on the Mediterranean coast.

Bodrum sits atop Halicarnassus, second capital of the Carian region in
the
4th century B.C. A site easy to defend and conducive to trade and
navigation, Halicarnassus developed rapidly. The most renowned
architects
and sculptors of the ancient world rebuilt the city with tax money
collected during the reign of the Satrap Mausolus. The first settlement
at
Halicarnassus was located where the castle stands today.

An island by the name of Zephyra in antiquity, it mentioned by Pliny in

the 1st century A.D. to have merged with the land mass to form a
peninsula. Between 1406 and 1513 the Knights of St. John built their
castle here over a previous Turkish fortress.

THE GLASS SHIPWRECK

One of the important shipwrecks on display at the Museum of Underwater
Archaeology in Bodrum a ship carrying glass that sank in the harbor
Serce
Limani at Marmaris in A.D. 1025.

Known in underwater archeology as 'the Glass Shipwreck', it was
discovered
in 1973 by a sponge-diver named Mehmet Askin from Bozburunlu and
excavated
by a team of Turkish and American archeologists in 1977-1979. After
undergoing conservation in the Museum laboratory, the wooden artifacts
that emerged from the excavation were assembled by the Ministry of
Culture
in a special hall in 1984. The three tons of broken glass found on the
ship constitute the largest collection of Islamic glass up to the 11th
century A.D.

In the Hall of Glass, formerly the castle's chapel, the individually
illuminated works are exhibited in a dimly lit environment. An aquarium

situated in one of the hall's niches shows how underwater archeological

excavations are carried out. A miniature exhibit (scaled down to 1/20
of
life-size) vividly depicts the underwater excavation of a 4th century
A.D.
Byzantine shipwreck.

THE CASTLE TOWERS

The Spanish Tower is also known as the Snake Tower after a relief
carving
on its side. The upper level of the tower, which was used by the
knights
as an infirmary, contains artifacts symbolizing plenty, fertility,
sickness and health.

In the German Tower you may observe the way of life of the medieval
knights. Going east from here, the mass graves of the galley slaves are

exhibited in the small salon on the right. In an excavation carried out
in
front of the English Tower in 1993, a 16th century garbage tip of the
Knights of St. John was found containing skeletons of 14 galley slaves
with shackles on their feet. A portion of this mass grave is on display

here. Following the path north, you will reach the moat that surrounded

the thick walls of the citadel with its towers known as Gatineau and
Caretto. The Gatineau Tower, its cannon embrasures and ventilation
holes
blocked, was used as a torture chamber between 1513 and 1522. A Latin
inscription, "In de deus Abest" (Where God is not found), appears over
the
inner portal.

The Italian and French towers are in the castle's loftiest section.

The Axe Tower, situated at the end of a cross-vault in the lower level
of
these towers, is the Hall of the Carian Princess, a member of the
dynasty
of Hecatomnus of Mylasa, who ruled the region 2400 years ago.

The princess, who was identified as a candidate to be queen after
reconstruction of her skull in the Department of Art in Medicine at the

University of Manchester, is displayed in a salon reminiscent of a
great
feast hall.

AN EXHIBITION ADDRESSING THE FIVE SENSES

The English Tower, located at the castle's southeast corner, is known
locally as the Lion Tower. Built by the English in 1415, it was
restored
in 1980. In an exhibition that appeals to all five senses, this tower,
the
most monumental structure ever built by the English outside of Britain,

takes visitors on a journey back 500 years in time meeting lords and
ladies and sip wine in a candle-lit hall permeated with the scent of
burning incense.

You may see in this tower not only the arms and banners of the knights
who
commanded the fortress and the standard presented by the Seljuks to the

Ottomans. There is also a green flag with three crescents flown by the
Ottoman Turks on their fleet in the 16th century and the various flags
used during the intervening 300-year period until the Turkish flag
received its present form. A rectangular stone structure located in
front
of the English Tower is the Hall of Late Bronze Age Shipwrecks, where
the
12th century B.C. Cape of Gelidonya shipwreck, the 16th century B.C.
Seytan Deresi shipwreck, and the Uluburun shipwreck, the richest ship
of
the Bronze Age, are displayed, the latter representing a collection of
extraordinary value for archeologists. The large variety of finds is
evidence of a far-flung international trade during this period.

THE COMMANDER'S TOWER

The story of the restoration of the Commander's Tower began with the
donation to the Bodrum Museum Directorate in 1966 of the personal
effects
of Lieutenant Ibrahim Nezihi Bey, who had defended Bodrum against the
bombardment, by his daughter Neriman Ata. The Commander's Tower, which
is
situated at the southwest corner of the fortress' was thus opened to
visitors as the Chamber of the Tower Commander. Upon entering the room,

you will find Lieutenant Ibrahim Nezihi seated at his desk working. You

may read the letter he wrote to his wife Hatice Hanim as you sip a cup
of
Turkish coffee. And in the pre-World War I map hanging on the wall you
may
see the lands ruled by the Ottoman Empire, as well as weapons and
medallions in glass cases, together with various personal belongings of

Nezihi Bey, including a coffee cup decorated with a star and crescent
presented to of culture and a Museum of Underwater Archaeology in a
resort
area through exciting and unique exhibitions that are mounted here
almost
every year.

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