The construction of the castle started in 1402 under the German knight-architect Heinrich Schlegelholt. Construction workers were guaranteed a reservation in Heaven by a papal decree of 1409. They used squared green volcanic stone, marble columns and reliefs from the nearby Mausoleum of Maussollos to fortify the castle.

For over a century St. Peter’s Castle remained the second most important castle of the Order. It served as a refuge for all Christians in Asia Minor.

The castle came under attack with the rise of the Ottoman Empire, first after the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and again in 1480 by sultan Mehmed II. The attacks were repelled by the Knights.

In June 1522 the sultan attacked the Order’s headquarters in Rhodes from the Bay of Marmaris with 200,000 soldiers. The castle of Rhodes fell in December 1522. The terms of surrender included the handing over of the Knights’ fortresses in Kos and St Peter’s Castle in Bodrum.

After the surrender, the chapel was turned into a mosque and a minaret was added. This mosque was called the Süleymaniye Camii, as attested by a traveler Evliya Chelebi, who visited Bodrum in 1671. The minaret was destroyed on 26 May 1915 by rounds fired by a French warship during the World War I. It has been reconstructed in its original shape in 1997.

Today Bodrum Castle is open to the public and it houses Bodrum’s remarkable Museum of Underwater Archaeology and also hosts several Turkish cultural festivals throughout the year.

Bodrum Mayor Mazlum Agan, who has held his post for two terms, is running again this month as the People’s Republican Party, or CHP, candidate. Talking about his projects, Agan said they will build a replica of King Mausolus’ Mausoleum, which is currently on display at the British Museum.

Stating they would erect the mausoleum near the 2,500-year-old Ancient Theatre, Agan said: “The place of King Mausolus’ Mausoleum is being visited by thousands of tourists every year. However, they can only see remains of the mausoleum. For that reason, we will build a model mausoleum on a one-to-one scale of the original mausoleum.”

King Mausolus’ Mausoleum

Mausolus, the king of Caria, ruled until his death in 353 BC. Queen Artemisia had a mausoleum built for her husband that was to be known as the finest tomb in the known world.

The mausoleum, standing at over 50 meters, is described as being an enormous white marble tomb with ionic columns to form a temple with a stepped pyramid roof topped with a carriage. Inside the carriage were statues of Mausolus and Artemisia, drawn by four horses. It stood relatively intact for almost 16 centuries until an earthquake in 1304 destroyed it and then it was further broken up in 1522 by the Knights Hospitaller, who used the material to build a castle.

The site has gardens with excavations to the right and a covered arcade to the left. The arcade contains a copy of the famous frieze mainly recovered from the castle walls. The original was sent to the British Museum in London in 1846. Four original fragments were discovered more recently.

source: hurriyet.com.tr