Halicarnassus, Bodrum, Turkey

The site of today’s Bodrum, the discovery of Halicarnassus is widely attributed to The Dorians. The location of the siege between Alexander the Great and the Persian Empire,  Halicarnassus was ultimately conquerored in the 5^th century BC, by the Persians.  After shaking free from the grip of the Persian rule, the city became the capital of the independent province of Caria and the seat of the Carian Kings. The most famous of those kings was Mausolus who reigned between 377 and 353 BC. He was commemorated with a mausoleum, which was attributed as being one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World together with the Great Pyramid at Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria. 

In 1409 AD Halicarnassus was fortified by Knights Hospitaller of St. John of Jerusalem. Named to honour St. Peter as Petronium, the ruins of the castle remain to this day; interestingly materials from the mausoleum were used in the fortification of the castle.

Halicarnassus was also the birthplace of the Greek historian Herodotus.