Bodrum

Modern Bodrum is a bit like St-Tropez, only with belly dancers. Mega-yachts slide into the town’s twin harbours. Celebs lunch in trendy waterfront eateries. And bronze-limbed beauties lounge at wood-decked beach clubs. What’s the draw? For a start, the stop-and-stare scenery – think whitewashed houses dripping in bougainvillea, and olive-green hillsides melting into the Aegean. Then there’s the history – this place is home to one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World. And, of course, there’s its traditional Turkish charm. Bodrum’s jet-set following and blow-out night scene may have catapulted the place into the 21st century, but bazaars, belly dancing and backgammon are still the mainstay of life in these parts.......

Things to do in Bodrum

* Modern Bodrum is a bit like St-Tropez, only with belly dancers. Mega-yachts slide into the town’s twin harbours. Celebs lunch in trendy waterfront eateries. And bronze-limbed beauties lounge at wood-decked beach clubs. What’s the draw? For a start, the stop-and-stare scenery – think whitewashed houses dripping in bougainvillea, and olive-green hillsides melting into the Aegean. Then there’s the history – this place is home to one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World. And, of course, there’s its traditional Turkish charm. Bodrum’s jet-set following and blow-out night scene may have catapulted the place into the 21st century, but bazaars, belly dancing and backgammon are still the mainstay of life in these parts.

* Potter around the ruined Mausoleum of Halicarnassus. It might be no more than crumbling columns and fragmented foundations, but it’s one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

* Don’t miss Bodrum’s imposing 15th-century Castle of St Peter. Standing on a spit of land dividing the town’s twin bays, it’s home to an astonishing Underwater Archaeology Museum.

* Venture further afield and explore Ephesus. This is where the Temple of Artemis once stood and they’ve recently unearthed a gladiator graveyard – the first ever found.

* Pummukale is well worth a day trip. It started life as a Roman health spa and, over the years, the warm spring waters have solidified into bright white rock shapes and surreal-looking stalactites.