Running in Bodrum and Kos
I had spent some time working out the best way to get from Dublin to Kalymnos and, despite Ireland being the home of Ryan Air, the best route was via Istanbul to Bodrum with Turkish Airlines arriving at 3am at my hotel. This gave me the next morning to engage in "power tourism' as I needed to be on the 4.15 pm ferry to Kos.
I decided to orientate myself by getting out for a run via the major sites and, of course, "collect" the route in Runkeeper. A nice 7 km loop saw me pick up the harbour foreshore, the 5th century BC Theatre of Halicarnassus which is dug high into the hillside, the ruins of the Tomb of Mausolos and Bodrum Castle. I decided that the Castle and the Maussoleum warranted further investigation as, even though the Theatre was spectacular I saw all there was to see in my run by and iPhone photos.
A quick shower and change and I was off the the Tomb of Maussolos who ruled the area on behalf of the Persians for much of his reign from 377 to 353 BC. When he died his sister, who was also his widow, employed ancient Greek architects to build a monumental tomb. The word "mausoleum" is derived from this tomb which was considered one of the 7 wonders of the Ancient world. It stood for 1700 years and was finally destroyed by earthquakes and much of the stone used for other buildings. Today only the foundations and a few pieces of sculpture remain.
The Crusaders arrived in the area in 1402 and used the remains of the Maussoleum as a quarry to build the still impressive Castle of Saint Peter. The Knights Hospitaller (Knights of St. John) were given permission to build it by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed I, after Tamerlane had destroyed their previous fortress. The castle and its town became known as Petronium.
The Castle almost mirrors modern European cooperation as England, France, German and Spanish constructed defensive towers as part of the Castle. I wonder if the Germans had to bail out the Spanish who over-spent on their real estate, or, if the British threatened to withdraw their tower completely if the cost of castle administration was too high or if the French refused to defend for more that 35 hours a week?
In 1522, Suleiman the Magnificent conquered the base of the Crusader knights on the island of Rhodes, who then relocated first briefly to Sicily and later permanently to Malta, leaving the Castle of Saint Peter and Bodrum to the Ottoman Empire.
Even after all this I still had time for a 1km swim in the bay, a little lunch and then shift my bags to the ferry by 3pm for a 4.15 departure. All in all a very successful 12 hours in Bodrum!
An hour and 15 minutes on the ferry and I arrived in Kos. Not as spectacular as Bodrum and, after a little difficultly getting some money and finding out exactly where my room was located, I settled into a rather suburban hotel run by a lovely family. A short walk found me at a beach front restaurant for some fish and stuffed tomatoes.
The next morning I had a few hours before I needed to meet Kate and the girls at the ferry. So I loaded the camera into the back pack, with Runkeeper on the iPhone and set off towards town along the foreshore. I quickly looped around the ruins of 4th Century BC markets, Hippodrome, Gymnasium and Odeon before making my way back toward the hotel.
A quick swim in the ocean, shower and change and I was on my way to the ferry terminal in Matstichari with a new running route logged in Runkeeper.
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| Bodrum from the Castle with the Theatre of Halicarnassus on the hill in the background |
I decided to orientate myself by getting out for a run via the major sites and, of course, "collect" the route in Runkeeper. A nice 7 km loop saw me pick up the harbour foreshore, the 5th century BC Theatre of Halicarnassus which is dug high into the hillside, the ruins of the Tomb of Mausolos and Bodrum Castle. I decided that the Castle and the Maussoleum warranted further investigation as, even though the Theatre was spectacular I saw all there was to see in my run by and iPhone photos.
 |
| Not much left of one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World |
A quick shower and change and I was off the the Tomb of Maussolos who ruled the area on behalf of the Persians for much of his reign from 377 to 353 BC. When he died his sister, who was also his widow, employed ancient Greek architects to build a monumental tomb. The word "mausoleum" is derived from this tomb which was considered one of the 7 wonders of the Ancient world. It stood for 1700 years and was finally destroyed by earthquakes and much of the stone used for other buildings. Today only the foundations and a few pieces of sculpture remain.
 |
| An invasion by the EU |
The Crusaders arrived in the area in 1402 and used the remains of the Maussoleum as a quarry to build the still impressive Castle of Saint Peter. The Knights Hospitaller (Knights of St. John) were given permission to build it by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed I, after Tamerlane had destroyed their previous fortress. The castle and its town became known as Petronium.
 |
| Western European heraldic shield framed by a blue Aegean Sea |
The Castle almost mirrors modern European cooperation as England, France, German and Spanish constructed defensive towers as part of the Castle. I wonder if the Germans had to bail out the Spanish who over-spent on their real estate, or, if the British threatened to withdraw their tower completely if the cost of castle administration was too high or if the French refused to defend for more that 35 hours a week?
 |
| No wonder the Castle fell if this is how they maintained the cannon! |
In 1522, Suleiman the Magnificent conquered the base of the Crusader knights on the island of Rhodes, who then relocated first briefly to Sicily and later permanently to Malta, leaving the Castle of Saint Peter and Bodrum to the Ottoman Empire.
 |
| Bodrum harbour was full of these beautiful wooden yachts |
Even after all this I still had time for a 1km swim in the bay, a little lunch and then shift my bags to the ferry by 3pm for a 4.15 departure. All in all a very successful 12 hours in Bodrum!
 |
| Departing on the ferry to Kos |
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| The Roman Agora or markets at Kos |
An hour and 15 minutes on the ferry and I arrived in Kos. Not as spectacular as Bodrum and, after a little difficultly getting some money and finding out exactly where my room was located, I settled into a rather suburban hotel run by a lovely family. A short walk found me at a beach front restaurant for some fish and stuffed tomatoes.
 |
| Mixing my history, at the Roman Gymnaeseum in my (Athena) Nike gym gear, |
The next morning I had a few hours before I needed to meet Kate and the girls at the ferry. So I loaded the camera into the back pack, with Runkeeper on the iPhone and set off towards town along the foreshore. I quickly looped around the ruins of 4th Century BC markets, Hippodrome, Gymnasium and Odeon before making my way back toward the hotel.
 |
| The Odeon at Kos |
A quick swim in the ocean, shower and change and I was on my way to the ferry terminal in Matstichari with a new running route logged in Runkeeper.
