The 9th International Ballet Festival will be held in the popular Turkish resort town of Bodrum this year from 15 August to 3 September.
Organised by the Directorate General of State Opera and Ballet, the Bodrum International Ballet Festival brings famous productions alive in the beautiful 15th-century Bodrum Castle of St Peter. Ballet companies from all across Europe interpret some of the world’s most popular ballets, with the 2011 festival kicking off with a show by the Istanbul State Opera and the Ballet Modern Dance Group.
This year’s performances – which all begin at 9:45pm each day – will include I, Don Quixote from the St. Petersburg Boris Eifman State Ballet Theater and Carmen, performed by dancers from the German Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater Schwerin.
Once known as Halicarnassus, Bodrum lies at the southern end of Turkey’s Aegean coast and boasts a rich cultural and historical heritage alongside all the elements of a great summer holiday.
History buffs won’t be able to resist checking out the ruins of the original Mausoleum – one of the Seven Wonders of the World. When King Mausolus, the Persian satrap (“protector of the realm”) of Caria between 377-353 BCE died, his wife, Artemisia, commissioned the kingdom’s most prominent architects and sculptors to design and build a funereal monument to her husband that would eclipse all others.
Sadly, in the early 1400s, the Knights Hospitaller of Rhodes were on the hunt for building materials to enlarge and strengthened Bodrum’s Castle of St Peter. They broke the Mausoleum to pieces and used them to create the castle’s walls. In 1522, other pieces of Mausoleum’s stone was crushed to make lime to strengthen the castle for defence against an anticipated attack by the armies of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent.
Today, you can learn about the history of the monument at the Mausoleum Museum on Turgutreis Caddesi at Saray Sokak or check out some of the stone lions and leopards from the Mausoleum, which are on display at the British Museum in London.
The impressive Castle of St Peter, a Crusader fortress which now serves as the world’s foremost Museum of Underwater Archaeology, is another of Bodrum’s must-see sites. The Castle now displays hundreds of artefacts gathered at first by Bodrum’s sponge-divers, and later by archaeologists, including tools and goods from shipwrecks which happened between the 16th century BC and the 16th century AD.
The castle is also responsible for giving Bodrum its modern name. Historically, it was known as Petronium – “Peter’s” – which became Bodrum – meaning cellar or dungeon in Turkish.
If beaches are what you’re after, Bodrum has plenty on offer, hence why it became known as Turkey’s original south Aegean seaside resort. If you fancy exploring other towns and villages along the Bodrum Peninsula, Akyarlar’s series of small, pretty bays are well worth checking out, along with Bitez, which offers dark sand beaches, perfect swimming conditions and spectacular sunsets.
Turgutreis, the largest town on the western shore of the peninsula, boasts a pretty waterfront promenade and sandy beach perfect for young families, whilst GümüÅŸlük is well known for its small, authentic waterfront restaurants serving traditional Turkish fare, and the ruins of ancient Myndos which lie just off its shoreline.
For more information, programme listings and tickets for this year’s Bodrum International Ballet Festival, visit www.bodrumballetfestival.gov.tr
(Image: bazylek100)
