Ancient City of Pedasa

Ancient City

On Gökçeler hill just above Bodrum, the peninsula's oldest Lelegian-Carian city — known for its walls, tumuli and commanding view over Bodrum.

Just above Bodrum, on Gökçeler hill overlooking Konacık, Pedasa (ancient Pedasos) is one of the oldest settlements on the Bodrum peninsula. Founded by the Lelegians — one of Anatolia's most ancient peoples — the city was considered one of the region's most strategic points in the Carian era.

The historian Herodotus recounts a curious belief that whenever the beard of the priestess of Pedasa's Athena grew, it was taken as an omen of dangers awaiting the city. In the 4th century BC, Mausolus, satrap of Caria, ended the city's independence by attaching it, together with the surrounding Lelegian towns, to Halicarnassus.

Today the ancient city preserves well-kept defensive walls, Lelegian-type tumuli (rock tombs) and the remains of a Temple of Athena. Very close to our hotel, Pedasa is reached by a short nature walk; the panorama of Bodrum and the gulf from the hilltop makes it a unique stop that unites history with nature.