No One Is Bored In Bodrum

The sun shines bright over Bodrum, Turkey. The water sparkles as Bodrum Castle stands tall against the Marina. The all-white town takes its cue from the Cyclades and to a lesser degree, Dodecanese. If there's one thing tourists like, it's all-white, historical looking towns. Bodrum doesn't have the same history that led to lyme whitewash  and blue trim as its Greek island neighbors – but it smartly took a page from their book. In reality, the white houses of the Cyclades and parts of the Dodecanese were implemented during the Spanish Flu Pandemic because it was believed that lyme curbed the spread of the virus. It didn't, in reality but what turned out to be a useless public health measure uncovered fantastic style and the dreamy white villaged islands were born.

The white buildings, stone facades and color of the Aegean are where the similarities to Patmos end. Bodrum is a beach resort town first and foremost for Turks. Foreigners are welcome and many Europeans and Russians looking for an Aegean seaside vacation find Bodrum a real value. If nightlife, vibrancy, shopping and smoking are your thing – then Bodrum works well. 

Having been to other Turkish beach towns – Antalya, Alanya and Kusadasi – Bodrum feels vaguely familiar. There's a Kaleci area – the old town in the shadows of the original Ottoman castle against the water. Kalecis are cool – usually with narrow, sometimes windy streets and invariably the heart of tourism. Kusadasi had the smallest, most commercial Kaleci I've seen. Bodrum's is quite large and seems split between one section that's just pure tourist commercialism and another side that still retains the vibe and feel that attracts visitors in the first place. 

The Marina is lined with tourist shops, restaurants and nightclubs. The energy is palpable and the town parties late. On the water are parked endless yachts and boats – many in traditional schooner style. Ridiculous pirate ship looking boats offer tours of the harbor and surrounding beaches. Michelle analogizes Bodrum as Turkish Miami. I can see that.

While I certainly haven't been everywhere in Turkey and I know Istanbul has a night life scene – I'm find myself taken aback by how for a relatively conservative country, Bodrum isn't. MASQ, a Marina open-air nightclub near our hotel had as much drinking, smoking and openly sexual physicality as any nightclub I've ever seen. Dress is sometimes immodest. The music is usually western and frequently explicit. 

That's not to say Bodrum is the New Orleans of Turkey, although perhaps it is. Most of what I've always known about Turkey is here too. Old men gathering at small coffee shops down tiny streets, barber shops hard at work trimming the beards and hairiness of guys like me (I had my best-ever shave and barber experience in Istanbul), doner kebab stands every 50 feet, restaurant "recruiters" who obnoxiously try to get you into their establishments as you pass, families strolling down the street together and smoking – everywhere smoking. 

With one notable exception at Hotel Evsen in Istanbul with its beds that practically suck you in and keep you asleep, I have always found Turkish hotels to be just a little less comfortable than they look. That's true this time around. Turkish breakfast – which hotels usually include – help counterbalance because a Turkish breakfast is a thing of glory. 

Then there's my absolute favorite thing about Turkey – dessert shops. Between the multitudes of varieties of baklava and baklava cousins and Turkish puddings, Turkey ranks a top – if not THE top – dessert country I've visited. Amazingly, there's a great Turkish dessert and breakfast shop at the corner near our hotel – as if God placed it there for me. We've been twice in less than 24 hours.

But wait a minute… we were just in Patmos. How did I find myself knee-deep in Mediterranean Turkey? It started simply enough.

"What if we go to Turkey tomorrow?!" Michelle said at 11:30 pm Friday night while we were in the middle of a movie. 

"Um, okay."

We had talked about it before and visited Astoria Travel in the front of town to get ferry information. So the idea wasn't novel or unexpected. We had just struggled go to commit both because we hadn't figured out our timing and because – at least for me – leaving Patmos always feels so unappealing. Call it a Patmos malaise.

It also doesn't help that, as mentioned, I've been to Turkey a couple of times and though I really like it, I know other than the baklava (please tell no one in Greece) there's nothing I like more about Turkey than Patmos. Still, Turkey was new for Michelle and with it being so close and just one or two ferry rides away depending on how you route it, the intrigue was calling.

Her argument made sense too. Neither of us has work Saturday or Sunday and if we went back Monday morning, we would be back on Patmos well before our evening work hours. Even then, our Mondays weren't too full. We only have one more weekend together here which is fine for enjoying Patmos, but not sufficient for a side trip to Turkey. Given the ferry schedules, two nights in Bodrum really gives us only one day to experience the town. It didn't seem like too much of a commitment and if nothing else, there had to be some good dessert in it.

So, late at night we jumped on Booking.com, found a well-located hotel and in the morning, I went to the travel agent to buy our ferry tickets and we packed our overnight bags. And that was that.

Ferry logistics meant we needed to take the fast-ferry to Kos where we connected to a Bodrum ferry – so it was a two-ferry solution that got us here around 6pm. Tomorrow morning, we'll go back the same way and be back in Patmos by 1 pm. 

It hasn't been a day with a lot to tell. We've explored the town – largely the Kaleci – had a great Turkish breakfast, Michelle went swimming at a beach bar/beach club while I wrote this blog and we have plans for dinner at a Mehane (mezze restaurant) in a really cute, windy, narrow-laned neighborhood. We also plan a visit to Bodrum's oldest traditional hamam for a real Turkish bath – a uniquely Turkish experience that is always one of my least and most favorite (there's always a point where I can't believe I did it again and another point where I exalt it as the best thing ever). Last night we also walked around and had dinner. Whatever we're doing, we're spending time and getting to know each other better – so the setting or activity isn't so critical, not that pretty areas and fun things aren't great. 

One thing for sure is that Bodrum is many amplitudes higher than Patmos. Intellectually, I can tell you it's actually a relatively mild and pretty seaside town. However, my system experienced some shock. Going from Patmos to Bodrum feels like going from orange juice to rocket fuel. Bodrum is far from New York or Hong Kong – but coming from Patmos, it sort of feels like stepping into one of those. But that's cool – I like those cities. I can get into it. It just takes a minute to get used to it. And in 19 hours I can drop back into a Patmos state of mind. Thank God. Patmos makes jelly of us all.

In 2019, when I wrote from Kusadasi, I dug into Turkish culture and history. I pulled in Orhan Pamuk. I talked Turkey. You can use the links I just provided if you want any of that. Bodrum doesn't especially inspire any of that. It's Turkey Lite – or perhaps looked at in another way, a beachside resort town with Turkish features. Except for that dessert and breakfast shop – it's bomb.