As the sun broke through, in the early morning, we dropped anchor at Bodrum. For many centuries, this town held one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the famous Mausoleum. As in most places in present-day Turkey, different tribes and people have been passing through; and when the Crusaders arrived in 1522 the Mausoleum was dismantled and used as construction material.

From the ship we could see the reason for our stop, the Castle of St. Peter. Today it houses one of the most interesting underwater archeology museums in the world. Donald Frey, the director, started the morning with a lecture in preparation for our visit. The exhibits are the result of work done by Texas A&M University, and include many recovered marine artifacts as well as the oldest shipwreck ever discovered. This was found and recovered from Aegean Sea just off the coast of Turkey.

With Zodiacs we entered this very busy harbor. A short walk took us to the museum and everyone could enjoy the glass wreck display. Donald Frey and his crew were our escort through this very interesting castle, with a lot of different rulers in its history. Yes, the castle really shows well all the different cultures that have passed through the region. In the center you nowadays find a minaret.

Some of us stayed ashore for lunch; others went back for a Swedish herring lunch. Later in the afternoon some chose to go back just for a stroll and explore the town. Before dinner we were invited to a cocktail party at the museum to see the upcoming display, the Bronze Age Hall. A great end to a remarkably successful trip in the eastern Mediterranean. Tomorrow we will arrive in Kusadasi and some of us will continue for the great extension to Istanbul while others go directly home. For sure to this part of the world we need to come back. See you soon on our next voyage!