Bodrum Museum of Underwater

Bodrum Museum of  Underwater, one of the most important archeology museums in Turkey, is located in the Bodrum Castle. It is also important worldwide, with the exhibition of what was unearthed from the world’s oldest underwater wreck. This museum is one of the few museums in the world and one in Turkey.

“Uluburun Wreck“, the oldest shipwreck in the world, is on display in this museum. The Lycian Merchant Ship, which sank 3,300 years ago, belongs to the Young Bronze Age of Uluburun. It is 15 meters long and 5 meters wide. This ship capsized a very short distance from the port. The wreck was found 60 meters away. One of the important features of this wreck is that it is a ship whose origin and destination are known. The exit is thought to be in Egypt because the ship has the seal of the Egyptian Queen Nefertiti and the gold-plated Nefertiti statue on the nose of the ship. This shows us that Egypt is an important merchant ship. Those removed from the ship support this. There are more than 150 pine ingots on board, which are very important as they are the oldest and most complete glass ingots known. In addition, elephant tusks, hippo tusks, ostrich eggs and turtles used in making vases and musical instruments were found in the wreck.

Apart from these materials used as raw materials, gold goblet, gold jewelry, gold tiles, pots, food seeds were found. All of these allow us to understand the trade, cultures and characteristics of that time. Seeing this important shipwreck will make you feel like you have traveled in history. Also, as the wood of the ship has decayed in the past thousand years, a model made faithful to the original is exhibited in Bodrum Museum of Underwater.

Transportation:                                                                                    

Bodrum Museum of  Underwater is located in the Bodrum Castle, located on a peninsula on the beach in the center of Bodrum. You can reach Bodrum by regular bus services from all over the country. If you are coming from Datca, Didim or Dalyan, you can choose sea voyages.