Marmaris Castle and Museum

Marmaris Museum provides service in the Marmaris Castle, which is a historical place.

The castle was built on a peninsula overlooking the sea behind the Marmaris Port. The first details regarding the Marmaris Castle were given by historian Herodotus from Halicarnassus (Bodrum), who lived between 490 and 425 BC. Herodotus stated that the castle was first built in the year 3 thousand BC. A Carian City during that period, Physkos (Marmaris) was a transition point between the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean as it is today. The port of the city has maintained its importance with trade routes opening to Egypt and Rhodes.

The only written sources mentioning the construction of the Marmaris Castle is Evliya Celebi's Seyahatname (Travel Book). Evliya Çelebi visited the Muğla region in the 17th century BC and wrote in his famous Seyahatname that the castle was built in 1522 by the Ottoman ruler Suleiman the Magnificent during the Rhodes campaign and this place was used to be a military base, also it has got a wall of 400 feet made of smooth stones.

Hafsa Sultan Caravanserai is located at the entrance of the narrow, stepped street. From the inscription on the gates, it is understood that the Caravanserai was built in 1545 by the Ottoman ruler Suleiman the Magnificent in the name of his mother. The building has to do with the purpose of the stay and trade during his Rhodes campaign. Caravanserai is rectangular and has two floors, consists of seven large rooms and a small bath. Lower floors of the building were used as shops, while the upper floors were used for accommodation, it is covered with arches. Marmaris Castle and Caravanserai show coherence specific to the complex structure of that period. The inscription on the entrance gate of the Caravanserai shows that it was built in 1545 by Ottoman Ruler Suleiman the Magnificent in the name of his mother. Its purpose of building is related with accommodation and trade during his Rhodes campaign. The caravanserai is rectangular and has two floors, consists of seven small rooms, one large room and a bath. Lower floors of the building were used as shops, while the upper floors were used for accommodation, it is covered with arches. Marmaris Castle and Caravanserai show coherence specific to the complex structure of that period.

A considerable part of the castle was destroyed by cannon balls of a French warship in 1914 during the First World War. Starting from the pre-republic period, the inner part of the castle was inhabited by Marmaris people until recently. It is known that there are 18 houses, one fountain and one cistern in it. 18 residential units located inside and outside the castle were expropriated by 1979.

Marmaris Castle was restored from 1980 and 1990 and opened to service as Marmaris Museum in 1991. There are a total of seven closed places in it. The cradle vaulted entrance opens into an interior garden. The stairs on the right and left of the courtyard provide access to the city walls. The indoor areas covered with a barrel vault are used as an exhibition hall.

On 23 2006, the Marmaris Museum was opened to visitors again with its new decoration and arrangement. The museum is arranged as indoor and outdoor exhibition, exhibiting a collection of works dating from the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine up to the Republic period in its halls and gardens. The other places are used as offices and storage houses.

You should definitely visit the Marmaris Castle whose exhibition halls were renovated in 2013 and thus reaching the capacity to exhibit more historical values. The Marmaris Museum is open to visitors every day except Mondays from 8:00 to 17:00 hours.

Marmaris Museum Telephone: 0252 412 14 59