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A hundred and seventy kilometres further west is Marmaris, another sunny vacation haven serving package tour vacationers and catering also to the yacht crowd who rent or come in their own.
Here is a view of the long pier on Kordon Caddesi where the tour boats seen in the last photo are tied up in the bay in front of the town waiting for the summer crowds.
It was quiet in the off season but one could imagine what it must be like in the summer from a look at the huge shopping centre at the other end of Kordon Caddesi.
Walking up Kordon Caddesi you come to a point east of which is one of Turkey's largest and most modern marinas just behind us in this picture. Looking west across Marmaris Bay you can see the crowded jumble of hotels, flats and pension that were hurriedly built to serve hordes of package tour vacationers in summer when the population swells to 200 000 from its winter level of 20 000.
Below, two shots of the old town and its small fort that lie directly inland, behind the restaurant on the point.
Past the point we come to Barbaros Caddesi, lined with boutiques and fine restaurants with terraces, leading to the Netsel Marina.
This side is completely different from the other side of the point. It is also more expensive.
The two photos of this panorama of Barbaros Caddesi were taken from the marina's breakwater. The top of the fort is barely visible over the red roofs near the point.
Schizophrenic Marmaris has an exclusive marina for the owners and guests of these luxury boats and cheap accommodations for the package tour crowds across the bay.
Bodrum, another 170 km west, was spared the bloated growth that hit Marmaris as tourism boomed in the last two decades.
I stayed with the Senlik family on Turkkuyusu Sokak not far from the otogar. They were friendly and made me feel at home by showing a sincere curiosity about who I was.
Turkkuyusu Sokak leads down to the Adliye Camii at the base of the peninsula where the Castle of St-Peter fortress stands between Kumbahçe Bay in the east and Salmakis Bay that forms the old harbour in the west.
A little further down Kale Caddesi we come to the Eski Camii on Iskele Meydani just below the fortress.
Salmakis Bay facing the two mosques on Kale Caddesi has now been transformed into a marina.
Ataturk Caddesi goes east to Kumbahçe Bay from where there is a good view of the Castle.
Here is the St-Peter Castle built by the Knights of St John in 1402 and reinforced by the Knights Hospitallers from Rhodes in 1522. The narrow Alim Bey Caddesi along the shore is lined with boutiques and restaurants all the way back to the fortress.
The St-Peter Castle is worth visiting for its historical vestiges and for the great views from the top of its towers.
This used to be the chapel, it was first converted into a mosque and then into a museum to hold the remains of a 7th century Byzantine ship.
Across the courtyard in front of the chapel is an interesting exhibit of amphorae recovered from the waters of south-western Turkey.
Of course, you can guess what this beautiful peacock has in mind, showing off his impressive tail like that to the drab peahen.
Here we see the French Tower (on the left), and the Italian Tower rising from the inner fortifications of the fortress.
This panorama, taken from the French tower, shows the ex-chapel-mosque and the entrance of the marina in Salmakis Bay.
And this one shows the remainder of Salmakis bay and the Castle's round German tower.
Finally, this one shows you how Bodrum has spread over most of Kumbahçe Bay (use your browser's slider to see the rest of it).
