Fodor's Expert Review Mausoleum of Halicarnassus
Little remains of the extravagant white-marble tomb of King Mausolos, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World—and the source of the word mausoleum. During the 4th century, Bodrum (then called Halicarnassus) was governed by King Mausolos. Upon his death in 353 BC, Queen Artemisia, his wife and sister, ordered the construction of the great white-marble tomb. At almost 150 feet in height, it must have been quite a sight—a towering rectangular base topped by Ionic columns and friezes of spectacular relief sculpture, surmounted by a pyramidal roof, and crowned with a massive statue of Mausolus and Artemisia, riding a chariot into eternity. The Mausoleum stood for over a millennium, but the 15th-century Knights of St. John plundered its stones to build the Petronion, while 19th-century Brits carted many of the surviving sculptures off to the British Museum. Admission price is relatively high for what little you'll see, but it does offer a rare opportunity to reflect on how... READ MORE
Little remains of the extravagant white-marble tomb of King Mausolos, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World—and the source of the word mausoleum. During the 4th century, Bodrum (then called Halicarnassus) was governed by King Mausolos. Upon his death in 353 BC, Queen Artemisia, his wife and sister, ordered the construction of the great white-marble tomb. At almost 150 feet in height, it must have been quite a sight—a towering rectangular base topped by Ionic columns and friezes of spectacular relief sculpture, surmounted by a pyramidal roof, and crowned with a massive statue of Mausolus and Artemisia, riding a chariot into eternity. The Mausoleum stood for over a millennium, but the 15th-century Knights of St. John plundered its stones to build the Petronion, while 19th-century Brits carted many of the surviving sculptures off to the British Museum. Admission price is relatively high for what little you'll see, but it does offer a rare opportunity to reflect on how a Wonder of the World has been reduced to fallen masonry and broken columns. The site also contains a bare but interesting earlier underground burial chamber.
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