Physcos was the historical (Hellenistic) name for present day Marmaris. The name Marmaris is derived from marmaron (Greek for marble) and was assigned by the Ottomans around 1300 AD.
Marmaris is a resort town and its economy depends mainly on tourism. During tourist season the population swells from around 40,000 to 250,000 and more. Because of the large and well protected bay, the area is a heaven for boat owners. With two major marina’s and a few smaller ones, yard facilities, chandleries, protected anchorages and the Turkish Riviera around the corner, the “yotty” will find everything he needs.
According to Greek historian Herodotus there was already a castle at this location in 3000 B.C. As is common with castles, they get destroyed and are rebuild by the powers that be at the time, in this case: Greeks (Aegean civilisation) – Persians – Greeks again (Macedonian Kingdom) – Romans – Byzantines (East Roman) – Ottomans and since 1923 Türkiye. In 1798 the British Admiral Nelson organised his fleet in this bay for the attack on the French at Abukir in Egypt.
The castle got lovely restored and reopened in 1990. It houses a small museum, has a wonderful view over the bay and is a highlight when visiting Marmaris. (click image to enlarge).
The mock-up of amphora stacked in a ships hull is one of the displays in the castle museum. An amphora is a container with a pointed bottom which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storage. The pointed bottom allows for “nested” stacking up to 5 layers high.
The necks of amphorae are narrow for pouring by a person holding it by the bottom and a handle. The pointed base also allowed for upright storage by embedding in sand. Racks were used in kitchens and shops. The base also concentrated deposits from liquids with suspended solids, such as olive oil and wines. The interior was sealed with resin to prevent permeation. Amphora were cheap compared to the returning cost for re-use so they were disposed off when empty. There was a significant degree of standardisation in some variants; the standard wine amphora was about 39 litres. Amphorae often were marked with a stamp and inscriptions that provided information on the production and content.
The fishermen- and merchant houses of Marmaris old Roman harbour and the settlement on the hill behind the castle are lovely transformed into boutique hotels and restaurants
The new developments West of the old town are geared towards mass tourism with large hotels side by side on the beach.
There is one more hystorical building in Marmaris: the caravanserai, built by Magnificent Sultan Süleyman. He was the longest reigning sultan (1520 – 66) during the golden age of the Ottoman empire.
A caravanserai was a roadside inn where travellers could recover from their journey. They supported the flow of commerce, information and people along the traderoutes.
It turned out that we had to stay in Marmaris much longer than anticipated, due to a mishap (to say it lightly) with our old boat. See: https://www.twobatsea.com/shipping-disaster/. We balanced our work with the pleasures that Marmaris and Türkiye (new spelling) had to offer.
Thank you for reading this chapter of our blog. To be continued.
Liza and Frits