Bodrum Kalesi

Bodrum's principal sight, the Castle of St Peter, now known as Bodrum Kalesi, with its tall, well-preserved towers, was built by the Knights Hospitallers of St John between 1402 and 1437 on the site of the islet of Zephyrion, now joined to the mainland. It replaced an earlier castle built on the site of the first Greek settlement. The Turks erected other buildings within the precincts of the castle, and in the Late Ottoman period it was used as a place of exile. As with the defenses of Rhodes, knights of the various nationalities in the Order were entrusted with the defense of particular sections of the walls. The English Tower, having a sculpted lion on its west wall, is also known as the Lion Tower (or "Arslani Kule").