town, southwestern Turkey. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Kerme (ancient Ceramic Gulf) on the Aegean Sea, opposite the Greek island of Cos. It was built on the ruins of ancient Halicarnassus by the Hospitalers (Hospitallers), a crusading order who occupied the site in 1402. Their spectacular castle, the Petronium, or Castle of St. Peter, remained a Christian stronghold until the Turkish sultan Süleyman I the Magnificent captured it in 1522. The castle continues to be the town's major landmark. The town was briefly occupied by Italy between 1919 and 1921. Bodrum is picturesquely situated before a backdrop of green hills and is now a growing tourist resort. Pop. (2000) 32,227.