Holidays in Turkey are certainly increasingly popular with some remarkable beaches, luxury resorts and a spectacular coastline that changes from developed tourist destination to isolated countryside at the turn of a peninsula. At the western end of the south coast, between the Gulfs of Gulluk and Gokova, lies the city of Bodrum. Although it is surrounded by a varied choice of smaller holiday resorts, Bodrum itself is a popular location that offers an eclectic mix of ancient culture, indulgence in luxury and exciting modern trends. By day Bodrum revolves around two attractive bays, a busy marina full of luxury yachts, an ancient castle and long, palm-shaded promenades. By night in Bodrum comes alive with hundreds of bars and restaurants, outdoor socialising and some of Europe's most exciting nightclubs.

The warm, sometimes hot weather, in this part of Turkey has a number of influences. During the main summer season midday temperatures can be high, forcing many people to adopt the siesta tradition of retreating indoors, or at least into the shade, and taking things easy for a few hours. The knock-on effect of this midday lull creates, as it does in Spain, a tendency for the nightlife to start later and last longer. It's not uncommon for nightclubs in Bodrum to seem remarkably quiet earlier in the evening, but come midnight they are in full swing.

By far the biggest attraction is the Halikarnas night club that sits on its own prominent position overlooking Bodrum's east bay. From a distance, by day, you might mistake it for a quiet whitewashed hotel overlooking a beach promenade where a few fishing boats are tied up waiting for their next trip out to sea. But walk along here by night and the lights and sounds of Europe's biggest outdoor nightclub will soon hit you. The club, which can hold over 5000 guests, has been operating in Bodrum for almost thirty years and finding such a venue totally outdoors is a unique and unmissable attraction.

On a smaller scale, but also popular, is The Whitehouse, with its famous Spiderman dance act. This nightclub is housed in a Victorian style building and is made more pleasant by its frontage onto the beach. Other choices for after dark venues include the Marina Yacht Club and the Deja Vu disco.

Hadigari is a smaller scale version of Halikarnas, located at the western end of the east bay, under the shadows of Bodrum Castle. Again, the weather here allows this club to operate largely outdoors which swells its capacity to 2000 people.