The coastline around Bodrum has a rich history dating back many through thousands of years of rule by Persians, Ancient Greeks, Crusader Knights and the Ottoman Empire. All that has left the area scattered with enough relics and artifacts to keep today's archaeologists very happy and the museum in Bodrum is a popular attraction for them.

An exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York included 350 pieces from all over the eastern Mediterranean that showed how culturally development the ancient civilisations were and how they traded with other populations by sea. Some of the artifacts came from an ancient shipwreck that was discovered near the Uluburun Cape in 1983. The ship not only contained items of local origin but also pieces from as far away as Cyprus, Syria and Egypt. The pieces loaned by the Bodrum Museum included a small bronze goddess statue, heavy stone anchors and a ceramic ram's head.

The museum opened in 1961 and is located in The Bodrum Castle of The Knights of St.John on the harbour. It prides itself on the way in which its items are displayed in appealing and relevant contexts. This is no dull and dusty collection, but rather an inspiring and intriguing showcase of the ancient civilisations that once ruled this part of the world.

The museum was ranked one of the top 12 in Europe in the European Museum of the Year Awards 1995.