Bodrum Windmills

Overview

The Bodrum windmills stand in a row on Değirmenburnu, the ridge between Bodrum and Gümbet bays. There are eight of them, built of stone, and they look across the town to Bodrum Castle. From the 18th century, they ground the grain of the peninsula. Today their sails no longer turn, but the row still marks the skyline above the town.

Where the Bodrum windmills stand

The ridge lies in the Eskiçeşme neighborhood of Bodrum. Below it, Bodrum bay opens on one side and Gümbet bay on the other. To the north, the old walls of Halicarnassus run past the Myndos Gate.

Quick facts

• Good for: views over two bays, old stone mills, a sunset
• Best combined with: Bodrum Castle, the Mausoleum, Yalıkavak and Gümüşlük

History of the Bodrum Windmills

Grinding the peninsula's grain

For generations, these mills ground wheat and barley for Bodrum. Families carried their own wheat up the hill on donkeys and camels, and then took flour home for their bread. The sails kept turning into the second half of the 20th century. After that, electric mills took over, and the windmills fell idle.

Mills once stood on other hills too. Elsewhere on the peninsula, groups stand at Yahşi, Peksimet and Karakaya, while others rise on the hills and shore of Yalıkavak Marina.

How a stone mill worked

Each mill is a tower with thick walls of rubble stone, narrow openings and a conical roof. Inside, the wind drove the millstones that ground the grain. So milling took skill. First, the miller set the openings of the sails to the strength of the wind. He dressed the millstones and looked after the gear.

The Ridge Today

Eight mills in a row

The eight structures line up along the ridge from north to south. The widest one, at the southwest end, differs from the others in size and plan. All of them are registered cultural property. Still, every mill stands on private land, and the owners differ from plot to plot.

In 2026, Bodrum Municipality and the local branch of the Chamber of Architects ran a national design competition for the ridge. Its aim was to bring the mills and their surroundings back into the cultural and tourism life of the town. In July 2026, the jury chose its winners from 78 entries.

Views from the Bodrum windmills

From the top, you look down on Bodrum and Gümbet bays at once. To the west, the view runs across Gümbet bay toward Bitez, and it is a popular place to watch the sunset. Because the walls of Halicarnassus run just to the north, the ridge pairs well with the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. About 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles) of that wall, between Bardakçı and the Myndos Gate, opened to visitors in 2021 with walking paths.

Around the ridge

The ridge holds more than mills. Three old cisterns stand in the Değirmenburnu area, built to catch rainwater under vaulted roofs, with troughs in front. Local tradition credits Mimar Sinan with such cisterns, built for the army of Süleyman the Magnificent in 1522. The cisterns that survive on the peninsula, however, date from the 19th and 20th centuries.

On the western slope, museum experts identified a half-moon ancient quarry with a large rock tomb. To the south, the Haremtan headland runs out between Gümbet and Bardakçı bays, still largely free of buildings. To the north, the Myndos Gate was the western gate of Halicarnassus, on the road to Myndos at today's Gümüşlük. In 334 BC, the defensive ditches in front of it held back the attacks of Alexander the Great.

Visiting the Bodrum Windmills

Getting to the Bodrum windmills

Dolmuş (a shared minibus on a set route) minibuses run on Haremtan Sokak, just north of the ridge. They link the area with Bodrum center, Gümbet and Bardakçı. There is no marked car park, so we drive you up. The ridge’s future plans are part of the municipality’s windmill design competition.

Before you go

On our Bodrum peninsula tour, the windmills are the first stop of the morning. Your driver takes you up the hill, and from the top, you see the bays on both sides. The mills stand on private land, and no opening hours are published, so we view them from the ridge. Afterward, the day continues to Yalıkavak and Gümüşlük and Ancient Myndos. For the castle and the rest of the town, start with our Bodrum guide and Bodrum Castle.

Updated: October 26, 2026.

Seeing the Bodrum Windmills with Us

Would you like to start a day on the peninsula above the two bays? Our Bodrum peninsula tour begins at the windmills, then heads to the yachts of Yalıkavak and lunch at Gümüşlük. The windmills open the day; send a date and we will set the pickup.