In 1893, during the reign of Abdulhamid II, Bodrum Castle took on a darker purpose as a prison.This sultan, known for phobia of plots against his absolute rule and his suppression of civil liberties, had many champions of freedom sent into exile or imprisoned, some in the Bodrum Castle.It was not only supporters of liberty who were jailed here.When reactionary fanatics tried to have Islamic religious law (Seriat) re-imposed in 1909, two of their foremost rabble-rousers were sentenced to life imprisonment in Bodrum Castle when the rebellion was defeated. Some captured mountain robbers also spent time behind the castle walls. After the turn of the 20th century bands of outlaws infested the mountains and forests robbing the rich and, sometimes, helping the poor.Some of their leaders, known as “Efe”, have been immortalized in folk songs and their dignified, deliberate demeanor and colorful costumes can be readily seen in Aegean regional dances. Like much of the castle, the Commandants Tower was destroyed during the shelling by the French warship 'Dupleix' in 1915.The tower has been rebuilt, furnished and decorated to reflect its state when it was the commandant's quarters at the beginning the Castle period as a prison. What makes this exhibit most interesting is that it contains the personal effects of the last Ottoman Turkish commandant who had actually lived in the tower, Lt. Ibrahim Nezihi. These memorabilia were donated to the museum by his daughter, Neriman Ata, who attended the opening ceremony especially scheduled to coincide exactly with the 77th anniversary of the death in battle of her father.By then promoted, Capt. Ibrahim Nezihi was killed in action at the very beginning of what is known in Turkish history as "The Great Offensive", on August 26, 1922, the start of the attack that culminated in Turkish victory in the War of Independence and the rise to power of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey. When Ataturk came to power, the prison was closed and the castle was abandoned.Over the next 40 years the depredation of time, an earthquake, added to the destruction wrought by the French warship 'Dupleix', left Bodrum castle in a very sorry state.....but then...