History
It is believed that the Bodrum region was founded by the Arpolis Tribe of Karians in XI. Century B.C. According to Herodotus, Halikarnassos was founded by the Dorians in VII. Century B.C. and was in the "Hexapolis" confederacy which consisted of 6 cities. As a result of someone from Halikarnasos who won a game organized in honor of Apollo taking the trophy home instead of leaving it in the temple, Halikarnassos was taken out of this confederacy. After this event, the confederacy was called the Pentapolis instead of Hexapolis. The Lydian King Croissos was in charge of the city in 550 B.C. When the Lydian Empire was erased from history in 546 B.C., Carians had to recognize the Persian rule like the other nations. Halikarnassos which was a member of the Attica-Delos Sea Confederacy in 468 B.C. went under the Persian rule again in 430 B.C. and was ruled by the local Persians. During the reign of Mausolos (377 - 351 B.C.) the capital city was moved from Mylasa (Milas) to Halikarnassos. As a matter of fact, the palace of the famous Carian king Mausolos was on the hill of the city. The Mausoleum which is considered one of the seven wonders of the world was built after the death of Mausolos by his wife Artemis. Contrary to all the Carian towns, Halikarnassos resisted against he Macedonian invasion and served as a base for the Navy of the Lagos Dynast in Egypt. It became a subject of Rome in 192 B.C. and fell into the hands of the Rhodian seamen in 189 B.C. and Pontos king Mithridates for a very short time in 88 B.C. Halikarnassos was in Asia Province during the Roman period. The region which fell into the hands of Menteşe Ruler in the second half of the XII. Century was ruled by the Saint John Knights of Rhodes in 1415. Suleyman the Great conquered Bodrum along with Rhodes in 1552. Bodrum became a town in 1866. Gölköy and Türkbükü villages united in 18 April 1999 elections and became a new municipality in the name of MUNICIPALITY of GÖLTÜRKBÜKÜ. Gölköy's mythological name is Carianda. It was a coastal town popular with viniculture and wining in the Carian period. Türkbükü on the other hand was the ancient village of Madnasa. Rums owned the village before the Turkish the village and therefore called Rumbükü. The main source of living was fishing. It was named Türkbükü after Turkish took it.

Climate
The Mediterranean climate is in effect in the region. A long summer season is enjoyed (7-8 months). The temperature never falls under 5 C. The months of June and July are very hot, dry and crowded. Those who love Bodrum prefer the months of September and October called the "yellow summer". In "yellow summer", the sea water is a little cooler, the excessively high temperatures are down and as the Halikarnas Fisherman calls it "the human heights" are balanced. . The months during which the nature is at its most beautiful is between the months of January and April. The flora is very rich during these months.

Geographical Location and Natural Formation
Göltürkbükü district is within the boundaries of the Bodrum town of the city of Muğla and it is located to the north of the peninsula. It is bordered by the Aegean sea (Gulf of Mandalya) in the North and the East, Gündoğan town in the West and Torba in the Southeast. The area of Göltürkbükü is 580.000m2. The only wooded parts of the peninsula are to the East and South of Gölköy. The rest is bushy. Citrus fruits, especially satsuma (Rize tangerine) are grown. Fruit, almonds, olives are also grown. The most important feature of Gölköy is its palm trees.

Social Status
With a total population of 3250 which reaches approximately 12.000 in summer, the Municipality of Göltürkbükü is consisted of Göl Türkbükü villages. A nurse serves in Göltürkbükü and a health facility is being built to be opened soon. The health services currently have been carried out through the hospitals in Bodrum. There are two elementary schools in the district and other kinds of educational facilities are at the town center.

Economy and Tourism
Until the 60s, the connection between the coastal towns of Muğla including Bodrum and the big cities was very limited. Bodrum, which has been a port since very old times had always connection with the outer world via the sea. Its commercial relations were with Rhodes until it left the Ottoman Empire. Ships traveling between Istanbul and Iskenderun used to stop at Muğla's ports in the first years of the Turkish Republic. The locals whose economy depended on farming, fishing and sponging realized that tourism was a great source of income as a result of developing transportation and therefore concentrated in this sector. Thanks to the statement by which the Town of Bodrum has been given the priority as a tourist region by the Inter-ministry Tourism Committee at the beginning of 1970s, the town has been widely known in the whole country. Two new factors at the end of 1970s and the beginning of 1980s have helped the region to get acquainted with foreign tourism. The former being the yachting in the Mediterranean and the latter opening of the Bodrum airport. The number of facilities such as Hotels, clubs, bars and restaurants by the shore of Türkbükü and Gölköy have been ever increasing. In line with such facilities as one goes inland from the shore, the number of secondary residences have been increasing fast. Göltürkbükü has about 4000 bedding capacity in Hotels.

The Lake and the Palm Trees
The lake which Gölköy was named after and the palm trees surrounding it are the most natural characteristics of the region. Efforts have been spent to make the region which is under preservation a national park. The most significant characteristics of the Date Tree (Phoenix) of the family of Palm Tree (Palmea) is that it does not burn. This characteristic of the Palm Tree which has entered the world literature and grows in Crete and the Datça peninsula in our country was found out due to an unfortunate event. This fact was found out by Prof. Dr. Melih Boydak who made research on dates after the fire of July 1993. The dates have the ability to renew themselves thanks to their generally strong root shoots.

Cultural Activities
Municipality of Göltürkbükü is the place where many known Turkish artists get together, spend their vacations and settle. Türkbükü became famous after September 1994 by being the first and only village to organize its own arts and movie festival. Painting and sculpture exhibitions, fashion shows, folklore-dance shows, concerts as well as movie shows take place in "Türkbükü Art Festivities". It is also competitive in sports and therefore Gölköy Spor soccer team was founded in 1992. Successful Gölköy Spor plays in first amateur group currently.

Rock Tombs
In Göltürkbükü hills, known in ancient times by Lycian Madnasa, there are a lot of remains. The rock tombs, built in rocky terrain as interconnected chambers, are empty today. Close to half a dozen cisterns survived from ancient times.