Mandarin is no ordinary fruit for Bodrum; it's almost the city's surname. In the 1930s, Mehmet Hilmi Bey brought the first mandarin saplings to Bodrum by boat from Kos and Rhodes; when the orchards took root in the fertile soils of Turgutreis, Bitez, and Ortakent, mandarin became the town's most important economic asset.
With the 1934 Surname Law, Hilmi Bey took the surname "Mandalinci"—a legacy still alive in present-day Bodrum. The Bodrum mandarin, grown in the western peninsula's orchards, is a thin-skinned variety with intense aroma, the subject of geographical indication studies.
This stop on the Agro route is a living example of how agriculture can shape a city's identity. As a visitable concrete location, the Mandarin Orchard in Dirmil is recommended (open daily 09-18); the belt extends across Ortakent-Bitez-Turgutreis orchards.
