A Weekend at MedBodrum: Inside Macakizi's new cultural festival

INSPIRATION | CABANA TRAVEL | WORLD OF CABANA

Ebullient Turkish hotelier, collector and all-round bon viveur Sahir Erozan has long held ambitions to bring global attention to his beloved Bodrum. For decades, his iconic hotel, Maçakizi, has been a magnet for artists, rock stars and intellectuals, but Sahir is now broadening the offer - hosting an annual cultural extravaganza called MedBodrum. Luciana Bellini was among the first to experience the festival. She shares a behind-the-scenes postcard.  

BY LUCIANA BELLINI | CABANA TRAVEL | 10 JULY 2025

MedBodrum: a cultural extravaganza on the Turkish Riviera © Macakizi

If you looked up ‘bon vivant’ in the dictionary, I wouldn’t be surprised if you found a photo of Sahir Erozan next to the entry. The owner of Maçakizi – the most glamorous hotel in Bodrum – is the living, breathing embodiment of the phrase, never seen without a Cheshire cat grin on his face, a glass of something chilled in one hand and a lit cigar in the other. Often described as a Gatsby-esque figure, what this man doesn’t know about having a good time isn’t worth knowing. Which is why last year he decided to launch his very own cultural festival, MedBodrum, to celebrate everything that makes Maçakizi and this sun-soaked slice of the Turkish Riviera so special.

“I’ve thrown plenty of big parties in my time, some at the Venice Biennale, some at Art Basel, and I suddenly thought, ‘Why am I always going somewhere else? Why don’t I just do something in Bodrum?’” says Sahir. “But then the question was, what to do? I knew I wanted to include a little bit of art, and gastronomy is our thing [at Maçakizi] – that’s an art in itself. Then the missing link was music, because you listen to good music while you're eating. So, that’s how we came up with the idea for MedBodrum.”

Held in May, the festival is a three-day cultural extravaganza split across Maçakizi, Villa Maçakizi – the hotel’s opulent private residence just across the bay – and an iconic Bodrum landmark. The inaugural festival last year included artworks by Antony Gormley and Marina Abramovic, performances from Skip Marley and Bebel Gilberto and a lavish dinner at Bodrum Castle. Sahir’s close friend Kate Moss flew in for the occasion.

This year, the offering was more streamlined. Instead of multiple artists, the festival was curated by the Turkish artist duo :mentalKLINIK, who brought their playful, cinematic approach with a kaleidoscope of neon lights, mirror balls and dazzling light beams. Headline music acts came in the form of American Grammy, Oscar and Golden Globe-winning rapper and actor Common, Senegalese-American singer-songwriter Marieme – who performed a hauntingly beautiful set in the 4,000-year-old ruins of Iasos – and Cuban superstars Buena Vista Social Club. Food was dished up by some of the most talented chefs from around the world, including three-Michelin-starred Chicco Cerea of Da Vittoria in Bergamo, two-Michelin-starred Fernando P. Arellano of Zaranda in Mallorca and Maçakizi’s head chef Aret Sahakyan, who also has a star to his name. 

Championing Turkish talent was one of the driving forces behind launching MedBodrum, as Sahir tells me over a strong coffee on Maçakizi’s sun-dappled terrace. “The main interest of the festival was Bodrum, so I didn’t want to feature a foreign artist this year, because we wanted to show what we are capable of here,” he says. “Then the challenge is on the other artists to make it better, if they can. I want to make people understand it's not all about foreign brands – we have some kind of recognizable action in this country.” 

Neon lights, mirror balls and light beams designed by Brussel-based artists, :mentalKLINIK © Macakizi

Bodrum has long held a special place in Sahir’s heart. It was here that his mother, Ayla Emiroğlu, founded a laid-back hotel in the late Seventies, which became a magnet for artists and intellectuals. “My mother was ahead of her time – she was like the Queen of Paris in Bodrum,” says Sahir. “At her place, you could go to the bar and find Mick Jagger and Bette Midler hanging out. Back then Bodrum was very bohemian; it looked like Positano. I really miss that.” Sahir joined forces with his mother in the 90s and moved the hotel to nearby Türkbükü where it was transformed into Maçakizi, a harmonious marriage of his mother’s rustic style with his own vision of contemporary luxury.

It’s that same boho, anything-might-happen spirit that Sahir brings to MedBodrum, where, he explains, the many different artists and chefs “don’t come just to perform, but to belong.” That’s why you’re just as likely to find yourself lazing on a sun lounger next to one of the headline acts – as I did with Common, the day after his set – as you are to be tearing up the dancefloor with them. On the boat ride back from the Iasos ruins on the Saturday night, it was the Buena Vista Social Club musicians who were front and centre on the dancefloor, grooving until the small hours.

As for the theme for this second instalment of the festival, ‘Terribly Happy’, Sahir admits that was an easy one to choose. “It’s said there’s a ley line in this bay for happiness and I believe it. Every time I come here, my energy changes. My breathing changes and I feel happy. And it's easy for me to sell it to you because I'm happy.” That feeling certainly seems to be infectious, with the enthusiasm never waning over the three days of the festival, which encompass a sophisticated late-night fiesta at Villa Maçakizi on the Friday, a spine-tinglingly beautiful sunset trip to the ancient ruins – complete with an operatic performance from a crumbling temple in the middle of the sea – on Saturday and a relaxed Sunday on Maçakizi’s famed beach deck, serenaded by the Buena Vista Social Club. The crowd – all personally invited by Sahir – is as glamorously eclectic as you’d expect, a blend of chic creatives and collectors from Istanbul, models and TV presenters from Athens, stylish partygoers from Berlin and hedonistic revellers from Ibiza.

So, what’s next for MedBodrum? Sahir says he has lofty ambitions for the festival, hoping it will put Bodrum on the map as a cultural destination. “It makes us proud to show what we can do and I feel lucky to be able to do this,” he says. “Slowly but surely, I will turn it into something bigger than it is.” A cross between Burning Man, Art Basel and Coachella, there’s nothing else like it on the global scene right now – and given the fact that experiences have become the new obsession for luxury consumers, they’re sure to be clamouring for an invitation next year. But for Sahir, there’s only ever been one aim for the festival: to showcase Bodrum in all its glory. “This place, it’s always made me happy. I want to share that with other people; I want to do something for Bodrum.”