The name 'Ortakent' means 'Middle town' and, lying in the centre of the Bodrum peninsula on the main Turgutreis-Bodrum  road, Ortakent is ideally central base from which to explore the region.

The beach is long and wide, with cooling off-sea breezes which provide relief from the intense summer heat and speed up the tanning process.

Between the beach and the village lies a green, fertile valley with fig, olive and mandarin trees, and neat market gardens typical of the agricultural backbone of this area.

When passing through the village, it is worth making a short detour to see the seventeenth century 'Mustafa Pasha tower', built for defensive purposes, and one of the best surviving examples of this type of structure.