Well-known residents

The following are notable residents of Muğla province:
The historian Herodotus of Halicarnassos
Seaman Turgut Reis
Arms dealer Basil Zaharoff born in Muğla
Turkish orthodox church leader in Bodrum Zihni Özdamar, he worked to get the support of the church authorities for the Turkish War of Independence.
Painter Osman Hamdi Bey had his summer residence in Yatağan
Avram Galanti, prominent Young Turk and supporter of Atatürk in the Jewish community of Bodrum.
Şükrü Kaya, Minister of the Interior under Atatürk, born in İstanköy.
Turkish War of Independence general Mustafa Muğlalı
Founder of Cumhuriyet newspaper and key supporter of AtatürkYunus Nadi Abalıoğlu, and his son Nadir Nadi Abalıoğlu, from Fethiye.
Agriculturalist responsible for planting tea in the Eastern Black Sea region Zihni Derin, from Muğla
Necati Çiller, father of Prime Minister Tansu Çiller, governor of Istanbul in the 1950s, from Milas
The "Fisherman of Halicarnasoss" writer Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı, and his student Şadan Gökovalı

Nail Çakırhan, architect of the Akyaka Çakırhan houses and winner of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture ;
Amateur astronomer and president of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) Janet Akyüz Mattei of Bodrum.
Folk singer Muğlalı Memiş (Memiş Güniç)
Singer and fixture of the Bodrum nightclub scene for many years, Zeki Müren
Poet Can Yücel is buried in Datça, his home in his final years
Poet Erdogan Cokduru born in Marmaris
Former President Kenan Evren now retired in Marmaris, where he spends his days painting