Turkey: Troy

Continuation from here ... 

What's up with the horse? If you've watched Troy the movie before, then you'll know this legendary horse. 

 

In fact, this Trojan Horse, used in the film, was a gift from Brad Pitt to the town. 

Our tour guide picked us up at the hotel and off we went to visit the ancient city of Troy, famous for the legendary Trojan horse from the times of Beautiful Helen, Queen of Sparta and Paris, the Trojan Prince. 

It is only a short drive from Canakkale town, around 20 minutes or so.

Upon entering the site, we were greeted by a giant replica of the Trojan horse. 

 

You can climb inside and pretended to be Greek soldiers who helped sack Troy. 

 

The ruins of Troy are fascinating; among the highlights are the former city walls and the Roman Odeon where concerts were held. The foundations of many buildings as well as street plans were visible too. I would suggest you visit this Troy with a tour guide because except for the explanation in a mini exhibition outside the site, there weren’t any on site.  

According to our tour guide, the city of Troy had been built and rebuilt nine times over the centuries; each succeeding city has been built over the previous one after destruction from war or earthquake. We went from ruin to ruin, with the guide explained all of the cultural, historical, and folkloric background of each site.  

 

The first city of Troy existed during the early Bronze Age around 3000 BC. Over the centuries, leadership of Troy went from the Mycenaeans to the Achaeans to the Greeks to the Romans to the Byzantines before disappearing by 1462. The town was subject to frequent devastating earthquakes and the silting up of their harbour which contributed to the city losing influence. 

Troy had originally been a coastal, mercantile city; its location allowed the city to control the Dardanelles Strait and consequently all the ships that wanted to pass from the Aegean to the Black Sea (through the Bosphorus Strait). 

These days, however, the sea levels have receded and Troy is now standing atop a huge hill formed partially by nature and partially by the rubble of the previous settlements, surrounded by fertile farmland in all directions. The flat former sea-bed allowed us an unrestricted view back to Canakkale. 

During my visit, there was an active excavation going on. 

The excavation site was cordoned off and covered up by a huge canvas shade cloth. It is estimated that only a third of Troy has been excavated with much left to be discovered. 

Done with this UNESCO World Heritage, we were on a bus again. This time, it was 6 hours journey to Izmir.

Then from Izmir, we took a bus to Kusadasi and spent the night there.

 

Gotta recharge for our next tour...