Troy

Here I am looking over the planes of Troy as the ancient kings would have done. This is a life size replica of the famous Trojan horse. The design is based on images from ancient coins.

I have finally had the chance to visit one of the pinnacles of my journey to this land-the ancient city of Troy. For many this sight is a disappointment on account of the lack of spectacular columns and their lack of knowledge of the greatest epic of mankind. For me it was a disappointment of another kind; I was rushed!

For the second day in a row I was blessed with having Captain Ali as my guide. Again he made the tour. Unfortunately because of deadlines, we had to blast through the sight, barely having enough time to take a picture let alone get a chance to absorb what was being seen. I did however learn a lot from this sage and much of it is worth the telling.

The cite was first inhabited as early as 3000 B.C. From that time to about the 1st Century A.D. there was a succession of 9 cities, the Homeric city being the 7th at around 1200 B.C. This being said, it is no wonder that there is not much left. In the1870’s a German archaeologist named Heinrich Schliemann set out to find the old city using keys from the text. He came upon a large mound located about a mile from the Aegean shore and near the Scamander River, and began the process of uncovering the layers of sediment that buried the ancient cities. In doing so he is recognized as one of the forerunners of Archeology.

Here is Ali in the foreground with some of the ruins in the background.

This is the passage leading to the entrance of the seventh city. It was around a corner so as to prevent attackers from being able to use battering rams. It was one of the most intact part of the wall that Poseidon built for the ancient Trojans.

This was the best shot I could get of the plains surrounding Troy, where Achilles and Hector had their famous contest of arms. I wanted to get a better sense of the outlying area, the place where the actual fighting occurred. If I go back I want to spend some time exploring this area as well. Apparently the shore is much further back then it would have been 3000 years ago due to sediment deposit.

If you look closely you can see four different placards showing the ruins of four different cities. I could not get them all in, but in this spot there are ruins from 7 of the different cities.

This was a very special spot. It is where all the cities had their sacred temple for sacrifice. One of the slabs is an alter and the two grated cylinders are actually wells. While we were there we saw a bird fly down 50 m to get a drink of water. Apparently the birds in the area instinctively know that the well contains water.

This was a ramp at the entrance of the second city used to help the chariots build momentum as they repelled attackers.

I do intend on going back toward the end of my time in Turkey. I need to be there for a while and absorb what I am seeing. For me this is a very special site as I have read parts of the Iliad numerous times, and have read a few other books depicting tales from that war. Overall I was impressed with my first experience of a tour, but I think that I will avoid them from now on. I needed to see how to go about getting around in Turkey and I think that I accomplished that. I know enough about ancient history and have access to numerous books, so what is most important for me is to be able to “be” in these places, not just “see” them.