Entering Assos

So far nearly every time that I leave Istanbul I pass through Cannakale at some point. My current trip is no exception as it was the first evening’s destination. I am not in anyway complaining, as I really like the city. It is a really nice midsize city with good, cheap food, genuine people and a great waterfront walk. It is the base for Australian travelers who come for their pilgrimage to Gallipoli, so I think the local economy reaps considerable benefits from this arrangement.
I only stayed there because I could not get to my intended destination before it got too late. The focus of this trip is ancient Roman and Greek cities of the Aegean coast. For the most part the things I have seen have been from the Byzantium Church period, but now I am going back even further to the Hellenistic world with its pillared temples dedicated to the Olympian gods.
Assos was my first stop. It is an out of the way place that is often overlooked by most tours and backpackers. I will admit that it does not occupy a terribly significant place in ancient history, especially compared to Pergamum or Ephesus. However, for the romantic interested in ancient philosophy it is a significant stop, for it was a place where Aristotle lived for three years during his biological studies. For Church history it was also known as a place that St. Paul met St. Luke before they voyaged to Lesbos, which is just a couple kilometers off the coast. It has also been on my mind for a while for it is the location of an annual philosophy conference that I was hoping to go to but was prevented, for it corresponded with the last class for my private class.

You can see part of Lesbos through the window of the wall (I would ove to visit some of these Greek islands but they are not so easy to get to from Turkey)

The town itself it actually called Behramkale, and it is another peasant village where the tourists and villagers peacefully clash. Actually, there were not that many tourists. It is a place that wealthy Turks go for a seaside holiday, and it is generally neglected by the backpackers. I can see why. The affordable pensions are on the hilltop which is quite a walk to the harbor (there was also a beach that I did not discover until I left).

Ampitheatre (one of several that I will see)

The ruins, like Cappadocia, were divided into the free and the paid portions. The paid portion on the very top was not spectacular, but the view was astounding. There were not that many people there, so I could take my time and allow my imagination to set in. The ruins on the side of the hill, including the gymnasium where Aristotle taught, were actually a goat pasture; I was pretty much the only person there. As you can tell from the pictures the ruins, especially the wall and the theatre are well reconstructed, greatly assisting the imagination in its own reconstruction work.

The harbor was incredibly picturesque, but also quite posh (on the way in I saw a small caravan of BMWs).

In sum it was a very nice place, and I should have stayed longer than a day and a half. For some reason I felt drawn to carry on. I am in Bergama now, so there is more to follow.