Troia

Eceabat, from the ferry

I found out later, this reminds Turks
that they fought and died
to preserve the  Dardenelles

So, where were we? Oh, yes. Canakkale, on a ferry to Eceabat for my Troy excursion, only to discover that it started from Canakkale! I have crossed the Dardenelles more often on this trip than the entire Allied Forces managed in World War I!
The Troy tour started by collecting Dinah and Bob from their hotel. This couple of Australians now resident in New Zealand had travelled down the Gallipoli peninsula with me and Jayne and Garth the day before but were booked on a different itinerary. It was pleasant to catch up with them again, in spite of the guilty feelings of having delayed their tour by 30mins.

The Dardenelles (and the weather)

Architect's impression of
the fabled Trojan Horse
(Not as convincing as Hollywood's in Canakkale)

We were then driven down to Troy (about 40kms south of Canakkale) along a huge freeway that is still in the final process of being completed. This allowed the driver/tour guide to make up some time as he had the little Renault we were in up to 140km/h quite a bit. (More on driving in the Mediterranean shortly.) The day was heavily overcast and it was raining by the time we got to Troy. Still, as the Turks say: "We are not made of soap; we will not melt."

The Nine Layers of Troy
(Troy VI enlarged)

The Nine Layers of Troy
(cross-section)

Troy is a complex site to understand and to present here. There have been nine Troys through history. The first one was established 5000 years ago. The famous one, from Homer's story was Troy VI, although our guide made a persuasive case for it being Troy VII (circa 1250BC). The ruins that are revealed on the site are layered over each other and not easily distinguishable to the untrained eye. I have lots of photos that are going to end up being labelled "Troy" rather than "Troy I" or "Troy VII" or whatever because you just can't tell and I'm already forgetting what some of them were about.

Panorama of Troy

There were a number of things that I found interesting about Troy. The fact that there was a settlement there from over 4000 years but it's now just farmland (and a tourist site) was interesting in itself. the silting up of the harbour that used to be the point of Troy is probably the crucial explanation of that. The growth and decline of the 'city' was also fascinating: from a small walled stronghold through to a substantial town with a ring wall defense and then into decline as a provincial hamlet, all of which can be found within the ruins, was interesting. There were some elements of the construction that were really interesting: a two-door entry defense system that prevented battering ram breach, the massive ramp to a main gate, from as early as Troy II, and the key evidence that the guide presented for the case that Homer's Troy was Troy VII, not Troy VI - that the towers in the main battlement wall were not joined onto the curtain wall, indicating later addition.

Tower and Defensive Wall (Troy VI)

The Tower and Wall are not joined (Evidence that Homer's Troy was Troy VII)

Batter down the door at end of R wall Then find another door around curve ahead!

Panorama of Former Harbour

Panorama of the Aspect of Troy I

Scenes of Troy II

Original Mud Brick construction from Troy II (with modern infill)

Original dwelling from Troy II

Troy II defensive wall

The other interesting thing about the site was the patchwork history of excavation and archaeology on the site. Schliemann, the German amateur archaeologist who is credited with discovering Troy, was an amateur on many levels and really only a treasure-seeker. His early work didn't set a high-standard for site preservation, allowing workers to carry off marble and other materials from the site for their own purposes. Subsequent work has been more disciplined, but the site doesn't show the benefit of carefully managed archaeology as other sites I've visited on this trip do, in my opinion.

Schliemann Excavation

Original trench (Tree marks  spot where treasure found)

Further Schliemann Excavation, crossing four Troys

Panorama of Defensive Wall and Ramp to Troy II

Sacrificial Altar for Entry to Troy (#?)

Sacrificial Alter and Wells at Entry to Troy

Wall/Platform where Troy's Leaders/Priests sat to receive offerings entreating entry

Your correspondent in Troy

The Field where Agamemnon Formed-up his Forces Against Paris

Later Greek and Roman Troy (VIII and/or IX) Ruins

Odeon

Entry to Troy (#?)

Theatre (Centre-top)

The Whole Site

The weather cleared up a little by the end of the tour (it stopped raining) and we had a lovely cup of apple tea at a local cafe/tourist trap before speeding back to Canakkale in an attempt to make the 4:45pm ferry. We arrived at the dock at 4:46pm as the ferry was drawing away, so we were stuck with the slower 5:00pm ferry. Our delay meant that the bust back to Istanbul was delayed by at least 30mins, which I noted was the same delay that I'd put into our Troy tour, so I (briefly) carried over guilty feelings for that.

We arrived back in Istanbul in the fullness of time and I got off the bus early to have a bit of a walk through the Sultanahmet at night to my hotel. i was welcomed back warmly and retired to bed quite tired. Of course, I was woken by the call to prayer at 5am. I will never get used to that.