I left my campsite at Kilitbahir early and headed north. I could have caught a ferry across to Canakkale, which would have halved my journey but I want to ride over the big suspension bridge that spans the Dardanelles Straits. Yeah, it’s just a bridge, so what..? Well, the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the world. It is 4608m long, has 70m of clearance below and it took 5 years to build. Yep, it’s just a bridge, but I was happy to cross it as it’s one of the engineering wonders of the present world.
I wanted to stay at Guzelyali as it was halfway between Troy and Canakkale, which meant I could spend a day in Troy and then a day at the maritime museum in Canakkale – with a real submarine to walk around – but I also saw there was a campsite at Troy, so that became my Plan B. After a short ride of around 110kms, I arrived at the campsite just after 12, and in reality, it’s just a taverna with three holiday apartments plus two small grass plots for tents. And it’s brilliant. My tent is in shade beneath a palm tree and the toilet and showers are great. I can also eat tonight in the Taverna, and best of all, it’s right across the road from the Troy museum, with the ancient ruins just two minutes ride down the road.
Once I got the tent up, cooled down with a shower, I sauntered across the road to the Troy museum. There had been a settlement at Troy since 3600BC, and the museum has lots of items from the 4000 years that Troy was habited. It also gave lots of information about the history, as well as it being wonderfully air conditioned. It cost 12eu to get in and the modern museum, besides being air-conditioned, is spread over three floors. There is also a cafe on the ground floor – which sells ice cream…
The following day I went to visit Troy – which was an actually an ancient city. The first fort dates from around 3600BC and was occupied for 4000 years. There were 9 different cities, all built on top of each other – just like a cake. When they wanted to rebuild, either to improve, or after a siege or an earthquake – they would just level what was there and then build a new Troy on top.
The poet Homer wrote the Ilyad in 700BC, with the hero Odysseus setting off on a quest. During his quest he ended up with the Achaean who had set siege to the city of Troy. The reason for this was because the King of Troy’s son, Paris (who apparently was a good looking lad) had eloped with Helen and taken her back to his home in Troy. Helen’s father was an Achaean (Greek) King, and he wasn’t happy at all, so when Helen wouldn’t come back to her kingdom, her Dad mustered his army and set siege to Troy.
It was here that the two best warriors of the time clashed. Hector and Achilles. Achilles slain Hector, and after lots of fighting there was still no headway, so Odysseus suggested they make a wooden horse, secrete some soldiers inside and leave it as a gift for the Trojans. The Trojans accepted the gift, wheeled it into the castle, then the soldiers crept out during the night and opened the gates – and that was the end of Troy.
There are 9 different eras for Troy, and they think the Odyssey is based around the 5th era of Troy. The 7th era is Greek and the 8th and 9th era’s are Roman. The Romans levelled the site around 1BC and built temples, first to the Gods and then to Christianity. Around 600AD it was abandoned and the remains were discovered in the 1850’s by a British amateur Archaeologist.
