turkey; troia {troy} & bergama {pergamum}

{Tuesday October 29th}

October 29th is Republican Day in Turkey; 90 years since the Republic of Turkey was formed!  We got up this morning around 6:30 to get ready for the day and went to the dinning room for a buffet breakfast at 7am. There was a very nice variety of foods this morning, including pizza, helva, and lots of cheeses. After breakfast we gathered our things and met at the bus at 8am. Before we boarded the bus, there was a lady selling knit socks and mom bought a pair. 

Once we were all on the bus, we travelled 35km out of the town of çanakkale towards Troia (Troy). Along the way we got some mythological and historical information. 

Trojan horse used in the movie 'Troy'

The inhabitants of Troy are referred to as Trojans, and the Greeks are referred to as Acheans.  The wife of the Priam, king of Troy, had a fire in her stomach, so she sought the advice of the oracle. The oracle advised her that the son she would bear would cause trouble, so when he was born she sent him to the forest to live.  There was a banquet that all of the gods and goddesses were invited to with the exception of Eris (Mars; roman title - goddess of discord) and her brother Ares (god of war).  The goddess of discord went to the banquet anyways and put a golden apple on the table to the most beautiful. There was a large quarrel amongst the goddesses, so there was a beauty pageant to determine who was the most beautiful.  There were three finalists, so they went before Zeus to receive his judgement but he sent them to a shepherd (Paris, who was the boy left in the forest). They all tried to convince Paris that they were the most beautiful by offering him different things. Paris chose the goddess that promised him the most beautiful mortal woman, and he later fell in love with Hellen of Spartan. Paris abducted Hellen from Spartan and brought her to Troy. When the king of Sparta realized this, he brought all of his army to Troy to take her back. 

Historically, this area around the Dardanellen and Truva was very prosperous so most likely the war was actually economical in nature and was meant to conquer a beautiful and prosperous city. 

There was a fierce battle, but they were not successful in conquering the city, so the Spartans decided to play a trick. They left a horse at the gate of the city with soldiers inside it and waited until the city accepted the gift and was drunk to attack them. 

Ruins at Troia (Ancient city of Troy)

We arrived at Troia (Truva/Troy) shortly before 9, and saw a wooden horse that is what is believed to be what was described in Illius odyssey. From there we followed a pathway that winds through the ruins. We saw ruins from the 9 different troys, some dating back to as early as 3000bc. It is difficult to wrap your mind around standing next to an object that is 5000 years old.  The scenery and the whole area is stunning landscape.  Just before we left, I got a delicious ice cream bar with berries and chocolate. 

Shortly after 10 we were on the road again, about a 2 hour drive heading to Pergamum for lunch. Along the way in Edremit we stopped for a bathroom break and I got a couple magnets that are Turkish tiles with the Turkish motif and tulip on them.  

A little further down the road, we stopped at a restaurant for lunch. I had a pide (pee-day; Turkish pizza) which was very delicious.  It's a canoe shaped pizza with a very thin crust, and thin toppings; kind of like a thick meat spaghetti sauce with cheese on top. 

Just outside of the contemporary town of Pergamum, on the hilltop, is Acropolis. This was the center of Hellenistic culture (the crossing of western and eastern culture).  

Hillside theatre at Pergamum

We got out of the bus and entered the gondola that would take us to the top.  The gondola was very nice and fairly new. It was an incredible view on the way up, and it only got better at the top. Once we reached the top of the gondola, we passed a couple vendor stalls and then received our entry tickets. We proceeded into the ruins and assembled in an open area, where Dr. T explained the different areas of the ruins and pointed out the highlights. The ruins were discovered when the railway was being built, and they were in need of more stone. After his explanation, we had 45 minutes to explore the ruins on our own. It was not a long time to take everything in, as the landscape and the realization of where you are standing is quite breathtaking. Pergamum was one of the seven churches written to in revelations. They had a "stadium" on the hillside that would seat 10000; it was very interesting but also quite steep, so looking over it made me feel a bit light headed and sick.  The sun was starting to set as we were there too, so that made the scene even more captivating. 

Ruins of the Temple at Pergamum

Before we got on the gondola to descend again, mom and I got a fresh squeezed orange and pomegranate juice. It is pomegranate season here now, and it was delicious. 

Once we reached the bottom again we boarded our bus and headed towards Kusadasi; it was about 3 hours to our hotel and we stopped once along the way just for a quick bathroom break. 

Coming into the town of Kusadasi, there was a republican day celebration on the Main Street, so we took some back roads to get around. We arrived at our hotel shortly after 8. It looked very nice in the courtyard, with a bright lit up pool, which was disappointingly very cold. We were all given our room keys and headed to our rooms to quickly drop our things before dinner. Our room is not what we were expecting and was quite disappointing.   The beds are very hard; not just firm.  It is not what I would call a four to five star hotel but nonetheless it will work fine.  

We went to the hotel restaurant for a buffet dinner but there was not much selection so again it was disappointing. I was quite excited to see butter with the bread, as everywhere serves bread but nowhere has butter with it, but it was unsalted and did not quite satisfy my craving. 

After dinner around 10pm we headed back to the room for an earlier night.  My stomach hasn't quite settled down into its proper place yet after looking over the edge of the world, so I am looking forward to a good rest.  All in all it was a great day, and I am very much looking forward to all the sights in store for tomorrow! 

J.
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