We suggested to friends Katja and Yves that we make a quick stop at the ancient city of Troy, and they agreed that was a good idea. It was only about 5 kms (3 miles) off our route. We set off at about 10:00am and arrived there at lunchtime. We had to take the ferry across the Dardanelles Straight, which meant that we would be crossing from the continent of Europe to the continent of Asia.
We have now RV'd in five different continents!
It was a beautiful blue sky day. Good thing for the sun, because the high was only 3C (37F), and it was windy. But to be honest, we would almost prefer this over a warmer day with steady rain. At least we can still get out and do things.
Following our friends Katja and Yves.
Hardly any traffic. A note about the roads. The speed limits make no sense at all. This beautiful 4 lane highway has a maximum speed of 90 km/h (54 mph). Which is fine with us, we never drive faster than that anyhow. But when you come up to an intersection of sorts, they post a 90 km/h sign, quickly followed by a 70 km/h sign, quickly followed by a 50 km/h sign. Then after the intersection, they post a sign saying that the 50 km/h zone is finished, but nothing to say what the speed limit reverts to. Then, they have some zones with speeding cameras where cars can go 70 km/h, but vans and trucks and buses can only go 50 km/h. But sometimes when the zone is over, they don't tell you, so you're stuck going slow until you feel comfortable speeding up when others start to pass you.
Scenery along the way.
They are building a new bridge across the Dardanelles Straight.
It was supposed to be open by May, but we doubt that it will be.
It's very impressive looking!
We knew that the ferry left once per hour at 15 minutes past the hour. We didn't make a plan to time our arrival because we didn't mind waiting if we had to. But when we got close, and realized that it was about five after the hour, we raced a little to try and make it, which we did.
Getting on the ferry.
This is Max's second boat ride!
The ferry cost 125 lira ($11.50 CAD, $9.25 USD). There are a couple of different ferry ports, we used the one at GPS 40.150546, 26.3788865
Some kind of old bastion.
The ferry arrived in the city of Canakkale. We found a place to park the vans and went for a walk. It was cold and windy, but there was an attraction we wanted to see.
Waterfront at Canakkale.
The waves were splashing up onto the walkway.
Katja and Ruth at The Trojan Horse.
This is the actual Trojan Horse that was used in the epic 2004 movie "Troy" with Brad Pitt. It was donated to the city of Canakkale after the filming was complete.
A model of what the ancient city of Troy looked like at some point in time.
The port at Canakkale.
Stray dogs and cats are well looked after in Turkiye!
We didn't hang around long. We headed to the archeological site to check things out. It's located about 30 kms from Canakkale.
We passed by this huge mosque.
Scenery along the way.
They wanted 45 lira to park in the very empty lot at the ruins, so we found a free spot and walked 1/2 a km back to the entrance. Then, it was 60 lira per person to enter, or 60 lira to see the museum. Or 100 lira each to see both. We chose to see both, so it was 100 lira ($9.25 CAD, $7.50 USD) per person. We're going to have to watch our entertainment budget because there is no off season price for the Turkish ruins like there was in Greece.
So much for our "quick" stop at Troy. It was an all afternoon event!
They have another Trojan Horse at the ruins site, but it's more for kids.
We had read some reviews about Troy when we were deciding whether or not to visit. The ruins are not in very good shape, so we kept our expectations low. But it's a unique site because 1) it's one of the oldest ruins sites in Turkey, the origins of which date back to between 3,500 and 3,000 BC, 2) it was continuously occupied for about 4,000 years, and 3) it was built in levels over the centuries and there are nine different levels.
These are the original walls from level 1, built about 5,000 years ago!
Katja, Ruth, and Yves.
This is a new dig that is currently taking place.
The nine different levels are marked off.
We spent about an hour and a half at the ruins, and then headed over to the museum. The museum was built in 2018. It contains artifacts from Troy, but also from the surrounding area. Many of the early treasure finds from excavations in the 1800's were smuggled out of the country and some are on exhibit in Russia and other parts of the world. In fact, some ended up at the University of Pennsylvania and have been returned to this museum. They are actively trying to get the rest returned.
Statue from the 4th century BC.
Made from bronze, 2nd century BC.
Relief carving on a sarcophagus from the 4th century BC.
Earrings.
More earrings.
Gold necklace.
Statue of Aphrodite.
It is about 12" (30 cm) high.
This statue is in good condition.
So is this.
It was after 4:00pm by the time we were done. But it's light out much later now that we've been through the one hour time change, so we decided to do another hour's drive.
Scenery along the way.
We found a waterfront spot in the town of Küçükkuyu at GPS 39.545, 26.60836
Photo taken at sunrise this morning.
Yesterday's drive, 189 kms (117 miles).
We are thinking about stopping at another ruins site today, but if we don't we will make it south of Izmir.
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And in Canada...
Wow 3,000 BC gold earrings! And bracelet, necklace! It's amazing how advance civilization was with buildings and statues. What did they use to keep the stone buildings (walls) together? Mud?
ReplyDeleteI don't believe the gold earrings, bracelet and necklace were from 3,000 BC, I am pretty sure they were from the 3rd century BC but they did have some items that were from between 3,500 and 3,000 BC on display.
DeleteDepending on what stage/level of building in the city there was nothing between the stones until they got to the final level where things were covered with a type of plaster and smoothed out and then possibly painted with frescoes. There was one section in the ancient city that was built with adobe bricks.
"The ruins are not in very good shape." Umm....
ReplyDelete(Just kidding... I know what you mean. Everything is falling apart. Except for Brad Pitt. He still looks pretty good.)
I know you are joking but really when it comes to ruins sites all that is left is the walls, compared to other sites we have seen. Luckily some of the artifacts that they had found we in great shape.
DeleteThe ruins are fascinating. Amazing how inexpensive the toll roads and ferries are compared to the American continent. I prefer cold over hot any day! Have a blast!
ReplyDeleteWe don't think the tolls are that inexpensive when they get added up they can amount to a fair bit, although we would just prefer to stay off the toll roads as much as possible. It is hard to avoid ferries though!
DeleteTrust me Chris, this is too cold and extremely windy, we would be happy to see some hot weather but we would be very, very happy with just warm weather at the moment.