Troy, Turkey

Troy – a city located in the northwestern part of Anatolia, near the Dardanelles and Mount Ida, is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Troy is known for the most part because of the Trojan War (and that very horse), described in many works of the ancient epic, including the famous Odyssey and Iliad by Homer. See EDUCATIONVV.COM for education and training in Turkey.

How to get to Troy

Troy is located 2 km from the Canakkale- Izmir highway (D550/E87), from which you need to turn off at the Troy or Truva sign.

The closest city to Troya, Canakkale, is 30 km north of it. From there, buses run every hour to Troy, departing from a stop under the bridge over the Sari River. The bus ride will take about half an hour.

Buses leave regularly during the summer, but otherwise it’s best to arrive early so you don’t miss the last bus back.

Troy Hotels

Most of the hotels are located in Canakkale, so tourists most often stay there and come to Troy for one day. In Troy itself, you can stay at the Varol Pansiyon, located in the center of the neighboring village of Tevfikiye.

Opposite the entrance to Troy is the Hisarlik Hotel, owned by local guide Mustafa Askin.

Restaurants

There are not many restaurants in Troy either. The Hisarlik Hotel mentioned above has a cozy restaurant with home cooking, open from 8:00 to 23:00. If you opt for it, be sure to try guvec – meat stew in a pot.

In addition, you can dine in the Priamos or Wilusa eateries also located in the village. Both restaurants serve Turkish cuisine, while the latter is well known for its meatballs and tomato salad.

Entertainment and attractions of Troy

Near the entrance to the city there is a wooden copy of the Trojan horse, inside of which there is an opportunity to go. But it is better to do it on weekdays, because on weekends it is filled with tourists and it will be quite difficult to climb or look around inside. But, when visiting Troy in winter, it is quite possible to get a horse for sole use.

Next to it is the Museum of Excavations, which exhibits models and photographs that tell how the city looked like in different periods. Opposite the museum is the Pithos garden with water tubes and earthenware pots from that time.

But the main attraction of Troy, of course, are the ruins. For visitors, the city is open daily from 8:00 to 19:00 from May to September and from 8:00 to 17:00 from October to April.

Having a guide would be of great help in getting to know Troy, as the ruins of many buildings are quite difficult to identify on their own, and due to different historical layers, they are all mixed up.

Troy was destroyed and rebuilt 9 times – and from each of the restorations in the city, something remains to this day, although amateur excavations in the 19th century. turned out to be extremely destructive.

To see the city, it is most convenient to use the road that surrounds it in a circle. To the right of the entrance you can see the walls and tower of the period of Troy VII (that is, the city as it became after it was rebuilt 7 times), belonging to the period when the city most closely matched the descriptions of Homer in the Iliad. There you can go down the stairs and walk along the walls.

Then the road will lead to brick walls, partially restored, and partially preserved in their original form. Above them is the ruined altar of the temple of Athena, along which the walls of the early and middle periods run, and opposite – the houses of the rich inhabitants of the city.

Further, the path passes by the trenches left from the excavations of Schliemann, to the palace complex, also belonging to the period most likely described in the Iliad. To the right of the palace are parts of the sanctuary of the ancient gods.

Finally, the path leads to the Odeon Concert Hall and the city council chambers, from where you can return along the stone road to the place where the tour started.

Around Troy

30 km south of ancient Troy is the no less ancient Alexandria of Troy – a city founded by the commander of Alexander the Great Antigonus in 300 BC. e. However, this vast archaeological site, unlike the popular Troy, is almost unmarked. Accordingly, it is hardly possible to figure it out on your own, without deep knowledge of ancient history.

Noteworthy are the outskirts of the village of Gulpinar, where the picturesque ruins of the temple of Apollo, which was built in the 5th century BC, are located. BC e. colonists from Crete. The westernmost point of Asia – Cape Baba – is interesting for its fishing port Babakalekoy (Babakale, Babakale, “Baba Fortress”), where there is a charming Ottoman castle of the 18th century. Here you can also refresh yourself by swimming either right among the boulders framing the harbor on both sides, or by driving another 3 km to the north to a nice equipped beach.

Another highlight of these places is the town of Ayvacik, 30 km east of Troy. At the end of the week, merchants from all over the country flock to the local market, the best souvenir from here is a colorful carpet. If you are lucky enough to get to Ayvadzhik at the end of April, you can catch the traditional annual gathering of the nomadic peoples Paniyr. At this time, bright dance and musical performances, noisy bazaars, where thoroughbred horses are exhibited, are arranged around the city. In addition, 25 km to the south lies the ancient Assos, whose name caresses the ears of more than one admirer of antiquity.