For our third and final day on the Aegean coast, we decided to head over to the ancient city of Troy. We took a dolmuş over to Troy. Oddly enough, the domuş driver also doubled as a newspaper delivery man and and a mailman. He picked up and dropped off various items in small towns on the way. I suppose this is how the route is economically viable (especially in the winter when there are few tourists). At any rate, the detour was neat because it allowed us to see some of the smaller villages of the Aegean coast from the van.
We finally arrived at Troy where I was able to get a permanent Muze Kart instead of the temporary one that I had been carrying around from the exchange commission. The best part about this is that the cards usually cost 10 Lira but since I had a temporary one (which was given to me by the exchange commission for free), I was able to get my muze kart for free as well.
Once inside Troy, the first thing you can see is the model horse that was created in the 1970s. You can even climb inside it! It was fun to climb on. Troy was surprisingly quiet while we were there. I saw only two other tour groups and small other groups of people. I am not sure if it was because of the economic crisis, the fact that it is far away, the fact that it is winter or some other reason. When we came into the actual city, the first thing you can see are the remnants of the city walls. They are actually quite tall still, approximately 10 feet in the interior and 20 feet towards the side facing the coast. It was neat for me to gaze onto the coastal plain and imagine what it must have been like as a Trojan to see a Greek army standing out there trying to conquer your city! I love it when history comes alive for me like this! After the city walls, you can see the inner walls that were excavated from the earliest settlement of Troy. These walls are actually made of mud bricks rather than rock. You can also see the original foundation of Troy at this site. Another neat aspect is the layering. The archeologist have dug out part of a hill where you can see the dirt layer for each distinct time period of Troy's existence. We also saw the tunnel (one of the first man made in human history) that carried water into the city. There was also a Trojan amphitheater where music and shows were performed. All in all, I thought seeing Troy was a really neat experience as it is such a famous site in the ancient world. Our trip to Çanakkale would not have been complete without it!
Upon returning to Çanakkale, Ohad and I found a bus back to Istanbul for 30 Lira (10 Lira cheaper than the one on the way there) and made the long journey home.
One interesting thing about the bus travel here is that it is actually pretty nice. When you get on the bus, not only do they have a satellite TV on, they also serve you a drink and a snack (much like the airlines do). The bus seats are pretty relaxing and its a pretty good experience. It seems a lot nicer than Greyhound actually! However, bus travel really helps me understand the lack of infrastructure, even in the developed west. The trip took 5 hours and the distance was only 211 miles. Furthermore, the roads in some of the rural areas were very bumpy and a bit rough. It was good to get out of Istanbul for a weekend and even better to think that I may have seen some of the "real" Turkey.
We finally arrived at Troy where I was able to get a permanent Muze Kart instead of the temporary one that I had been carrying around from the exchange commission. The best part about this is that the cards usually cost 10 Lira but since I had a temporary one (which was given to me by the exchange commission for free), I was able to get my muze kart for free as well.
Once inside Troy, the first thing you can see is the model horse that was created in the 1970s. You can even climb inside it! It was fun to climb on. Troy was surprisingly quiet while we were there. I saw only two other tour groups and small other groups of people. I am not sure if it was because of the economic crisis, the fact that it is far away, the fact that it is winter or some other reason. When we came into the actual city, the first thing you can see are the remnants of the city walls. They are actually quite tall still, approximately 10 feet in the interior and 20 feet towards the side facing the coast. It was neat for me to gaze onto the coastal plain and imagine what it must have been like as a Trojan to see a Greek army standing out there trying to conquer your city! I love it when history comes alive for me like this! After the city walls, you can see the inner walls that were excavated from the earliest settlement of Troy. These walls are actually made of mud bricks rather than rock. You can also see the original foundation of Troy at this site. Another neat aspect is the layering. The archeologist have dug out part of a hill where you can see the dirt layer for each distinct time period of Troy's existence. We also saw the tunnel (one of the first man made in human history) that carried water into the city. There was also a Trojan amphitheater where music and shows were performed. All in all, I thought seeing Troy was a really neat experience as it is such a famous site in the ancient world. Our trip to Çanakkale would not have been complete without it!
Upon returning to Çanakkale, Ohad and I found a bus back to Istanbul for 30 Lira (10 Lira cheaper than the one on the way there) and made the long journey home.
One interesting thing about the bus travel here is that it is actually pretty nice. When you get on the bus, not only do they have a satellite TV on, they also serve you a drink and a snack (much like the airlines do). The bus seats are pretty relaxing and its a pretty good experience. It seems a lot nicer than Greyhound actually! However, bus travel really helps me understand the lack of infrastructure, even in the developed west. The trip took 5 hours and the distance was only 211 miles. Furthermore, the roads in some of the rural areas were very bumpy and a bit rough. It was good to get out of Istanbul for a weekend and even better to think that I may have seen some of the "real" Turkey.
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