Troy

For most of the last 3000 years, people assumed that Homer's Iliad was fiction, and that Troy (Truva in Turkish) never existed.

Then in 1863 a British expatriate named Frank Calvertdiscovered ancient ruins at a place in western Turkey called Hisarlık and was convinced they were Troy.

Heinrich Schliemann showed up in 1868, provided money for more digging, and took credit for discovering Troy.

Guided tours to Troy and the Gallipoli battlefields run from Altinoluk, especially in April around ANZAC Day. Some visitors think "there's not a lot to see at Troy," and that's true compared to Turkey's hundreds of other ancient cities such as Pergamum, Ephesus andAphrodisias.

But I get a thrill just from seeing Troy's ancient walls, climbing around the ruins, and gazing across theTroad (the plains of Troy) towards the waters of the Dardanelles and the hills of Gallipoli beyond.

You can also wander into the mountains east of Troy to massive Mount Ida (Kazdağı), a great place for a few nights' relaxation at a mountain inn.  Troy is impressive for its great age (the oldest ruins date from 3000 BC) and beautiful situation. The hokey wooden horse is just for fun (especially for kids).

The movie, with Brad Pitt and Diane Kruger, was released in May 2004.

Also, heading south, if you have time to wander, consider going off the beaten path by turning west atEzine to see the ancient sites of Neandria, Alexandria Troas, and the Smintheon, on a smaller road closer to the Aegean coast via Gülpınar to Assos (Behramkale). Signs point the way.

THE LEGEND OF TROY

İn 1300 B.C. , people lived happily and prosperously in the region of Troas on the northwest of Anatolia under the rule of King Priamos and social life was highly advanced.This luxurious and prospereus lifestyle was envied by its enemies and they constantly sought out excuses to attack and pillage Troy.But the walls of the city were very strong and virtually impenetrable. The king’s wife was excepting another child after Hector.during a dream at nigth,she sees that the city is engulfed in flames.She tells her dream to the king.And the king consults the oracles.The oracles tell him that this second child will be the end of Troy and he must be killed.The child is born and the named Paris but his mother cant bring herself to kill the child.She can only resist the pressures for a couple of months.They take the child to  rescues it by giving him her milk.Then a shepperd named Agelaos finds and adopts him.They name him Alexandros and teach him how to be a shepperd.He becomes a brave,strong,handsome boy.He sees that he is different from his other siblings.He meets a tree fairy named Lonone and marries her. During those times,Goddesses used tol ive on the peaks of mountains.These Gods shape the fate of mankind.They used to marry humans and produce half God,half man childeren.The God of the Gods was Zeus. On Mount Olympus, there was the wedding of Thetis, a beautiful mermaid and Peleus human. All the Gods and Goddesses   were invited, except for Eris,the Goddess of strife and discord Eris, who decides to crash the wedding, writes ''to the most beautiful on a golden apple and throws it in the middle of the banquet table .All the Goddesses who claim to be the most beautiful try to grab the apple. Finally, the apple is acquired by Hera, the wife of Zeus, Athena and Aphrodite. They present the golden apple to Zeus so that he can give it to the most beautiful one but he doesn t want to anger the Goddesses .He says that a shepherd called Paris on Mount Ida is fit for the job.The Goddesses .find Paris while grazing his sheep on Mount Ida.They  give him the golden apple and ask him to give it to the most beautiful Goddess. Paris is surprised when he sees three beautiful women.and pauses. .Hera tells him that if he gives her the apple  she will in turn give him the Asian Kingdom. Athena  on the other  hand,promises him infinite wisdom and succes and Aphrodite tells him that she
will give him the love of Helen of Sparta, the most
beautiful woman on earth. Paris gives the apple to Aphrodite. The other Goddesses are furious with Paris.

Paris does not forget this event. He always thinks of Helen.
When he no longer can wait, he takes his witfe and goes to Troy.His wife tells him that he should come  to see him if he's ever wounded.In the meantime, there are competitions in the city. He participates and wins. He is summoned by the King to receive his award. Paris's
sister Cassandra, an oracle, recognizes him and he reunites with his family. King Priamos sends his son Paris to Sparta as an ambassador to settle a dispute between the two cities. Paris meets Helen, the wife of King Meneiaus. When his father dies, Menelaus leaves for Crete. Paris and Helen are left alone. With the help of Aphrodite, Helen falls in love with Paris and they flee  to Troy. This gives King Agamemnon, the brother of Menelaus, the excuse he has been waiting for to attack Troy. He forms an army of a 1000 ships and comes to the shores oj Troy. The war lasts for 10 years. The Gods take sides. Hera and Athena are angry with Paris because he wouldn't give them the golden apple but Aphrodite is on Paris's side. Achilles is the son of Thetis and Peleus. He kills Hector. His body is unharmed by weapons because his mother has dipped him in holy water by dangling him from his heel. Paris kills Achilles by shooting him from the heel. He is also shot from his groin. He remembers what his wife said and asks for her help but she doesn't respond. Paris dies. His wife, regretting her decision runs to him, but it's too late so she kills herself. The war is going nowhere. Odysseus, a famous Achaean King,builds a wooden horse from the famous fir of Mount Ida. He and his troops climb and hide inside the horse. The Trojans are happy because they think the war is over. They believe that the horse is sacred and were built to honor of Athena so they welcome the horse inside the city. They eat, celebrate and drink wine all night long.While the Trojans sleep, Achaean soldiers climb out and open the city gates for other troops .They completely burn and destroy the city .They take Helen and return to their homeland. Aeneas, the son of Aphrodite and prince Ankhises, flees to Kartal Cimeni Plateau, a sacred site, along with other survivors, on the  peak of Mount Ida with the help of his mother. They build a Stone wall around themselves (this wall still stands at the crest of Kaz Daglari and is known as Kaz courtyard). They stay here for a couple
of years under the protection of Zeus. Later on, they go to Italy with the boats ,they built from wood on Mount Ida at the shipyards in Antandros and establish the city of Rome and the Roman Empire.