[Turkey] Troy

So I talked a bit about the history of the Trojar War in an earlier post. But that's only a slice of it. Or it can be 0% of it, because the war itself is part of a Greek myth..

But slowly, ruins of the Trojan Was has been discovered. Much, if not all, credit goes to no one but Heinrich Schliemann, a German archaeologist. I know this already sounds boring, but hear me out if you want, it's a hell of a Cinderella story. So I also mentioned that a poet named Homer left two writings called "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey", which ultimately tells a story about the city Troy and how it was destroyed throughout generations of war, fire, and earthquakes. Of course no one believed it because Homer is just a poet, who writes his stories in fiction. But this guy, Schliemann, becomes absolutely obsessed with the Homeric writing, especially with The Iliad, which focused more on various Trojan battles, that he starts to believe that the city actually existed. With no support, he started a project to excavate Troy, and ended up finding everything that the today's world knows about Troy. The whole project wouldn't of even happened if it wasn't for him being a rich businessman who had no other way to spend his leftover fortune. Since then, the UNESCO, Chrystler, Mercedes Benz, various universities, and many other institutions are funding this project and restoration of Troy is still taking place today.

So I went to this city today. Many people I met on the road told me not to go, that there's nothing there and it's a waste of time. But many people also aren't aware of the true reason of why not much has been discovered yet (that it was only discovered by Schliemann in the 19th century). Also, one thing I've learned from my travels so far is that, "the less there is left, the more history it has gone through". It's simple. Think of it, if there's a perfectly preserved pyramid, shiny and crisp, would you believe that it's 3000 years old? Would you find a church that has not been touched more interesting than a church that has gone through war and is half destroyed? This is exactly why I said previously that the ability to imagine, with certain amount of knowledge, is a huge asset while traveling. So yes, Troy may not fit expectations of many people, but I was not going to take it off my itinerary and hell, I'll go again if I had a chance to.

The horse #2
Right by the entrance is a display of the Trojan Horse (again). The one I posted previously is much more like the real one in size and texture. This one is simply a gift given by the UNESCO. Obviously, the Greeks would not put windows when they're objective is to hide from the Turks.

For about 5 minutes I debated on whether or not to climb inside..part of me said I should because it's considered as a "must-do" when coming here, but a greater part of me felt uncomfortable climbing into the part of the horse where the ladder led to..
UNESCO couldn of helped by placing the entrance elsewhere. Just saying..

"If something makes you stop and think, just do it" is what I try to live by. So this slight uncomfortableness and embarrassment wasn't going to stop me. Here I go, into the black hole..

Quite normal inside



Ruins
The ruins itself was fascinating. Certain parts of buildings were barely remaining, and I had to read every description to help me imagine what the palace actually looked like. What's even more fascinating is that this excavation started only recently. Not many people were there, true to what my guide book said, which was "if it wasn't for the movie, no one will visit this place". I bet people who come without that information will expect to see what they saw in the movie, and leave the place with heads low (in disappointment).

What the entrance to the palace is thought to have looked like

What is left today

Where they would have musical performances for Trojan residents.

One of the most recent discovery is a cave a bit outside of the palace. 1600 meters long and assumed to have been used to transport water into the residential areas.

Extra

Tempted to the max to add these to my tumbler collection (which is like 4)..

Japanese tourists. They arrived just when I was leaving (thankfully). There must of been 200 of them in total..I didn't have the balls to talk to them so I hid in the horse.

No one on the bus.