Troy/Troia/Truva

A week ago we went to Troy. Mom has told the story about the tomb of Dardanos, which happened on the way.

Now I'm hoping you all know the basic story of the Trojan horse the Iliad the Odyssey etc, because it happened here. At first glance it's a bit disappointing; all ruins, nothing spectacular. However the mere size of some of the buildings is very impressive. Also the part you can see is only about 1/3 of the Troy that existed in the past you only see the "uptown" section, the acropolis.

The taller square thing is an altar; the two round things that look like wells are wells. This was the worship site for some god/goddess or other. There was a large temple to Athena on one of the highest points of the city.

The Government had sittings here and it's true what they say about amplification. Sam and I both stood just in front of the stage and whispered and the people up at the top could hear us, true it's not a big place but if I had stood on flat ground the same distance away and whispered no one would have heard me.

The only gate of Troy that the Trojan horse could have been brought in on.

Most Trojan houses were built of mud brick with foundations of stone. Thanks to fires some of the bricks remain but the majority of it is gone.

One view of the trench the infamous German Henriech Schliemann dug through Troy in search of treasure. He found it and took it to Germany where it remains, however the Turks are lobbying to bring it back. For more info on the treasure and Schleiman try http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schliemann#Life_as_an_archaeologist

The outside walls of the acropolis

One of the first things you see at Troy is this kind of column along a walkway.

A small display of water or sewage pipes and oil jars. Now Ali Baba's forty thieves hiding in oil jars doesn't seem so farfetched. But how did the stand? Well, they were anchored in sand for transport, according to Ali it made them steadier and less likely to fall over.

A small keychain I bought at the gift shop where we stopped for lunch.

Overall Troy was okay, not the most impressive place I've ever been to, but hey, it's still cool.