Troia!

Last night we stayed in a nice hostel, and woke early this morning to pack the cars and head for Troy. It was raining at first, but by the time we got there, the sun had come out and it had warmed up considerably. We walked in the ancient city and saw how many times it had been re-built (12 times!) The sixth Troy was the one that we know from the Iliad, and the eighth is the one that saw Alexander the great. There were a lot of beautiful stone structures and whatnot lying around everywhere, but the most beautiful thing was a surprisingly well-preserved small amphitheater (yes yes, I know theatre people can't help it, but it really was amazing!) We got to walk on it and sit in the same seat that Alexander the Great had made for himself to see the theater.

We also saw the ruins of the house that Priam gave to Paris and Helen when he brought her back from Greece. Compared to the traditional size of the houses at that time, it was absolutely massive. They later fled to Bergama, the city that I am in now, and tomorrow we get to see the ruins of that place as well.

After Troy, we drove to Bergama and settled down at a beautiful place called the Athena Pension, which is a really old Ottoman house that has been renovated into a hostel. Edward took a lot of pictures of it, so hopefully I can steal some and upload them soon!

Once we settled down, we went to an amazing dinner, where I got my first real taste of Turkish food. IT WAS AMAZING! And I am really really full still, about three hours later. Then we took a walk and got to see the beautiful skyline from a high point in the city, and now we came down to rest.

Something of interest is that either 5 or 6 times a day, there is this extremely loud announcement that reaches every ear in the city, and it is a call to prayer. There was one about an hour ago, and apparently I should expect one at 5am while I am sleeping. It is eerie, but for some reason I kind of like it...

Its time for bed, because we have a very early excursion, followed by a ferry to Istanbul!

written by  NarSisyphus on August 11, 2008 from Bergama, Turkey
from the travel blog: Bulgaria, London, and everywhere In-between
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