Day 20, Troy, May 23

Today we’re on the bus at 7:30 AM. We leave Izmir on our way to Troy. Only about 110 km or one and a half hours. The architecture in Izmir is modern. And like most cities in the world, it doesn’t escape graffitti!

We head into the countryside and suddenly a warning alert goes off in the bus. It turns out to be a driver alert that announces our driver needs a mandatory day off. Akmed cannot work 7 days in a row by Turkish law. We do have a second driver on board so all is well.

W arrive in Bergama, Asklepion around 9:30 AM. The weather is mostly cloudy. Temperature is 20C (68F). Parchment Paper was created here. Books were also first created here.

Architecture is 70s era. The farmland is rustic. We visit Pagamon (or Bergama) ruins and marvel at more ancient artifacts including a sacred fountain. Then we are on the bus for 2 hours to our lunch stop.

We stop at Yasa for lunch and I have a Turkish pizza. It is delicious! I also like to photograph police cars around the world as most of them are quite different. Even tunnels through the mountains have a uniqueness to them.

We are heading through the Canakkale (pronounced kaan-a-kaal-E) province of Turkiye (the official spelling of Turkey). About two hours after lunch, we arrive in Troy, about 30 km from the city of Canakkale. The city of Troy is very interesting. It’s not even close to the stories I heard as a child or in school. There are approximately eleven layers of Troy, seven plus layers of the city, having been built upon itself many times. There are several discovered Amphora vessels that presumably held wine at one time. Earthquakes and fires involved destroyed the city several times also. The movie is totally a Hollywood creation. The story of the horse is sketchy at best, even though they have a horse there for tourist purposes.

We walk quite a ways around the old city checking out the ruins. Some sensitive ruins have had a roof built over them during excavations. I photographed a lot of the signs for myself and others interested to read later. The roman numerals following the name Troy indicate the layer of the city it’s referring to.

Our guide, Oz, is well versed with everything Turkiye and educates us about everything we see. The history of Troy is fascinating. As you can see it is the season of red poppies.

Now we drive to our hotel, the Park Ytun Hotel.

Dinner tonight is okay, basically unremarkable.