Our Visit to Troy

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During our third visit to Turkey I made it a point to visit the historic city of Troy, which is an ancient and legendary city that is steeped in Greek mythology. It is the home of Homer’s Iliad and the focal point of the Trojan War, which ultimately resulted in the presenting of the Trojan Horse (beware of Greeks bearing gifts) by Odysseus to the Trojans. The original wooden giant still stands in the heart of Troy and is visited by thousands of tourists each year.

Troy is a hop, skip and a jump away from the city of Canakkale where the replica Trojan Horse (from the movie Troy with Brad Pitt) stands in the harbor to greet you. After filming was complete, Hollywood donated the replica horse to this beautiful sea-side town. Being the shutterbug that I am, I had to capture both of these awesome landmarks for my private collection, so here’s my story.

Alev (my lovely Turkish wife) and I drove from Izmir to Canakkale and spent the night in a charming sea-side hotel overlooking the Sea of Marmara. The view was both breathtaking and incredibly relaxing at the same time. I sat on the balcony of our third story room and tried my best to capture the amazing view that I was witness to. I could happily call this place home I thought to myself as I greedily snapped away.

The next day we ventured over to the replica Trojan Horse where I took several hundred pictures of this mammoth wooden horse (can you say tourist?). From there we drove down the dusty trail that led to the historic city of Troy. Scenes from the movie Troy flashed through my mind as I envisioned the epic battle playing out in front of me (if I only had a time machine). As the ancient relic appeared on the horizon in front of my camera lens I began taking the first of several hundred more pictures.

With my memory card full and a huge smile on my face, we made our way back to the car and began the long drive back to Izmir. During the drive I pondered the amazing history that Turkey has to offer and we discussed other exciting photo opportunities that lie in store for me. Stay tuned for my illustration of these exciting events.

Thanks for reading,

Eric (the Turkish Traveler)

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