Turkey Day 4.

Today I went to see the ruins of Troy. I have heard a lot about the city because of my studies in ancient Greek literature and mythology. When I got there, I was pretty sure what to expect, but it was still amazing! There were many ages of buildings dating from as early as 3000 B.C, to as late as 1000 A.D. I had not expected there to be so many levels, nine to be exact. I first went to check out the oldest part, dating from 3000 BC to 2600 BC. It was really cool to see buildings from that long ago. After that I saw the section from 2600 to 2250 B.C. This was the second best preserved era in the city. It was built at the height of their power as a trade capital. They had some cool walls and rooms you can explore. Next came the 1700 to 1500 BC section that consisted mainly of a stretch of wall and some rooms. This level was destroyed by an earthquake, and there was only one arrowhead found in the entire area. The next was the most famous, the 1300 to 1190 BC, as this was the setting of Homer's Iliad. As you might imagine, there was very little of this era, as it was destroyed in the famous Trojan War. This was by far the most interesting section, as it was steeped in history and myth. This also took the least amount of time, and I decided to have lunch after this. There was a gift shop and a cafe, and since I was getting a mite tired of kebab and pita sandwiches, I tried the Kofta, or spiced meatballs, which were really good. The last section of the city was the newest layer dating from 700 BC to 100 AD. This area was extensive, with an Amphitheater and other extensive buildings during the Roman conquest. On the way back to my hotel, I was thinking over all the things I've seen. The Roman era buildings were apparently resting on old Bronze Age cites. There was some controversy on whether to tear up the Roman areas to expose the Bronze Age buildings below, or to leave them as they are. The Bronze Age areas are older, but the Roman buildings are nearly as old, and valuable as well, and I couldn't decide on what I would do if given the choice. It got me all confused, and I wasn't paying much attention to the road, so I almost ran over a shepherd and his flock of sheep that were crossing the road. He gave me a rude hand gesture and that shocked me into paying attention. The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful. Site map of Troy Don't think I forgot about the Trojan horse! Part of one wall in the city.