Our day began very early as we had lots of driving to do to get us from Istanbul to Canakkale. Having spent all our time in European Istanbul—the old city, it was interesting to cross the Bosporus into Asian Istanbul and drive through the newer parts of the city. After leaving Istanbul, we drove through hilly areas and flat plains. We got our first view of the Aegean Sea, and then the highway went back inland some. Finally at lunchtime, we arrived at Gelibolu (Gallipoli) where we were treated to a great Turkish buffet. My favorite food was the cooked cabbage. (What a surprise for me!) We drove along the peninsula which had seen so much fighting and death during World War I. It was his success here, at the Battle of Gallipoli, that made it possible for Mustafa Kemal (later to be called “Ataturk” the father of Turkey) to bring the peoples of Anatolia together when Turkey was partitioned (after World War I) by the Allies.
We drove southwest from Gelibolu and boarded a ferry to cross the Dardanelles to Canakkale. This ferry was 3-story and bigger than any I have ridden in Galveston. Good thing since the wind was fierce which resulted in extremely choppy waves. Such conditions provided us with a memorable and exciting crossing! I loved watching the waves splash onto the ferry, completely covering some of the cars. I enjoyed the wind whipping against me. It was even kind of fun navigating my way across the ferry to the water closet through wind and waves.
After crossing the Dardanelles, we drove for about half an hour before arriving at the site of Troy. While not restored, much has been excavated at Troy. It appears to have about 9 layers of cities from the first inhabitants about 3,000 BC to the Roman inhabitants. In his haste, Schleimann destroyed many of the original stones of buildings and walls.
I had to visualize where the sea was during Homer’s Troy as the coast has moved since, but we located the south gate—where the famous Trojan horse would have been rolled.
Leaving Troy, we drove to Canakkale to spend the night. We had a spectacular view of the harbor from our room.
Tosun, our guide, took us for a stroll around the harbor, and we ended up in his favorite dessert shop where we sampled something like a sweet buttermilk pie—consistency less creamy and more grainy, and much sweeter tasting. After supper, Kristi and I went looking for Trojan horse souvenirs. Having seen 2 Trojan horses today—one at Troy site
and one near our hotel (the one from Brad Pitt’s movie “Troy”),
we felt assured we’d find a selection.Want to see more pictures of this day?
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