The Mythical City of Türkiye

After last year's devastating earthquake, Türkiye is trying to revive tourism. One of the most notable locations is Çanakkale, a modern city located next to the site of the ancient city of Troy in Greek mythology…

Con ngựa gỗ khổng lồ ở bến cảng thành phố Çanakkale. (Nguồn: CNN)

The giant wooden horse at the harbor of Çanakkale city. (Source: CNN)

Visitors arriving at the pier in the small port city of Çanakkale in the southwest of Istanbul, Türkiye, will see from afar a giant wooden horse, identical to the famous Trojan Horse from Greek mythology.

Lively and engaging

This wooden horse was used in the 2004 movie “Troy”. The movie producers later donated the horse to the city and it was not placed here by chance.

Geographically, Çanakkale is adjacent to the archaeological site of the ancient city of Troy, the setting of the Trojan War in Homer's epic poem “Iliad”.

C. Brian Rose, professor of archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania and author of “The Greek and Roman Archaeology of Troy,” said that after 35 years of research, he has gathered a lot of evidence that the geographical proximity between Çanakkale and Troy — in Turkish “Truva” or sometimes called “Troya” — contributed to the city’s appeal.

Statues, benches, signs and other elements bearing the influence of Troy are scattered throughout Çanakkale. These are also reminders of an equally important modern war – the horrific Battle of Gallipoli during World War II, which took place on Turkey's Gallipoli Peninsula, not far from the Dardanelles Strait where Çanakkale is located.

Çanakkale itself is an attractive and lively city with ferries coming and going. Visitors can explore the cobblestone streets of the old town, lined with shops and restaurants. The cafes, bars and kebabs are always busy. On summer nights, street vendors hawk their wares on the boardwalk at the marina under the silent gaze of a giant wooden horse… Just 20 minutes’ drive south, out of the village of Hisarlik, is the legendary city, the archaeological site of Troy.

If the legend is true…

According to legend, the Trojan War was a decades-long conflict between the Trojans and the Greeks that took place about 3,000 years ago. Notable figures involved in the war included King Priam, Princes Hector and Paris of Troy, and the Greek generals Menelaus, Agamemnon, Achilles, and Odysseus. The war ended when the Greeks, acting on Odysseus's advice, built a giant wooden horse, hid their soldiers inside it, and waited for the Trojans to drag the horse into the city as a trophy. Once inside the city, the Greeks jumped out of the horse's belly and captured Troy.

Today, when visiting Truva – just a short bus or drive from Çanakkale – a replica of the Trojan Horse looms over the entrance. From there, visitors can weave their way through the remains of Troy’s ancient stone walls and streets – much of which has been impressively preserved or restored – and look out over the fields near the Aegean Sea. If the legend is true, it was on this stretch of road between the walls and the sea that the siege of Troy took place.

“This is an area of constant war due to its geographical location because many forces want to occupy this location,” Professor Rose said.

Troy is strategically important. It controls the entrance to the Dardanelles Strait, which connects the Aegean Sea with the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. It also lies at one of the two easiest land crossings between the European and Asian continents.

By the time the “Iliad” was first written in the eighth century B.C., there had actually been 200 years of war during the late Bronze Age, condensed into the epic’s 10-year war, Rose said.

“We have evidence that many of the characters involved in the Trojan War were real. Inscribed clay tablets discovered at Hattusa, the ancient Hittite capital, mention “Wilusa” (meaning “Troy” in Greek) and discuss diplomatic and military relations with the Greeks. There are even references to Atreus (Agamemnon’s father), Prince Paris – who is said to have sparked the Trojan War with his abduction of the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen – and other characters from the Iliad.”

Professor Rose calls these tablets “a history book of what happened in western Asia Minor between the Greeks and the Hittites.”

In the footsteps of Achilles

A visit to the city of Çanakkale is an experience of a lifetime for Iliad enthusiasts.

Visitors can stand on the ancient walls and look out over the field where, according to legend, Achilles fought Hector and where Odysseus devised the plan to use the wooden horse.

Or you can walk on the rocks where some of the greatest names in mythology may have walked: Agamemnon and Priam, Helen and Cassandra, Paris and Nestor. It is here that the roots of much of Western literature were planted.

And yet, interspersed with reminders of its historical past, Çanakkale is also home to delicious food, cozy cafes, lively bars, pastry shops and charming souvenir shops. A particularly popular restaurant is Sardalye, which specializes in locally caught fish and chips, or Ziveriye Ocakbaşı - a great place to try traditional Turkish cuisine and enjoy views of the Trojan Horse.

Çanakkale is a great place to walk around and enjoy the fresh air. “It’s a wonderful city, I love it. It’s not too crowded with tourists so it still retains its own unique charm. I consider it a perfect place to explore the battles that took place there in ancient times.

“If you stand in Çanakkale and look towards Asia, you will see the giant wooden horse as a reminder of the first major conflict between east and west that took place here. Standing from the European side looking here, you will see the memorial to the Battle of Gallipoli. When I think of Çanakkale, I remember those two monuments,” said Mr. Rose.

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