The ruins of Troy, 32 km from Çanakkale, is a city located on Hisarlık Hill in Tevfikiye Village, known the world over for what it has lived through and kept alive, and is the site of the Trojan War, which is mentioned in Homer’s Iliad. The Iliad describes a period of 51 days in the 9th year of the war, even if it refers to before and after.
The name of Troy, the world’s most famous archaeological city, is traditionally used as Troy, but since the 19th century it has been called Troy in French.
The region mentioned by the famous traveler Homer as Troy and Ilios in the Iliad Epic was founded as a port city in the south of the Dardanelles, but due to the alluvium carried by the waters of the Karamenderes, it moved away from the sea and was abandoned over the centuries.
Ancient city of Troy history
Troy was first excavated by the archaeologist Henrich Schliemann. Taking Homer’s Iliad as a reference, Schliemann set out to find Troy in 1870, and his goal was to find the legendary treasure of Priamos. Schliemann destroyed many artifacts and tried to reach his goal, which he thought was in the lower part of the city.
The person who discovered the layered structure of the city belonging to different periods was Wilhelm Dörpfeld, who took over the excavations after Schliemann’s death.
The first scientific excavations were carried out in 1932 by the Americans under the direction of Cari W. Blegan. Prof. Manfred Korfman, the name associated with the Troy excavations, directed the Troy excavations since 1988 and was given the name Osman along with Turkish citizenship for his efforts.
After his death, he was replaced by Prof. Dr. Ernst Pernicka and Dr. Peter Jablonka from Tübingen University in Germany.
They smuggled what they thought was Priamos’ treasure abroad along with other useful finds, which disappeared during and after the war.
The artifacts were hidden in a zoo in Berlin until 1945, and then unearthed in 1992 in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, along with many other Trojan artifacts.
Declared in 1998 as a Historical National Park and included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, the Troy region is of great importance for European history.
Unlike the rebuilding of destroyed cities in different regions, Troy was destroyed many times, but due to its favorable terrain, it was always built in the same place for 3000 years.
The history, culture and architecture of humanity can be understood from the layers within the city. Each of the layers named from Troy I to Troy IX indicates a civilization.
Not many buildings have survived in the ancient city of Troy. The main thing is the spirit of this place and the wars that took place on these lands.
You need to feel that spirit, otherwise, unfortunately, what you look at is nothing more than a few overlapping stones. The panels on the walking route of the city are also very informative.
You can see the phases of the city, which ruins are actually like, and the 3D plan of the city from these panels.
The oldest phase of the city, called Troy I, dates back to 3000 – 2500 BC. It is surrounded by walls 90 meters in diameter.
Troy II, dating from 2500 – 2300 BC. Large dwellings called Megaron were built and it is possible to see the 110 meter diameter sloping walls surrounding the city and the oldest and best preserved ramped gate in the world.
Troy VI phase dates back to 1900 – 1300. In the most developed phase of the city, the walls were supported by towers. It is thought that this phase was destroyed by a great earthquake.
Troy VII a phase, known as the Troy of Priamos, is considered to be the phase in which the Trojan Wars were fought. It was captured by horse trickery and was heavily damaged during this period.
Troy VII b was destroyed by earthquakes and fires. The battle in Homer’s story became clearer with the appearance of arrow and spearheads and the thick clay layer revealed that a fire broke out.
Troy VIII phase, between 900 BC and 350 BC. Troy IX, between 350 BC and 400 AD, is also known for the well-preserved Temple of Athena and the eastern terrace wall.
In the Ancient City of Troy, each Troy phase is numbered to inform the visitors. The city is visited on specially built wooden walkways to prevent visitors from damaging the city.
Trojan War
Paris, the prince of Troy, goes to Greece for trade and falls in love with Helen, the wife of King Menelaos of Sparta. Helen secretly escapes to Troy with Paris and when King Menelaos learns of the situation, he gathers the Achaean army under the leadership of his brother, King Agamemnon of Mycenae, who wants to capture Troy and organizes an expedition to Troy.
The Trojans, who refused Helen’s return and the offer to come under the command of King Agamemnon, will enter a war that will last 10 years. According to Homer’s Iliad, the war is like a struggle between Hector of Troy and Achilles of Achaea. Achilles gets angry with the king and withdraws from the battle.
Achilles’ cousin Patroclus fights wearing Achilles’ armor and Hector kills Patroclus. Achilles, enraged by the murder of his cousin, confronts Hector and kills him. The Iliad ends with Hector’s funeral.
Trailer of Troy (2004)
Trojan Horse
The Trojan Horse at the ruins of Troy was built by the Ministry of Culture in 1975 by architect Kadir İzzet Senemoğlu. There is no clear information about the authenticity of the Trojan Horse, but Homer mentioned this horse in his epic.
The horse used in the movie Troy, starring Brad Pitt and Eric Bana, was brought to Turkey after the filming. You can see this horse on the coastal road in the center of Çanakkale.
According to legend, the Trojan Horse was the brainchild of Odysseus, who was born and raised on the island of Ithaca off the coast of Greece, in order to breach the walls of Troy. After 10 years of war between the Trojans and Achaeans, the Achaeans pretended to withdraw from the war and left a large wooden horse as a gift to the Trojans.
Inside the wooden horse, Odysseus was hidden along with the best commanders of the time, waiting for it to get dark. The others, who seemed to have retreated, hid in the sea, out of sight of the Trojans.
The Trojans saw the horse as a gift from Poseidon and took it in. During the night they drank heavily, thinking that they had paid their debt to the goddess Athena.
The warriors inside the horse took advantage of this situation and came out of the wooden horse and first opened the impassable gate of Troy for years, and then, with the support of other Achaeans, they burned down the city of Troy.
What are the entrance fee and visiting hours of the ancient city of Troy?
You can enter the ruins of Troy for a fee and Müzekart is valid. If you do not have a Müzekart, you can also issue a Müzekart for yourself here. If you are going with your private car, you also need to pay a parking fee.
Where is the Ancient City of Troy and how to get there?
You can reach the Troy Ruins in Tevfikiye Village of Çanakkale by taking the Tevfikiye road junction on the Çanakkale Ezine road and driving 4.5 km.
Canakkale Archaeology Museum
Çanakkale Archaeology Museum, located in the Barbaros Neighborhood of Çanakkale, was opened to visitors in 1984.
There are over 12,000 archaeological artifacts, over 15,000 coins and nearly 3,000 ethnographic artifacts in the Çanakkale Archaeology Museum, which exhibits artifacts from many parts of Çanakkale along with the finds unearthed as a result of excavations in the Ancient City of Troy and the Dardanos Tumulus.
There are 5 exhibition halls in the Çanakkale Archaeology Museum and each hall exhibits artifacts of different values. The 1st hall in the entrance section is mainly dedicated to Troy.
Information about the ancient city of Troy and drawings of the settlement plans of the periods are presented to visitors. There are also stele samples with various shapes in the hall. In the 2nd hall, Troy finds continue to be exhibited. Stone chipping materials and fossils from the prehistoric age are found here.
Materials used in medicine between the 1st century BC and the 3rd century AD are also located in the 2nd exhibition hall.
Among the medical equipment; cautery used to cauterize tumors and many types of wounds, types of needles used to suture tissues, forceps used for surgical purposes, spoons used especially for drug measurements, chisels used in dental and bone surgery, double-sided probes and scalpels for cutting skin, which are still used today.
Finds from the tumuli named Yenice and Çan and artifacts from the necropolis excavations in Bozcaada are exhibited in the 3rd exhibition hall.
The artifacts unearthed during the excavations at the Dardanos Tumulus, 11 km southwest of Çanakkale, are exhibited in Hall 4. The Dardanos Tumulus, a family tomb, was excavated in 1959 by Rüstem Duyuran and Ergon Ataçeri of the Istanbul Archaeology Museum.
In the hall, artifacts excavated in Assos (Behramkale) and Gülpınar (Smintheion Sanctuary) are exhibited.
One of the interesting artifacts in the museum is the Sarcophagus of Polyksena. Excavated from the Kızöldün Tumulus in Biga in 1994, the sarcophagus was found to be the oldest artifact in Anatolia in terms of figurative elements.
Dating back to the 6th century BC, the sarcophagus depicts the mythological subjects of funeral and mourning on two sides, while the sacrifice of Polyksena, the daughter of Priamos, the king of Troy, is depicted on the other side.
Where is Çanakkale Archaeology Museum and how to get there?
Çanakkale Archaeology Museum, located in the center of Çanakkale, is located on 100th Year Street behind the public beach. By spending time here during your visit to Çanakkale, you can closely examine the finds found as a result of excavations in the surrounding area.
