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CANAKKALE (TROY)

The name of the city comes from the shape of the fortress which was built by Sultan Mehmet II in 1452. It has a bowl shape and çanak in Turkish is “bowl” and kale is “fort”.

Although it is a new city it played an important role during the Çanakkale Battles. From the ferry boat on the way to Canakkale, it is possible to see a big inscription on the hillside of Kilitbahir:

"Dur yolcu! (Stop passerby!)

This soil you thus tread unawares

Is where an age sank.

Bow and listen,

This quiet mound is where the heart of a nation throbs."

TROY

The name Troy refers both to the remains of a Bronze Age fortress and city at Hisarlık, near the entrance to the Dardanelles and to the legendary city of King Priam that was destroyed by the Achaeans in the Trojan War. There are reasons to believe that the physical remains in Troy today to the city in mythology. Troy was also once known as Ilios or Ilion; this is reflected in the name of Homer's epic poem the Iliad, a work that claims to relate the story of Troy's fall.

Mythological Story

According to sources in mythology the King of Troy was Priam and his wife was Hecuba. As a result of the gods and goddesses plot against Troy, Hecuba dreamed of fire coming out of her stomach and of smoke covering the city walls. A soothsayer interpreted that the queen was pregnant and that the child would bring problems to the city. The interpretation found acceptance and, in order to avoid problems, the baby was left in the forest on Mount Ida where he would be looked after by a shepherd. The baby's name was Paris.

Many years later, Thetis, a sea goddess attended by the Nereids and beloved by both Zeus and Poseidon, married King Peleus. Eris, the goddess of discord and sister of Ares, was not invited to the wedding. She became angry and tossed an apple marked "for the fairest" among the gods causing

trouble as they did not know to whom the apple was to be given. Three women were nominated: Athena, Aphrodite and Hera. They consulted Zeus but he recommended them the judgment of Paris who lived on Mount Ida. Each nominee promised something to Paris in order to get the apple.

Athena promised victory,

Hera, kingship of the world, and

Aphrodite, the most beautiful woman.

Eventually Paris gave the apple to Aphrodite.

Aphrodite's most beautiful woman was Helen who was married to Menelaus, King of Sparta. Paris fell in love with Helen and abducted her to Troy. This was the reason for the ten year Trojan War between the Trojans and the Achaeans from the mythological point of view.

Agamemnon was the commander in chief of the Achacans in the Trojan War. He was the King of Mycenae and a brother of Menelaus. Before coming to Troy, Agamemnon agreed to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia in order to ensure a fair wind for his ships. According to Iliad, in the tenth year of the Trojan War, Achilles withdrew from the fighting after Agamemnon seized his favorite slave girl. He sulked in his tent until the death of his close friend Patroclus stirred him to return to battle. The smith-god Hephaestus forged him a fine set of arms, induding a famous shield on which was depicted the whole range of the human condition. Thus equipped, he avenged Patroclus's death in a celebrated duel with the great Trojan hero Hector. After dragging Hector's body seven times around the walls of Troy behind his chariot, Achilles was persuaded to allow the slain Trojan hero a proper funeral. Later Paris killed Achilles.

When the Achaeans understood that they would not be able to capture the city by war, they decided to prepare a trick. The Achaean fleet sailed out of sight, leaving the Trojan “gift”. Inside the large wooden horse was Horse behind as a concealed a squad of soldiers who, after the horse had been dragged into the unsuspecting city and under the cover of darkness, emerged and opened the gates.

After the fleet quietly returned, the soldiers entered Troy and great slaughter followed. Many Trojan women, including membersof the royal family, were carried off into captivity.

Canakkale TURKEYS TOURS

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