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No sleep AGAINNNN! Breakfast was delicious. An absolutely huge variety of everything. The Turkish coffee is so very strong. I ask to have a 1/2 cup of coffee to a 1/2 cup of milk. That stuff has you going.
We load up and head out for a very long drive to the city of Troy. All of days seem to begin with extensive rides to reach our destinations.
After 8 hours of driving we reach Troy.
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, south of the southwest end of the Dardanelles / Hellespont and northwest of Mount Ida. It is best known for being the setting of the Trojan War described in the Greek Epic Cycle and especially in the Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer. Metrical evidence from the Iliad and the Odyssey seems to show that the name Ἴλιον (Ilion) formerly began with a digamma: Ϝίλιον (Wilion). This was later supported by the Hittite form Wilusa.
A new city called Ilium was founded on the site in the reign of the Roman Emperor Augustus. It flourished until the establishment of Constantinople and declined gradually during the Byzantine era.
In 1865, English archaeologist Frank Calvert excavated trial trenches in a field he had bought from a local farmer at Hisarlık, and in 1868, Heinrich Schliemann, wealthy German businessman and archaeologist, also began excavating in the area after a chance meeting with Calvert in Çanakkale. These excavations revealed several cities built in succession. Schliemann was at first skeptical about the identification of Hissarlik with Troy, but was persuaded by Calvert and took over Calvert's excavations on the eastern half of the Hissarlik site, which was on Calvert's property. Troy VII has been identified with the Hittite Wilusa, the probable origin of the Greek Ἴλιον, and is generally (but not conclusively) identified with Homeric Troy.
Today, the hill at Hisarlik has given its name to a small village near the ruins, supporting the tourist trade visiting the Troia archaeological site. It lies within the province of Çanakkale, some 30 km south-west of the provincial capital, also called Çanakkale. The nearest village is Tevfikiye. The map here shows the adapted Scamander estuary with Ilium a little way inland across the Homeric plain.
Archeological excavation has established nine levels of habitation, including the great city captured in 1200 B.C., by means of the renowned Trojan Horse,
Troia was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1998.
For Lunch, we stop at the Saglam Restaurant. I quaint little place with bland pizza. We were seated outside with all the cats. There are cats everywhere.
Everyone took a look in the shop next door before heading out.
Our trip continued on to Pergamon.
Pergamon was an ancient Greek city in modern-day Turkey, in Aeolis, today located 16 miles (26 km) from the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north side of the river Caicus (modern day Bakırçay), that became the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon during the Hellenistic period, under the Attalid dynasty, 281-133 BC. Pergamon is cited in the book of Revelation as one of the seven churches of Asia. Today, the main sites of ancient Pergamon are to the north and west of the modern city of Bergama.
The Attalid kingdom was the rump state left after the collapse of the Kingdom of Thrace. The Attalids, the descendants of Attalus, father of Philetaerus who came to power in 281 BC following the collapse of the Kingdom of Thrace, were among the most loyal supporters of Rome in the Hellenistic world. Under Attalus I (241-197 BC), they allied with Rome against Philip V of Macedon, during the first and second Macedonian Wars, and again under Eumenes II (197-158 BC), against Perseus of Macedon, during the Third Macedonian War. For support against the Seleucids, the Attalids were rewarded with all the former Seleucid domains in Asia Minor.
The Attalids ruled with intelligence and generosity. Many documents survive showing how the Attalids would support the growth of towns through sending in skilled artisans and by remitting taxes. They allowed the Greek cities in their domains to maintain nominal independence. They sent gifts to Greek cultural sites like Delphi, Delos, and Athens. They defeated the invading Celts. They remodeled the Acropolis of Pergamon after the Acropolis in Athens. When Attalus III (138-133 BC) died without an heir in 133 BC, he bequeathed the whole of Pergamon to Rome, in order to prevent a civil war.
According to Christian teaching and tradition, Pergamum is where Satan dwells and where his throne is. The first bishop of Pergamon, Antipas, was martyred there in ca. 92 AD.
The Ottoman Sultan Murad III had two large alabaster urns transported from the ruins of Pergamon and placed on two sides of the nave in the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.
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Hope Mc Daniel Girl, sleep when you get home or be like Bunny. Sleep on those 8 hour rides to the next town. Enjoy.
Tia-Mia WOW Deb this is AWESOME...such history. I'm with Hope U, grab sleep while you're traveling. Keep the blog & pic coming, very interesting. Contined traveling mercies!