As we were doing a tour and then travelling some distance to our next location We had to be up at sunrise and this was the view from our balcony when we arose.
Our minivan jumped on a car ferry and we made our way to an ancient city known by many names to various people, but most of you will know it as Troy.
We had been warned that their was not much to see there other than the wooden horse some artist had made back in the ’90s, so we were not too dissapointed when all we found were a few blocks & fallen columns lying around. The guide had made the trip a little more interesting by telling us the tale of Troy as told by Homer in the Illiad & the Odyssey. He gave us all parts to play and I was Zeus and Deb would be my wife Herra. It could have been worse, he could have made her my girlfriend Helen. (the mind boggles!!)
After lunch we proceeded to a less famous city of Antiquity, Pergamun. Here we walked around the various sites and theatres that have thus far been excavated. Although less visited, Pergamun more than Troy resembled more closely my image of an ancient city. As it is located high on a mountain top the architects had to overcome the steep slopes in order to erect large flat temples. The way they did this was to build a large platform supported by massive arches underneath.
As we walked thru this area someone asked how is it possible to create the arch without it falling down during the build? I am pleased to announce that due to my work for Paul Rappoport Heritage Architect (shameless plug) & the Discovery Channel, I was the only one who knew. The guide asked me if I was an architect, I answered sadly no, but I could recommend him a good one.
Adjacent & below the Temple of Athena was a large theatre with magnificent views out to the modern city below. As you can see Deb had her own unique way of descending the steep stairs while our guide patiently waited. It was late when we reached our destination, Selcuk where we would spend the next 3 days, and we were cranky, tired and hungry, but all that dissipated when we were shown to a very nice room with a great view of an ancient fortress.
