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Day 11 Pergamon

It was time to leave Selçuk to continue our journey north.  I enjoyed the time we spent in the small town with its friendly people and impressive local antiquities.  Today would be mostly spent on the coach travelling to Pergamon and then onto the coastal village of Assos or Behramkale as it is now known.  After a number of hours of watching the scenery go by the coach had reached the outskirts of Bergama with the Acropolis of Pergamon located high on the hill to the north of the city.  The coach made its way through the city centre climbing the narrow road that circles the hill passing the Kestel Baraji (dam)  forming the flooded valley below.   At the top there was very little room to park all the large coaches but this problem will be solved with the introduction of a new cable car system to ferry visitors up to the main entrance however it hadn’t come into service at the time of our visit.  Funda handed out the ticket as usual and we passed through the turnstiles making our way up the steep stone slope to the Temple of Trajan or Trajaneum.  The temple has been partially reconstructed over the years from the original pieces found at the site.  Originally construction began during the reign of Emperor Trajan, who died before it was completed, however it was completed in the Corinthian style under instruction of Emperor Hadrian.  I walked around the structure looking at the tall columns with ornate decoration at the top supporting the intricate stone carved lintels.  From the temple I was able to look out over the city of Bergama below before making my way down a narrow set of stairs into a dark tunnel which opened out to reveal the steepest theatre built into the slope of the hill.  Built in the 3rd Century BC this Hellenistic (Greek) style theatre was later modified in the Roman period during the reign of Caracalla with an estimated capacity of 10,000 spectators each having a fantastic view of the stage and the scenic panorama too.  It looked a long way down to the bottom rows of terraced seating where to the right the Temple of Dionysos is situated with its twenty five step high marble staircase leading to the marble temple which was constructed in the 2nd Century BC.  Descending the steep staircase down the centre of the theatre to the diazoma about half way down we found a path that goes to the Great Altar dedicated to the God, Zeus and was constructed to commemorate Eumenes II victory against the Galatians.  All that is left at Pergamon are the foundations with the altar being removed by engineer and archaeologist Carl Humann in 1871 and is now displayed in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.  This raises the question should all the antiquities that have been removed from their original settings be returned? The Turkish government is currently trying to obtain many of it great antiquities back through the International courts but it could be a long expensive process.  We continued our walk up the slightly inclined path back up to the main entrance to wait for everyone to gather together before leaving.

Day 12 Troy

The sun was just starting to rise as we left the hotel making our way up the road to the car park where the coach was waiting. It was cold too, with the storm gone from the night before the sky was clear. We all boarded the coach and our long journey back to Istanbul began. We had only travelled a few miles when Mo realised she had left the vase she purchased in Cappadocia in the hotel room. I suggested to Mo that she went to see Funda and the coach came to a halt at the side of the road. We waited a few minutes until a car pulled alongside the coach and a man carrying the plastic bag containing the vase handed it over. Mo was relieved to have the vase back in her possession and our journey resumed.

The legend of Troy and how the Greeks managed to gain entry into the city using a large wooden horse in the form of a gift to the Trojans maybe fact or maybe fiction but it was one place I was looking forward to visiting. Upon entry to the site the first thing we saw was a large wooden horse with a set of stairs to climb inside. Along the sides are small square windows to poke your head through giving a great photo opportunity which the large group of Japanese relished. I doubt the so called original would have had windows or the Trojan’s may have seen the Greek soldiers inside. It is more a playground attraction for tourists than an actual historic artefact but it does help to explain the story of the wooden horse.

The excavations at Troy have been described as a ‘ruin of a ruin’ and I can see why, there really isn’t a lot to see, no impressive structures to gaze at just some walls that indicate the existence of the city.  One bone of contention throughout the archaeological world is the Schliemann Trench and the devastation caused too many levels of the city to get to the finds of what is known as Troy II.  In fact there have been nine levels excavated over the years and these are indicated on little signs and could be seen as I walked around the site.  Schliemann was an engineer and amateur archaeologist who in late 19th Century obtained permission to excavate the area and in his eagerness to find treasure he dug a large trench that destroyed many interesting structures of later levels.  He did find what he was looking for and have become known as Priam's Treasure which was acquired by the museums in Berlin. A lot of restoration is continuing at the site and maybe in the future it will be as good as Ephesus but at the moment it is quite a disappointment and that is what will stick in my mind.