Troy and Pergamun

Forget the movie. What would Troy be without the story of the Trojan horse? Garry and I had an opportunity to find out for ourselves yesterday. Our tour visited the ancient ruins of Troy. Much our surprise we discovered that there are in fact nine ancient cities of Troy, each progressively built on top of the other. The city of King Priam, made famous in the legendary Trojan Wars, was either Troy No.6 or possibly No.7.

As one might expect, the entrance to the archaeological site is dominated by a replica of the wooden horse. However, unlike the original, this one isn't filled with Aechaean soliders. On the day of our visit it was overwhelmed by Japanese tourists hanging from its panoramic windows.

Two stoic stone walls captured my imagination as we toured the ruins. The first, a towering wall marked with sloping, sculptured edges was the entrance to the grandest version of Troy. The second wall, hidden further inside the site was a part of the Troy from 2500 BC. I found it hard to conceive of people living and working at this very spot more than 4500 years ago. Elsewhere, fallen marble columns lie scattered about. These 'modern' ruins were left by the Romans in 300AD, along with a simple terraced theatre. Turkey truly sits at the crossroads of history.

Our second stop yesterday was the ruined city of Pergamum, perched on a hilltop above modern Bergama. Founded by Eumenes II, the city rivaled Alexandria as the ancient world's centre of culture and learning. The Eyptians were so angered by its profile that they subsequently banned Nile papyrus suppliers from trading with the city.

In response, local craftmen set to work, eventually creating a product from animal hides called pergamen. It's more commonly known by its latin name, parchment. At its height the city's library housed more than 200,000 such parchment scrolls. The Eyptians need not have worried. In 41BC many of the library's scolls were eventually shipped to Alexandria as a wedding gift from Mark Anthony to his beloved Cleopatra.

The ruins of Pergamum Library

Today the city is best known for its stunning Altar of Zeus. This oblong plaform featured in the Bible's Book of Revelations. Once in ruins, the alter was shipped to Germany last century and rebuilt inside Berlin's Pergamum Museum. I've seen the alter myself, but never conceived of it having such a dramatic mountain home.

Perhaps the most dramatic ruin still insitu is the white marble Temple of Trajan. Partially restored, one can still sense the grander of this complex completed during Hadrian II reign (AD 117-138). Underneath the temple is an equally dramatic subtearrean arched corridor. Once covered, today it's partially open to the elements, making for a memorable sunlit passageway.

On the hillside below the Temple of Trajan sits a steep, arcing Roman theatre. 80 rows of seats seating more than 10,000 spectators, stand silent watch over the valley below. In the distance an aqueduct snakes across the opposite slope. It once brought fresh water to the city. Incredibly, despite its altitude, flowing water reached the city's highest vantage point. The original water source came from a distant summit that was located well above that of the city. As a result, simple gravity was able to deliver water year round.