After enjoying a delicious breakfast at the Kolin hotel, we
checked out and made our way to a few historical sites enroute to Izmir. Our
first stop was Homer’s Troy where we seen the ruins of nine cities built on top
of each other and an enormous reconstruction of the famous wooden horse. It was
an incredible site to see as the history I learnt at school finally came to light.
For those of you who are not familiar with the tale of the Trojan Horse, “it is
a story from the Trojan War about the subterfuge that the Greeks used to enter
the city of Troy and win the war. In the canonical version, after a fruitless
10-year siege, the Greeks constructed a huge wooden horse, and hid a select
force of men inside. The Greeks pretended to sail away, and the Trojans pulled
the horse into their city as a victory trophy. That night the Greek force crept
out of the horse and opened the gates for the rest of the Greek army, which had
sailed back under cover of night. The Greeks entered and destroyed the city of
Troy, decisively ending the war. The main ancient source for the story is the
Aeneid of Virgil, a Latin epic poem from the time of Augustus. The event is
referred to in Homer's Odyssey. In the Greek tradition, the horse is called the
"Wooden Horse". “
From the parking lot and entrance (TL15),
where there are shops and snack-and-drink stands, we walked along a monumental
marble street bordered by columns. This was once an active market street, with
shops lining both sides of the street. The acropolis of Pergamum is clearly
visible on its hilltop to the east.
Coming into the main precinct of the
Asclepion, we noticed the large marble column fragment bearing the Asclepion's symbol: two snakes facing each other across a wheel. As
snakes shed their skins are "reborn," so patients at the Asclepion
were to shed their illnesses and regain health.
We first noticed the large theater of the Asclepion, in front of which are several
stone-framed sacred
pools, filled with water (and frogs) in
spring, though perhaps dry in summer and autumn.”
After touring the site for over an
hour in the blistering heat we made our way to Izmir. We checked into the
opulent Hilton Izmir Hotel in the middle of town a few streets away from the
beach. After enjoying a really sumptuous meal we took a walk on the beach
front. The highlight of the evening was undoubtedly taking a ride back to the
hotel in a horse and cart.
For more pictures, simply click on this link:
