Greece > The Horse of Troy

Greece - Motor trouble on the highway when leaving Xanthi

As we leave the city of Xanthi, we also say goodbye to this town. It’s definitely a place worth staying longer. At a gas station, the attendant gestures that he is from Russia. He immediately wants to know everything about our trip, although he doesn’t speak a word of English. I have to go inside with him. The man at the register, probably his boss, also looks interested in our plans. He speaks a little English. “Tourist?” he asks. Before we can drive off, our windshield is given an extra polish. Just as we get on the highway to Turkey, we see a motorcyclist on the side of the road. It’s Milko. His motorcycle stalled completely as he entered the highway. We park behind him and turn on our hazard lights. It’s not a safe place to stop with traffic zooming by at 130 km/h. After some searching, it turns out the regulator has short-circuited. With a new fuse and some taped wires, the engine fortunately starts again. We continue our route to Turkey. At the border, the trunk must be opened. “What’s this? What’s that?” The officer inspects the luggage area but eventually seems satisfied. There’s probably so much inside that checking everything isn’t feasible. After getting the stamp in our passport, we enter Turkey—the ninth country on our journey. The roads are immediately worse. Many potholes in the asphalt and bumps from primitively repaired sections. The windshield is no longer clean either. It seems as though extra insects are hitting the windshield today. Even a little bird flies up too late—sorry, bird lovers. The need for caution on Turkish roads becomes clear a little further on. A bus has crashed through the median and ended up in the shoulder. It’s just being cleared. Hopefully, no one was hurt. In Eceabat, we have to cross the Bosporus by ferry. The 3 o’clock ferry is already full, so we have to wait an hour. We withdraw some lira and eat a döner sandwich on the quay. We are practically at the front to board the next ferry. This ferry also fills completely, mostly with tour buses carrying schoolchildren. In about 25 minutes, the ferry carries us to the Asian side of Turkey. We arrive in the city of Çanakkale. Just beside the harbor, on the boulevard, stands a large wooden Trojan horse. We can’t find a parking spot to stop, so we drive very slowly past it to take a photo. We quickly continue when a police officer starts moving toward us. Traffic in Turkey is different from what we’ve experienced so far. There’s more honking, more unexpected maneuvers—overtaking, crossing oncoming lanes, and sudden braking because someone wants to turn. You really have to stay alert. We reach Troy without any problems. Before the Common Era, Troy was an important fortress city, serving as a defense for the Bosporus. Troy went through various eras, with each empire building on the fortress of the previous one, making the city progressively larger. Especially during the time of Troy VI, the city expanded significantly.

Greece - A replica of the horse near the ancient city of Troy

The Greeks attempted to conquer the city many times. Legend has it they succeeded through a trick involving the wooden horse. At the entrance of Troy stands a 15-meter-high replica. It’s fun for photos and to climb in briefly. There’s little left of the remnants of the ancient Trojan civilizations. Signs indicate how it might have looked in the past, requiring some imagination. Just outside the city of Troy, in the village of Tevfikiye, there’s a guesthouse combined with a campsite. The rooms are somewhat expensive, but since rain is threatening and the owner gives a small discount, we decide to take the rooms. The owner then serves a fine meal. By the time we go to bed, it is raining heavily.