TeacherBeacon: Day 9, June 13 (Troy and Gallipoli!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

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One of the most interesting and overwhelming days you could imagine. The history, the stories and the places were all of such great interest to all of the people in the group. Made a day trip from the Kervansary hotel in Canakkale over the narrow point between Canakkale and Eceabat over the the Dardenelles waterway. From Eceabat we took the bus to Troy. Weather was cool with a sprinkle of rain. Arriving at Troy we had a tour guide direct us through the site. He used the stories of Homer as a tool to help us understand the area and give us a feel of its history.
He took us along a path that had parts of the excavated site, that is maintained as, I think, a Greek national museum. The site was worked on extensively by Heinrich Schleimen beginning around 1871. You can see the trench that he dug though the site, a crude method of searching a site that would not be considered today as proper excavation. In fact this method caused damage to the site. There are a series of civilizations built on top of each other, that are marked at various points in the tour. We saw the details of the stone work and building techiques of the different groups that occupied this ancient city. After the tour at Troy we boarded the bus to Gallipoli and were taken on one of the most incredible tours by, Kernan Celik, an academic expert of the battles that took place there. Kernan, painted a vivid picture from all different points of views (literally and figuratively). The Battle of Gallipoli took place from April 25, 1915 to January 9, 1916. This was during World War 1. It began as the British and their allies went up on various beaches in the area. The British wanted to capture Istanbul so they could have access to the Black Sea and Russia. The ANZAC (Austrailian, New Zealand Army Corps) fought against the Ottoman Turks, whos soldiers we call Mehmets. Kenan provided us with details from the various points of view on hilltops, ridges and valleys over looking the battle area. He brought stories of the battle from the individuals who fought in it, making it come alive to us. We visited monuments, gave sites and saw the actual trenches where the battles took place. Kenan gave us clear details of both sides of the conflict, he had a deep understanding of this fierce and deadly battle. He conveyed the total carnage and slaughter that came to both sides in the trench warfare of the time. It was also made very clear how important Musta Kemel Ataturk was and is to the military and political history of Turkey

Model of Trojan horse at Troy