Troya

Its strategic location at the crossroads of Anatolia, the Aegean and the Balkans made it an important centre of trade and settlement throughout history. Excavations at the site have revealed nine distinct settlement layers built one above another. Each layer preserves traces of the lifestyles, architecture and cultures of different periods. The imposing city walls, gates and structural remains of Troya reveal the existence of a developed urban life in this region thousands of years ago.

The first event that comes to mind when Troya is mentioned is the great war described in Homer’s Iliad. According to legend, Helen, the wife of Menelaus, King of Sparta, was taken to Troya by Paris, a Trojan prince, leading to a war that lasted for years between the Achaeans and the Trojans. At the end of the prolonged siege, the Achaeans withdrew, leaving a large wooden horse outside the city. Believing that their enemies had abandoned the war, the Trojans brought the horse inside the city walls as a symbol of their victory. However, when night fell, Achaean soldiers emerged from inside the horse and opened the city gates, leading to the fall of Troya. The Troya Atı, which symbolises this story told for centuries, now welcomes visitors at the entrance to the ancient city.

The significance of Troya lies not only in its legends but also in its historical and archaeological importance. The first extensive excavations began in the 1870s under Heinrich Schliemann and continued in subsequent years through the work of various archaeologists. These excavations revealed Troya’s long history of settlement, extending from the Bronze Age to the Roman period. In recognition of its contributions to human history and world culture, the ancient city was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1998. While preserving traces of the past through its archaeological remains, Troya continues to stand as a unique cultural heritage site where history and legend intertwine through Homer’s epic.