Author: Tur

Limyra, an ancient Lycian city, is 10 km inland from Finike, via Turuncova. The fourth century B.C. Pericles mausoleum, decorated with caryatids, is a magnificent example of ancient art. The city walls and Roman theatre are also of interest.

Between Burdur and Isparta, near the town of Aglasun, is the ancient site of Sagalassos, a Pisidian city with ruins from Roman times including a monumental entrance gate, colonnaded street, agora, temple and magnificent theatre. The ancient ruins of Sagalassos are located at 7 km from the town of Aglasun in the province of Burdur. The city lies on Mount Akdag, a spur of the Western Toros range, at an altitude of between 1450 and 1700 mt. Human settlement in the area goes back to 12,000 BC, and Sagalassos itself reveal traces of settlement going back to 3000 BC.

The ruins of the city of Termessos, set inside Gulluk Mourn, a national park northwest of Antalya, is perched on a 1,050 meter high plateau on the west face of Gulluk Mountain (Solymos). A wild and splendid landscape surrounds the monumental traces of this city. A nature and wildlife museum is to be found at the park entrance.

Belkis (Kyzikos) lies 10 km west of Bandirma. In this ancient city on the Kapidag Peninsula’s isthmus, the Temple of Hadrian, a theater and aqueducts still stand, captivating visitors. The Kus Cenneti National Park near Lake Manyas is an ornithological site where 239 different species of birds Nourish. Every year, over three million birds fly through this preserve. April and May are the best months to enjoy the wildlife.

It is located on a mound called “Hisarlik” on the south east side of the plain of the River Scamander, where the Straits join with the Aegean and are tat her narrow, within the boundaries of the Province of Canakkale. Troy is famous for different reasons. First, it is associated with the sagas of the Trojan War told by Homer in the “Iliad” and the “Odyses”. Second, it is linked with the German excavator Schliemann who dug the ground the first time. At the end of the excavations nine cities have been unearthed. Later on they have been subdivided into 46 strata.

Ancient Troy is famous for the legendary Trojan Horse from the times of an equally legendary couple: Helen and Paris. The remains of the city were excavated by Heinrich Schliemann, a German archeologist who used Homer’s Iliad to locate the site, and who also took all of the invaluable treasures he found there back to Germany with him. Homer had immortalized Troy with his immortal narration of the stories of King Priam, Hector, Paris and the beautiful Helen. Excavations revealed nine separate periods (layers) of settlement. The ruins include a temple, a theater and foundations. Today, a recent wooden copy of the famous Trojan Horse symbolically stands on the site to recall its legendary original since long vanished.

The earliest known inhabitants of the region lived in the Chalcolithic sites of Besiktepe and Kumtepe. They were followed by Trojans who lived in this land dating back from 3000 B.C. to 1200 B.C. without being influenced. After Troy had been sacked, Achaeans settled. During t he migrations across the Aegean Sea, some others came and settles. Finally, after the death of the Commander Roger De Flor, the Catalonians controlled the region but they handed it over to Turkish Beys after reaching an agreement with them.

TROY 1 (3000-2500 B.C.)
This layer, which consists of ten strata, is the initial settlement of the Early Bronze Age. It occupies a small area. Judging from the walls, it may be considered that the city’s civilization at the time surpassed the neighboring civilizations. One story houses have been found during the excavations. As a construction material sun dried the people of Troy have used bricks.

TROY 11 (2500-2200 B.C.)
It is the first settlement where we see town planning first. The area covered by second city is larger than the first one. This settlement composed of seven layers. Stones were used as a construction material at the bases. The upper parts of walls were sun dried clay bricks. The most interesting building from this period is the megaron house with the pillars. Troy 11 has been the center of contemporary civilization at the time. It ended in a raging fire.

TROY III (2200-MO B.C.)
The city, which covers a larger area than the previous one, is again surrounded by the walls. The settlement is not well planned, there are irregular blocks of houses scattered on the site. The most striking feature of the period is that the stones were used in the construction of the city walls. The buildings became larger and developed. The base was earth. They were constructed on the ground.

TROY IV (2052-1900 B.C.)
This settlement, which has be- en founded on the second city, is about 17.000 square meters. This settlement was subdivided into five layers. Main future of the settlement is that the blocks of the houses were attached to each other. The most striking feature of the period is that by building birch houses based on stones, they have returned to the technique of the second city.

TROY V (1900-1800 B.C.)
We see a development both in the building technique and the workmanship in the construction of the walls and the houses. The walls are neat and well designed. The houses consisted of a big hall, a courtyard, and a few rooms.

TROY VI (1800-1300 B.C.)
It was a very prominent Acropolis of the period with its strong walls, and very well planned, beautiful houses. It consisted of 8 strata and was founded in the Middle Bronze Age; the layer is very different from the other layers. Both in the construction technique and the fortifications a big advance occurred. It can be said that a kind of architectural technique was realized. Houses were not attached to each other. They advanced both in size and comfort. Ten houses are still in a good condition surviving till our time on the site.

TROY VII / A (1300-1260 B.C.)
The most striking feature of the period is the pithoi in situ under the floors of the houses. It is believed that they were used to store food and liquid supplies for an emergency. The houses huddling together were roughly built. They raise one above the other in concentric circles. According to Carl W. Blegen this was Priam’s city.

TROY VII B 1 (1260-1190 B.C.)
It was founded on Troy VII A. The debris of the devayed city varies from 0.50 meters to 1.00 meters. The style of the construction continued in this city.

TROY VII B 2 (1190-110 B.C.)
In this period we see that the new people settled in Troy changed the building technique. They combined the single roomed houses. So they were enlarged to get more room. The most prominent feature of the buildings is the use of orthostats. They were used to strengthen the lower courses of the walls. Fire and left again destroyed it.

TROY IX (350-400 A.D.)
In this period the city spread and covered the whole monud. It was the biggest city ever known. During the reign of Augustus the city was repaired. The temple of Athena was the most important building. It was erected on the mound in Doric order supported by a podium with three steps. Roman ruins are on the south western section between the temple of Athena and the town walls. The Bouleuterion, theatre, and the auditorium all date from the Roman period.

Near the town is Evkaya, a rock tomb dating from the sixth century B.C. In the village of Kasaba, the 14th century Mahmut Bey Mosque retains some of the finest wood carvings found anywhere in Turkey.