Turkey - Ancient City of Trojan War & Temple of Healing - Day 2

Canakkale is where you can visit the ancient city of the Trojan War and this Trojan Horse is found at the entrance of the historical site. Trojan horse is an inevitable part of Troy experience.

Kaan admitted that visiting this heritage UNESCO site is the most boring itinerary in the list as most of the ruins are gone.

Anyway the story telling has to continue with lots of imagination of this ancient city.

Troy was destroyed and rebuilt nine times over, and each of nine different layers still has something left to this day, although amateurish archaeological excavations of late 1800s damaged some of them a lot more than others. The layer that is thought to be depicted in Homer's Iliad is likely Troy VII, a portion of the legendary walls of which is still intact.

Troy was discovered by an archaeologist known as Heinrich but a lot of improvements have been made to this magnificent site since then to make it one of the most famous ancient sites in the world. It’s a Greek ruin that is said to have hosted the great Trojan War. Currently you can see and appreciate the architecture that is the 9-layered city built on shore.

Odeon is the name for several ancient Greek and Roman buildings built for music: singing exercises, musical shows, poetry competitions, and the like. This one is smaller in size here. 

One thing for sure you will notice is that the stray cats and dogs in Turkey are really big in size.

They are seen everywhere during our visit and some are even tagged for monitoring (I guess).

A lunch was set up at a restaurant mid way to the next visit. A friend told once me that the food that we were taking is something like our Malaysian "Chop Fun" but in Turkish flavour.

Asklepion is an ancient healing complex located at the base of the Pergamon acropolis in Turkey built in honour of Asklepios, god of healing. The Asklepion was a term used in ancient Greece to define a type of temple, devoted to the god Asklepios, which acted as a healing centre.

The site in Pergamon was founded in the 4th Century BC around a sacred spring that still flows. Over the next centuries, it became one of the best-known healing centres of the ancient world, second in importance only to Epidaurus in Greece and was also the world's first psychiatric hospital. The influential physician Galen was born in Pergamon and practiced here in the 2nd Century AD, having first made his medical reputation treating warriors in the gladiatorial games of the city.

The Asclepion of Pergamum (or Pergamon) was among the world's earliest and greatest medical centers. 

The tunnel that transport patients from the healing springs to the sleeping and treatment rooms.

Pergamon Asklepion was the important health treatment and curing center in ancient Greece and Rome. The senatorium was believed first established in the 4th Century BC as a health centre and was developed during Hellenistic period.

Many of the treatments employed at Pergamon were with a sacred source of water that was later discovered as having radioactive properties, have been used for centuries and are once again finding modern application.

There was even a 10,000-seat amphitheater at the Asklepion, to entertain the patients who would often stay for weeks. All of this was done in the belief that healing was a sacred art and that people’s souls needed to be mended as well as their bodies.

The remains of these ancient marvels are just left on the ground.

Another view of the Greek theatre. Sanctuary of Asclepion has a big galleried courtyard, the 3,500-seat theater structure for shows as entertainment.

We were told to buy stuff especially at the outskirt of Turkey as it's cheaper and fresher. One of the common purchases is the Turkish delight or known as Lokum. This place is located at Selcuk, Izmir which was close to our next hotel at Kusadasi.

This guy at Moziak Lokum is a No.1 salesman, he speaks very well and very entertaining. Moreover, we need a break after a long ride in the coach. Other than the Turkish delight they also sells spices, cosmetic and tea.

Here we were at Kusadasi, is a resort town on Turkey's Aegean coast and the center of the seaside district of the same name in Aydın Province. Kuşadası lies at a distance of 95 km (59 mi) to the south from the region's largest metropolitan center of İzmir, and 71 km (44 mi) from the provincial seat of Aydın situated inland. Its primary industry is tourism. The district neighbours on the northeast to Germencik district, on the southeast to Söke district, on the west to the Aegean Sea, and on the north to Selçuk district. Unfortunately we were there just to eat & sleep, no chance to explore Kusadasi....maybe next time. Let's see what was lined up for Day 3.