Europe Onsite Review: Exploring Turkey in the Footsteps of Aeneas

ARIAL VIEWExploring Turkey in the Footsteps of AeneasBy Robert CurleyFor clients who want to walk in the footsteps of history, tracing the Aeneas Route in Turkey might just be what you want to recommend. Why? Because a lot of ancient Greek and Roman history is rooted in Turkey. Two of the most famous tales of ancient Greece, Homer’s Iliad and Virgil’s Aeneid, revolve around the battle of Troy, which may or may not have been a real siege of the city of Troy on modern-day Turkey’s Aegean coast. Triggered by Paris of Troy’s kidnapping of Helen, wife of the Spartan king Menelaus, the 10-year siege famously ended when Greek warriors broke out of their hiding place in the Trojan Horse, opening the city gates and sparking the destruction of Troy. The story of Troy didn’t end there, however: According to Homer, the Trojan hero Aeneas, son of the goddess Aphrodite, fled the fallen city with a small group of fellow survivors, embarking on an epic journey that ended with him founding the city of Rome. And while scholars and historians may disagree about whether the Trojan Horse or even the Trojan War itself was real, there’s no doubt that the city of Troy—along with many of the other places described by Virgil in the Aeneid—existed, and in fact can still be seen on the
Aeneas Route, a historic tour that traces Aeneas’ mythical journey through northwestern Turkey.RUINSExploring the Aeneas Route Recommend recently traced the Aeneas Route and discovered a world less traveled. Our journey began in a city Aeneas never visited, Istanbul, facilitated by a nonstop Turkish Airlines flight from Boston. Ensconced in Business Class seats that Aeneas and his followers could only dream of, we were quickly introduced to the basics of Turkish culture in the best way possible...with food. Turkish wine—a booming business in the province of Çanakkale where we’re heading—was poured before we even taxied for takeoff; once airborne, a toque-topped chef began a 3-course meal service that began with a selection of traditional mezze, small plates of appetizers like yogurt-based haydari, eggplant dishes such as baba ghanoush and hummus. We’d sample all of these and more during virtually every meal we ate in Turkey. The first stop on our exploration of the Aeneas Route, as you might guess, was Troy, a layer cake of ruins documenting the rise/fall cycle of the ancient city’s history. If there indeed was a Battle of Troy, it was only one of at least 10 times that the city was destroyed during 4,000 years of habitation, whether through wars, fires or earthquakes. The excellent Troy Museum reveals the city’s history like a walkthrough archaeological dig: Visitors enter the cubical museum building via an underground ramp that leads to the same depth where the oldest ruins of Troy were found. A spiraling series of interior walkways then lead upward through the 4-story building, with each level revealing a later period of history, concluding with artifacts left by the Romans, who occupied the city’s ninth and last iteration before it was destroyed for good by an earthquake around 500 A.D. The museum exhibits, which include a variety of Greek, Trojan and Roman statuary and sarcophagi, as well as more mundane items like children’s toys and coins, provides the necessary historic background for a visit to the site of Troy itself. It’s often hard to visualize what ancient sites like this looked like from their rubbled remains, and that’s true nine-fold at Troy, which was destroyed and rebuilt so many times that the city’s piled ruins create a densely packed artificial hill. An expert is required to help make sense of it all, which fortunately we had in Cihancan Sezgin, a knowledgeable and enthusiastic freelance guide attached to our group via the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The Troy museum and city site are popular destinations but hardly overrun with tourists, getting about 200,000 visitors a year. About the only kitschy thing you’ll find here is a replica of the Trojan Horse, currently under construction; there’s an even bigger version along the waterfront in the nearby city of Çanakkale. A movie prop made of steel and fiberglass, it was gifted to the city by the makers of the 2004 movie “Troy.” By the time Aeneas and the wandering Trojans reach Mount Ida, the “Mountain of the Goddess,” they realize that their dream of founding a New Troy would have to be realized elsewhere. Aeneas asks permission of the goddess Cybele to cut down trees in the sacred forest in order to build ships, which then set sail from Antandros, bound first for the coast of East Thrace in Turkey, then eventually to the heel of the Italian boot and, ultimately, Rome. Excavations of the ancient city of Antandros have uncovered a series of hillside Roman villas overlooking the Aegean, with stunning frescoes and mosaics dating from the first century B.C. through the third century A.D. Visiting the Turkish port city of Enez, said to be founded by Aeneas and the Trojan hero’s last stop in Turkey, would be a nearly 4-hour drive north across the Dardanelles strait to the shores of the Thracian Sea, so we opt instead to explore some of the other ancient ruins that are seemingly everywhere in northwestern Turkey. Alexandria Troas, founded by the Greeks and named in honor of Alexander the Great, was once home to 100,000 people; most of the city remains buried, but visitors can see the impressive remains of a grand bath house, or thermae. The god Apollo Smintheus, who appears in the lliad, has a prosaic but important role in Greek mythology: protecting farmers and their crops from mice. The Apollon Smintheion sanctuary in the Çanakkale town of Gülpına includes a partially restored temple inhabited by an amusing brood of sculptured mice. While there’s not much left of the Zeus Altar in Edremit, the views of the Aegean from this clifftop monument are extraordinary. Most impressive of all is Assos. Home to Aristotle, and visited twice by the apostle Paul, Assos dates to the 8th century B.C. Overwatched by the hilltop Temple of Athena, this still-thriving community also includes the ruins of a Byzantine fort, intact city walls, ancient tombs lining a section of Roman road, and the excavated remains of a seaside theater and other public buildings and homes. Aeneas never visited here, but it’s a must-see for any history-loving clients planning a tour of Turkey.HOTELWhere to StayDuring our time exploring this history-filled route, we called the Manici Kasri hotel home. Located in the midst of Mount Ida in the village of Yesilyurt, the 24-room/suite boutique hotel preserves traditional and elegant stone architecture, spreading almost across the entire southern side of the village. Here, clients will find uniquely designed suites, each unlike the other; a sustainable restaurant that features local and seasonal products on its menu with ingredients sourced from the Manici Farm and local olive groves; and the onsite Cohi Bar with jazz music and a cigar menu. Contact InformationManici Kasri: manicikasri.com/enTurkish Airlines: turkishairlines.comTurkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism: goturkiye.com

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