ÇANAKKALE

The province of Çanakkale lies in the northwest of Turkey on both sides of the Dardanelles (the ancient Hellespont), a strait which connects the Sea of Marmara to the Aegean Sea. Its shores touch both Europe and Asia.

Çanakkale is the name of both the city and the province which includes the legendary citadel of Troy, the ruins of Assos where the famous Temple of Athena was built, and the battlefields of Gallipoli. Archaeologists say there are up to 200 ancient sites in this region, many still unexcavated, so it is possible you may be wandering among ruins thousands of years old without even knowing it! There are also many Ottoman structures still standing; castles, bridges, mosques, mansions and Turkish baths. In the villages and towns, centuries-old crafts, cooking and styles of dress can still be seen.

Although you will occassionally feel as if you have stepped back in history, Çanakkale has firmly embraced the first century of the new millenium when it comes to the essentials of living and you will have no difficulty finding an internet cafe, fax facilities, cornflakes, cashpoints and the rest. According to the stastistics, half of all families in the city of Canakkale own a car, about half use a mobile phone and there is one of the lowest crime rates in Turkey.

Those of you who are enraptured by history will find plenty to slake your thirst in the area. There are also lots of uncrowded corners where you can paddle along the shore, stretch out on the sand, scuba dive or just park yourself in the shade, sip something exotic and gaze out at the sea hoping for a glimpse of some playful dolphins.

In the Gulf of Edremit, the air is claimed to have one of the highest concentrations of oxygen in the world. Around the province there are thermal spas in small towns where a variety of ailments are treated. Geologists may have a field day studying these and other mineral springs where both hot and cold water gush from the ground. Bears are very rare nowadays, but small game and wild boars are plentiful in the countryside. Here, the rich variety of insect life, plants, mosses and lichens would keep a botanist busy for a lifetime.

When night falls, most of the socialising takes place on or near the seafront, where there are cafes, bars, tea gardens and discos to suit everyone's taste. In short, the city and province of Çanakkale present a spectrum of pleasures, beliefs, larger-than-life characters, customs and undiscovered history awaiting exploration by the inquisitive mind or advent.

TROY

Ancient Troy is famous for the legendary Trojan Horse from the times of an equally legendary couple: Helen and Paris. Homer immortalized Troy with his narration of the stories of King Priam, Hector, Paris and the beautiful Helen. Excavations on the site have revealed at least nine separate periods of settlement. The ruins include a temple, a theater and the foundations of other constructions. Today, a recent wooden copy of the famous Trojan Horse symbolically stands at the entrance to the site to recall its legendary origin, long since vanished.

ASSOS

Assos, the famous center of learning of antiquity lies 87 km south of Çanakkale in the county of Ayvacik. Aristotle, Plato's most famous student, was invited to Assos and spent over three years living and teaching there. He married the niece of Hermeia, founded a school of philosophy and conducted his early exploratory work in zoology, biology and botany during this period.

The acropolis of Assos is 238 meters above sea level. The Temple of Athena was constructed on this site in the 6th century B.C. This Doric temple is being restored to its former glory when it enjoyed its role as guardian of the Biga Peninsula and Gulf of Edremit. Linger to see the moonlight scattered through the temple ruins, or rise early for the gently awakening dawn over the acropolis. From the top you can take in the magnificent vista of the Gulf of Edremit and appreciate why this heavenly location was chosen.

On the terraces descending to the sea are agoras, a gymnasium and a theatre. From the northern corner of the acropolis, you can see a mosque, bridge and a fortress, all built in the 14th century by the Ottoman Sultan Murat I. Down below lies a tiny and idyllic ancient harbor.

Assos has gained the reputation of being the center of the Turkish art community with its lively, friendly and bohemian atmosphere. This is a place you will remember for years to come.

MOUNT IDA

You can visit the Altar of Zeus in the shadow of Ida Dagi. Here also, is situated the beautiful Mount Ida National Park, with magnicifent landscapes, restful green areas and several hot springs. Take a moment to consider mythology, because here the world's first beauty contest was held between Aphrodite, Hera and Athena. According to the story, at an important marriage banquet of King Peleus and the sea nymph Thetis, to which the Evil Goddess of Discord, Eris, was not invited, Eris threw into the banqueting hall a golden apple marked 'For the Fairest'.

All the goddesses wanted it, but in the end the choice was narrowed down to three: Aphrodite, Hera and Athena. They asked Zeus to judge them but he refused and told them to go to Mount Ida where the young prince Paris was keeping his father's sheep. He was a shepherd because his father Priam, the King of Troy , had been warned that this Prince would some day be the ruin of his country, and so he had sent him away. All the goddesses offered him bribes. The choice was not easy. Hera promised to make him Lord of Europe and Asia; Athena, that he would lead the Trojans to victory against the Greeks; Aphrodite, that the fairest woman in all the world should be his. He chose the last and gave Aphrodite the golden apple.

That was the judgement of Paris, famed everwhere as the real reason for the Trojan War. Knowing mythology, however, is not a pre-requisite for enjoying the beautiful, restful green of Mount Ida with its hundreds of fresh springs and beautiful trees shadowing picnic areas, and the invigorating hot-springs of Gure.