After our particularly emotional stopover in Gallipoli, we visited the other main tourist site in the area, that of the
ancient city of Troy, home of one Trojan Horse. Having watched the movie starring Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom and Eric
Bana on the way, everyone was pretty excited to see the fabled city. What we did see can only really be described as
a bit of a disappointment for those who did not expect it. At the entrance to the archaeological site is a recreation of
the Trojan Horse, which was pretty cool in itself, but the excavations of the city itself could have been that of more
or less anything. If I had paid a little bit more attention to my studies on Troy in high school I might have
remembered that the city itself was built on top of numerous other dwellings, creating basically level upon level of
sites. As a result the excavations didn’t quite go as planned and limitations placed on the digs meant that the site
remained particularly unremarkable, though it is pretty cool being able to say you’ve been there.
Istanbul
From Canakkale/Gallipoli we went on to the European side of Istanbul, the only city in the world to have one side on
one continent and the other on another. Once you got used to the country’s “differing” views on women and such, it
was hard not to fall in love with the city. The culture was so different to anything I’ve experienced before, and I can’t
wait to go back. Our activities whilst we were there included; going to a carpet weaving shop, where we were
surprised to discover the carpets we were sitting on were worth upwards of 25,000 euros, a visit to the gigantically
stunning Blue Mosque (which, due to the need for knees and shoulders to be covered at all times whilst inside, led to
some entertaining photos of guys on our tour wearing basically skirts and shawls), several nights experimenting with
the local cuisine, usually followed by sweet apple teas and smoking flavoured tobacco from hookah pipes on some
really cool rooftop bar cross chill out areas, and of course a visit to the famous Grand Bazaar.
The Bazaar was like nothing I have ever seen, nor nothing like I expected. Where I had once envisaged an entirely
outdoor area filled with little stores selling spices and trinkets, the rough image in my head was replaced by a
massive indoor area filled with stores, with the layout only being comparable to that of a maze. The place was filled
with vibrant colours, with everything from herbs, spices and flavoured teas to “magic” lamps and knock-off soccer
jerseys being available. After hours wandering around inside and the impulse purchase of two massive tobacco pipes
by two of guys I was with, we stumbled upon what we took to be the exit. However it was really just a doorway
leading to the outdoor markets, which went on for miles of just shops and small stalls filled with an even wider range
of products than that of what was inside. It took all my restraint to not buy about eight suits. I had to remind myself
several times that it was 30 degree weather and I had no space in my bag, however cheap they may have been.
Instead I settled for a few soccer jerseys and a box of tea, which we managed to finish before leaving Turkey
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