I'm really slow in blogging about my trip. Oh well, better than nothing.
Camwhoring after breakfast (:
Our hotel was this cosy affair by the beach. Really quiet and nice in the morning when the sun's just up and it isn't too warm. Lovely!
Pine tree! I think? Just like in Aussie, we picked some pinecones to bring back. I don't know why cuz' there's no way you can grow a pine tree here. Speaking of which, I haven't seen those cones anywhere...
A really gorgeous bloom which looks like it had been dyed red, sorta like how Queen of Hearts wants her garden of roses? Red even if they have to be painted, RIGHT?
Group pic!
I know, I look disturbingly pregnant here but LET ME ASSURE YOU it was just the wind playing a prank. Really didn't mean for that to happen; it ruined a good many pictures (pregnant and no hands! ay caramba!)
With that, we leave for Troy!
I'm tired to do all the DID YOU KNOW! stuff so I'll just calmly give facts when I'm excited enough to google and LonelyPlanet. (Great isn't it? Now LonelyPlanet is a verb too!)
SO YEAAA, Troy EXISTED!
And there were a number of them too. Cities, all named Troy, were built atop each other... well something to that effect (:
According to Wikipedia, we have:
Troy I 3000–2600 BC
Troy II 2600–2250 BC
Troy III 2250–2100 BC
Troy IV 2100–1950 BC
Troy V: 20th–18th centuries BC
Troy VI: 17th–15th centuries BC
Troy VIh: late Bronze Age, 14th century BC
Troy VIIa: ca. 1300–1190 BC, most likely setting for Homer's story
Troy VIIb1: 12th century BC
Troy VIIb2: 11th century BC
Troy VIIb3: until ca. 950 BC
Troy VIII: around 700 BC
Troy IX: Hellenistic Ilium, 1st century BC
Don't be excited though! It is quite hard to capture the whole point of visiting Troy unless you're there, listening to what is being said! Pictures would only give you this:
Do you understand what's going on? Like what is what? Even I don't recall and pictures don't spark any recollection /sigh/
One of the agencies told us they cut Troy from their itinery precisely because the guests didn't know what was going on. (They chose to stop in Bolu instead)
PEOPLE, PEOPLE! How uncultured and unlearned you sound?
Mulberries! It was usually the plants that sparked off a mini-frenzy not the sights. Example: People awoke from their slumber to ooh and aah at orange trees but casually dozed through history and geography class.
Can I name them Ilios and Wilusa? Oh, that's just silly right?
What's sillier is they remind me of Summer juxtaposed with Winter.
/shrug/
First friendly encounter with Winter when it dashed past me while I was at the turnstile. For an animal-lover, I jumped pretty high. While in a turnstile, is that possible?
Trojan Horse!
The stuff of mythology! No, it existed too (:
But of course, it couldn't last centuries RIGHT?
So what we saw was a replica
That's us at the topmost windows! I know you can't see and I disabled click so you can't enlarge it either. Yea guailan is the way to go...
There's another replica of it which I suspect looks better than this truly wooden horse. I think it was used in the filming of Troy.
Experience in climbing this? Borderline nervewracking.
*DO YOU KNOW moment!*
I'm afraid of heights.
Put me on the 50th floor looking down - I'm fine but ask me to stand on a chair and put up a banner above the blackboard (can tell this is true story right?) NO WAY!
I actually feel faint.
Being in the horse, it's fine since solid floor and all but climbing the stairs, especially with the steps cut so narrow, freaked me out abit. Not to mention, the tiny steps and me, being typically awkward, conflicted. In the ensuing fracas, bruised shins (and forehead) HAHA! Getting more retarded each day :)
Our next stop: Pergamon
Another ancient city! There was more of it standing (:
Stunning view! The wind, the clouds, the clear sky (:
This would be a temple dedicated to one of the gods. Roman/Greek gods.
You could go down here but we didn't.
HEHE (:
I regret not getting up there quick enough. Was acting the disagreeing, grumbling auntie again.
Roman/Greek architecture ftw! You can just count on them to make things look clean and yet majestic. No garish colors or fancy shtwings!
And those columns with their huge marble/stone portions. You gotta marvel at those ancients who could 1) transport those heavy blocks 2) saw through and carve them 3) move them again 4) pile them atop each other 5) and make them stay!
No technology, simple tools and hands (:
'Tis the season for orange!
These trees are common in Turkey so nobody actually cares to pick oranges off the trees or *egad!* pick them when they'd fallen off.
Turkish delight!
Different flavors and didn't buy any! HAHA (:
They weren't painfully sweet but I heard they could be.
At first, I thought "Turkish delight" was like, some reference to it being delightful i.e. not its real name but IT IS! It is called that.
We did buy some stuff from here - Pomegranate Tea (it's good!), Olive Oil shower gel and some other candies (:
Haven't tried the Olive Oil gel yet. Keeping fingers crossed I'm not allergic to it.
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