Wednesday – Canakkale and Troy
Today, we arrived in Canakkale (pronounced Chan-ackle-ee), where we were down for our first tour escort duty (well… I was… Tracey had a paid-for ticket), to visit the ancient city of Troy.
At the grand old age of approximately 5000 years, Troy is actually several cities all built on top of each other. Naturally, there isn’t a great deal left, but I was rather surprised at just how much there was to see.
The first thing visitors see is a mock-up of the infamous wooden horse which the Greeks managed to trick the Tojans into believing was a gift to acknowledge the end of a long-fought war. It was, in fact, stuffed to the brim with Greek soldiers who crept out and opened the city gates to let their fellow soldiers in, after the Trojans had all fallen asleep from heavy partying, celebrating their win. Needless to say; it didn’t end happily. Helen of Troy and Achilles Heal are stories that have stood the test of time.
After the horse, which is nothing more than a glorified photo opportunity, our guide led us through the walkway that takes you through Troy. Signposts keep you informed of which version of Troy you’re looking at, at any given point on time. The most sensitive part of the site is protected by a large canvas covering; sensitive because much of it has been eroded by the weather. There are roman baths and an amphitheatre, and boards illustrating how some of the larger palaces and important buildings would have looked in their heyday. All-in-all, I think both Tracey and I were happy to have been able to visit the ancient city of Troy.
Because we didn’t get back to the ship until about 1pm, and all-aboard time was 3:30pm, we didn’t get a chance to visit the town of Canakkale. We have visited it before, however, about three years ago, so we weren’t too disappointed about that.
The rest of the afternoon was divided between dozing and drinking tea on the back deck as we sailed the Dardanelles, a long channel that leads into the Marmara Sea, and to the Bospherous… the gateway to the Black Sea.
It seems strange to be three days into a cruise and still not having run a workshop. Work proper starts tomorrow afternoon, which is our first full sea-day. Unlike many ships I’ve worked on, the Minerva seems particularly relaxed and slow-paced. This evening, there was a meeting for all the entertainers, lecturers and tutors (or should I say ‘tutor’, since I’m the only one on board), followed by dinner and a concert in the evening. All very relaxed and civilised (no rushing around from one event to another).
I’ve set the alarm for 5:30 in the morning. At 6am, we will be entering the Bosphoros, and the sun will be rising as we pass the magnificent city of Istanbul… that’s got to be worth getting up for…
