Horses for courses

There are about nine layers of Troy buried where Troy used to be. The one Homer wrote about is the seventh Troy (that's seven up, not seven down). There were a couple more built on top, Roman cities which decreased in importance as Constantinople became a power.

Walls at Troy, made of stone

The seventh layer was also the largest, and showed evidence of slaughter and fire. Other cities were destroyed by earthquakes and cultural change as people migrated from the east. Each layer shows different building materials and technology as the people living there progressed.

The view from the site of Athena's Temple. There used to be water visible from here.

The surrounding country side has also changed, primarily due to the silting of ancient waterways. Troy once sat overlooking the Hellespont, and it was this position which gave it power over trade in ancient times.

I took a lot of photos of wells

The size of the walls, at all levels of the site, is emphasised by the support structures - the huge foundations, gates and ramps which allowed daily life to go in in and around the walled city. It was again testament to what mankind can achieve with nothing more than math, determination and limitless free labour.

Slavery!

All the ancient cities we visited were places of trade and culture. The culture was demonstrated by the amphitheaters, where people could meet to discuss politics or matters of importance and so on.

People, not slaves.

And of course, no visit to Troy would be complete without viewing the Schliemann Pit, the spot where German 'archaeologist' and treasure-hunter, Heinrich Schliemann, dug through layer after layer of Troy until he found the treasure he was certain was left in the stories of Homer's stories. These jewels were, as it happens, from the second Troy, and therefore predated Homer's Troy by several thousand years.

Really it's just a huge hole.

But that's okay, because he found items of vital historical importance. Which he took back to Germany. And his wife took to Russia.

Our guide told us that Turkey has asked Russia if they could have the treasure from Troy back.

Russia said, "No."