Just south of the Dardanelles are the runs of Troy. Our tour guide, Mustafa, explained to us how the upper parts of the walls were toppled in earthquakes, while the lower parts shown here remained standing. The Trojan War may have been mainly an economic war fought by the Greeks to gain passage through the straits without paying tolls at Troy.

The second photo shows the cross section of different layers of Troy, and illustrates why there really aren't any great photogenic views of the ruins: they are all at different levels and it is difficult to pick out individual structures. Mustafa explained that there are probably excellent Roman structures still buried at the sight, and some have proposed digging them up to make Troy a more attractive and photogenic site for people to visit. However, the archeologists maintain that there is no need to unearth yet another Roman city, since there are plenty of examples to study elsewhere, and the best way to preserve the ruins is to leave them underground.

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