Largely off the beaten track, this delightful scenic region of Turkey has several important classical sites and the First World War battlefields of Gallipoli, but is equally interesting for the window it offers on rural Turkish life.
A four hour drive from Istanbul, the Gallipoli peninsula overlooks the Dardanelles Strait and is best known as the site of the disastrous First World War campaign (April 1915 to January 1916) during which 100,000 Allied and Turkish soldiers lost their lives. A visit to Gallipoli’s battlefields, monuments, and cemeteries which bear names such as Anzac Cove, Quinn’s Post, Johnston’s Jolly and Baby 700 is a highly moving experience and is particularly poignant a hundred years on from the tragic events. Inland, on the lofty slopes of Mount Ida, are the tumbled ruins of ancient Troy (modern Hisarlik), where the Trojan War and events narrated in Homer’s epic poem the Iliad are said to have taken place. Further on, little visited Assos is a hidden gem noted for its fine Hellenistic walls and Temple of Athena with its dazzling views over the Greek Island of Lesbos. The surrounding Turkish town of Behramhkale is a delightful Ottoman coastal backwater and perfect for a relaxing afternoon! To the south is modern Bergama and the stunning ruins of ancient Pergamum. Pergamum’s imposing acropolis is accessed via a cable car ride and is celebrated for its precipitously steep theatre and Temple of Athena. It was also the location of the famed Alter of Zeus (now in Berlin). In the lower town, Pergamum’s Asklepion was once one of the most famous shrines and places of healing in the ancient world. Galen, the greatest physician and medical writer in the Roman period, was born in Pergamum and a student at the Asklepion.