Trojan Horse of Troy: Travel Photo of the Day

Çanakkale, Turkey

 

For Will's 21st birthday present, I surprised my favorite history nerd with a trip to see the ruins of Troy. After we decided upon Turkey as our replacement destination for Morocco, he wouldn't stop talking about Homer's hallowed city and how awesome it would be to cross over to the Asian side of the country to explore historical Anatolia on our own journey that would hopefully go better than Odysseuss' treacherous trek back to Ithaca.

Luckily, we didn't have any run-ins with Cyclops or shipwrecks and successfully made it across the Dardanelles for our tour. It was incredible to see a city with 9 different layers, each with its own culture and way of life as the centuries turned--the most mystifying, of course, being the period of the Trojan War complete with Greek Gods & Goddesses playing their role in the 10-year war. 

The horse seen above is from the 2004 Troy movie starring Brad Pitt and now resides beside the seafront in the town of Canakkale. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to hide inside like the Greeks who cleverly snuck their way in to finally defeat Troy (although we got to do so with a replica on the actual site!), but we did get to sit along the sea with hookah and apple tea in hand afterwards, which sounds a hell of a lot better than being cooped up inside an old wooden horse anyway.

Dying to Go Destinations: Morocco

                       

                               

    

It breaks my heart that I had already-purchased plane tickets to this sumptuous slice of North African paradise, but was unable to go when a bomb blew up in the tourist district of Marrakech a few weeks before we were scheduled to head out.

While it meant going to Istanbul instead (which I have absolutely NO complaints about!), I was disappointed because it would have marked 5 continents in one year (okay, not like 4 is anything to complain about either...) and it would have introduced me to a culture unlike anything I have experienced in my travels to date.

One day I hope to have the chance to actually go and explore this magical part of the Maghreb, preferably by camel-back! Sipping on mint tea and strolling through the souqs, I would treat this as an ultimate relaxation vacation with some must-see cultural stops along the way.

Particularly the blue city of Chefchaouen up in the Rif mountains. The blue-rinsed buildings look unreal in the photos I've seen and I can only imagine how serene I would feel walking along a gold-lined street with the various shades of my favorite color cooling down the hot afternoon sun.

Images via 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8