After catching the 8am ferry across the Dardanelles to Cannakkale, we played round with photos of the giant wooden horse used in the movie Troy which was sitting n the waterfront before going to the Navy Museum which focused on the Gallipoli campaign. They had a great collection of sea mines, submarine hull and telescopes you could look through, cannons and torpedoes from WW I and II. Inside were collections of bullets and shells, and personal. It’s,s from the soldiers such as buttons, cups, utensils, and tins of the meat the Anzacs use to ate. Somehow we managed to join with a class of 6year olds on an old Navy boat tour – chaotic to say the least, the teachers must have been having a break!
We whipped to Troy but didn’t pay the 15 lira to enter as apparently it’s not definitely Troy, and all you see is a small mound, and a wooden horse that’s currently being constructed!

Assos was our next stop , a small Greek village on a hilltop overlooking the Mediteranean. The village wasn’t much to see, one Main Street lined with souvenir shops selling the same things. The view from the top was pretty cool and worth the entry fee! Driving down to the bay below we dodged an elderly lady standing in the middle of the road waving and yelling at us to stop – point being she wanted to sell us some herbs. Obviously REALLY wanted to sell us some herbs by risking her life to do it!

Pergamum was our destination that evening and we had decided to wing it with accommodation and see what we found when we arrived. What we didn’t anticipate was chaotic driving ++, turtles in the middle of the road, and very steep, windy, narrow streets ( think Wellington but half a meter wider than the car)! Most of this was in the back streets trying to find a hostel that we never found. We eventually found a hostel after one hour and Learnt our lesson to book online the night before!
The hostel was part of a family home, run by a very welcoming Turkish family with a dog (woohoo!), greeted us with warm apple tea, cooked a delicious breakfast and was always ready to help. And across the street was a watermelon stall with the seller’s 6 month daughter hanging on a cradle above the the huge pile of watermelons!

Up early the next morning to dodge the crowds at the Acropolis was a great decision. The Acropolis was built on top of the hill behind Pergamum between 100-200 BCand had seem fantastic ruins, especially the Temple of Trajan and the theatre built into the side of the hillside overlooking the valley (see photos).
We saw 8 turtles that morning up at the ruins – two were tiny baby ones!
A trip to Pergamum wouldn’t be complete without visiting Asclepion the birthplace of medicine. We managed to time it with an open day (no one was taking $ or tickets) so had a good look round at the healing pool, and the place where the patients slept – most illnesses were diagnosed by dream analysis. It was pretty much some more ruins!

Further down the coast we popped into Yeni Foca, a small Greek-style seaside town, had an ice cream and basked in the sun.
I think we’re coping ok with the driving, sometimes its a game of cat and mouse with the buses and trucks, most of the time the speed limits aren’t adhered too, and the road hazard signage could be better…so we’re practising our defensive driving and taking lots of breaks!
We made it to our hostel in Selcuk in time for much need drink and dinner.