Troy is perhaps one of the most iconic sites, not because of the ruins but because its legendary place in history and literature.  It is a good moment to visit Troy again.  On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Troy becoming a UNESCO site the new Troy Museum was opened in 2018, and has quickly acquired the reputation of one of the best museums in Turkey if not in Europe with educational displays, animations, interactive films and simulations.  We visited in January 2020, and we had the entire Museum to ourselves, same was at the Troy archaeological site, the historic setting of the Trojan War as eternalised by Homer in the Iliad.  The weather was gorgeous, a bit cold but sunny with a deep blue sky; the view was great from the Museum’s roof top across the archaeological site; and all the way to Mount Ida from where the gods were watching the Trojan War and the island of Tenedos where the Greek ships were hiding before the city fell; and in the distance, across the Scamander plains and the entrance to the Dardanelles, the glittering snow covered mountains of Samothrace. 

The Museum is built as a cube, construction started in 2013, and was completed in 2018.  It reaches the height of the pre-excavation hill of Hisarlık, the modern name of the Troy site and is meant to resemble an artefact that was excavated.  The building’s outside walls are made of steel that are meant to put on rust over time.  While the interior focuses on the exhibits, the building itself sports an industrial look with grey concrete walls and a ramp running from the ground floor to the roof.  About 2000 artefacts, among them 24 golden pieces, from the many layers of Troy’s 4000 year history and the surrounding area are displayed.  Many more are in a nearby underground depot.  At theTroy Museum the principle is applied that findings should be exhibited where they were excavated.  Reinforcing this point, a special area is dedicated to pieces that are not in the Museum, in particular ‘Priam’s Treasure’ which is currently kept in Russia.

Visiting the museum first gives you a good overview of the site itself which does not have many well preserved remains and given its layered history is difficult to visualise.  The Museum is structured by themes’ including “Troas Area Archeology,” “Bronze Age of Troy,” “Troas and Ilion in Antiquity,” the “Ottoman Period,” “Archeology History,” and “Troy's Traces.”  A special section is dedicated to Homer’s Iliad.  The ruins of Troy were rediscovered in 1870.  This story alone makes good reading.  If you are lucky, as we were, you meet the head archaeologist either in the museum or at the nearby dig.  He will ask you to find the Trojan Horse hidden in the Museum.  It’s there, it’s big, but you really need to look out for it ....

Anyone familiar with the stories of the Trojan War will find it difficult to imagine the city of legends in this jumble of layers of ancient ruins.  The well marked walking path that takes you in a loop around the site, the viewing points and platforms help however.  You start at the Trojan horse, an artist’s impression that stands at the entrance; you can climb up two levels inside the horse (there is another horse - the one from the Hollywood movie - in front of the Çanakkale Governor’s office).  You continue to the Pithos Garden with its open air collection of storage vessels, and the Eternal Stone of Troy which is a modern day artefact that symbolises that Troy was one of the early sites where rectangular masonry blocks were used, and it is inscribed with the names of famous visitors throughout the ages.  The route takes you to the massive fortifications of Troy VI (supposedly the Troy of the Iliad);  these fortifications include a long stretch of walls of ashlar masonry, a cleverly designed gate, and the Eastern Tower.  You pass a viewing platform from where you get a good impression of the 330 meters of the wall that are still standing.  Next are the sad remnants of the Temple of Athena; then the Citadel and Megaron of Troy II/III.  The place is covered by a sail-like, modern roof, a reminder that the wind brought wealth to Troy.  Past the fortification walls of Troy I you reach the infamous Schliemann trench that cuts through many layers of Troy and ironically may have destroyed a large part of what Schliemann was looking for: the Troy of the Iliad.  On a positive note it enables a better understanding of the multiple layers of the city.  You can see the levels of Troy spanning more than 2500 years of settlements.  Next are the walls, the gate, and ramp of Troy II and the palatial area of Troy VI.  Soon you reach the Lower City of Troy which stretches outside the citadel, and is still being excavated.  The Odeon is the last highlight before the exit.  On the other side of the path you will see a ditch following an ancient lane leaving the city through its old walls.  Apparently already in antiquity the remains of the Homeric city were being preserved as tourist attractions.  

The Troy Museum and archaeological site of Troy are located near the village of Tevfikye (with several restaurants and accommodation), 30 km from Çanakkale.  Opening hours are 08:30 to 19:00 in summer and 08:30 to 15:30 in winter.   Entrance to the Museum is 42 TL (children below 8 go for free). The combo-ticket for the Museum & the Troy archaeological site is 60 TL.  There are washrooms in the museum and at the entrance to the archaeological site, also museum shops in both places.

The car park next to the site entrance is free of charge. Regular minibuses (roughly every hour) connect Troy with Çanakkale.  The terminal, Minibüs Garajı, is situated close to Atatürk Street, near Sarıçay Bridge.  If you travel by car, take the D550 from Çanakkale. 

At the time of writing efforts where underway to prepare for the close-by Gallipoli memorial, its battlefields and cemeteries to be inscribed on the UNESCO list.  This would mean sites from two world wars, one from antiquity and one from the beginning of the 20th century, only separated by the Dardanelles.