I visited this WHS in Spring 2021. The vast majority of this site are ruins and foundations of old buildings. There are no "iconic" buildings here, in fact the only "iconic" aspect of the site is the modern Trojan Horse just after the entrance which seems like a playground for children and adults alike (the one used for the film starring Brad Pitt is along the Canakkale waterfront). That said, the highlight of this site are its superimposed strata marked as Troy I-IX.

Why does Troy have so many superimposed strata? The settlement mound of Hisarlik comes into being through a combination of circumstances. First of all its favourable position caused it to be reoccupied time and again over more than 3,000 years. Secondly, sundried mudbrick was largely used for building the walls of houses. Mudbricks, scarcely known in Europe, are the normal building material in the Near East. When rebuilding took place, the earlier mudbricks were of no value and buildings of the preceding phase were always levelled. Thus the succession of settlements gradually formed an enormous mound.

Within this mound archaeologists could distinguish finds and structures that are most recent (in the higher strata) from those that are earlier (in the lower strata). The many layers of settlement and the associated finds can be grouped in broad chronological periods or phases. Halfway through the very well organised audio tour (if you want to skip the audio tour there are several information boards in English) on the elevated boardwalk, from what is known as the "Middle Trench" of Schliemann, there is a great viewpoint of the Eastern profile with all the nine phases (and strata) marked with Roman numerals. The lower seven such settlements, Troy I-VII, contain remains of 41 building phases. On top of these come the remains of Greek (Troy VIII) and Roman (Troy IX) constructions. Altogether the process produced an artificial accumulation of earth that is nearly 20 metres high.

Closer to the entrance and the wooden Trojan Horse, you'll find the Pithos Garden where several large, tall and slender storage vessels known as pithoi were found, together with countless ceramic water pipes, grinding stones and pestles. Although Troy I was destroyed catastrophically, there was no hiatus in occupation or change in culture between the settlements. On the contrary, the culture of Troy I continued to develop in Troy II. This second city was carefully planned a fortified on an area of 9,000 square metres. The citadel was surround by a 300 metre fortification wall with stone foundations and a mudbrick superstructure. There was also a fortified lower city. Most of the architectural remains that are now visible derive from Troy II. They include a row of three parallel long houses with porches known as megarons. Moreover, there is also part of the citadel walls of Troy II and III which are preserved to a height of four metres and are covered with a protective roof since 2003.

Apart from the fortification walls, another highlight is the partially restored ramp of the Troy II citadel, paved with flat stones and flanked by mudbrick walls. The Troy II citadel came to an end with a catastrophic fire that left behind a burnt layer more than two metres thick. Near the remains of the gate, Schliemann found what was nicknamed as the legendary "Priam's treasure" with more than 20 "Troy treasures" scattered in 8 different location in 7 cities around the world, including Moscow and St Petersburg following World War II. A small part of these treasures can be seen in the great Troy museum just a few metres away from the archaeological site. The only "intact" building of the archaeological site is the restored Roman Odeion, a small theatre where lectures, concerts and other events took place.

The best preserved part of Troy is the eastern part with the East Wall, Gate, Tower and palaces of Troy VI. I'll surely never forget this part of Troy as while visiting, completely alone in the countryside, I could here clear whimpering and whining noises coming from beneath the boardwalk I was walking on. After the initial fright, I peeked through the wooden stairs, and to my surprise I saw a stray dog giving birth to a litter of puppies! I informed the security guard on duty and a while after a veterinarian came on site.