August 26-31, 2010TROY TOUR
Adam and I decided to book a few tours as we made our way towards Istanbul. Our first was a tour of the archeological site of Troy. Also known as Ilium, Troy was built as early as 5000 BC and located in northwest Turkey and best known for being the focus of the Trojan War. The believed history is described in two of the famous Greek poems, Iliad and Odyssey written by Homer.
As we walked around Troy, we learned the stories of Helen of Sparta (the Troy), Achilles, former wars yet was we found to be fascinating were the different empires such as the Roman and Byzantine that ruled the city Troy that both demolished and reconstructed the city nine times beginning as far back as 3000 BC until 500 AD. Sometimes the city was demolished by war and other times by natural causes such as earthquakes and floods. Today, some of the ancient city’s walls and artifacts (pottery, arrows, etc) have been preserved and surprisingly are in good condition, a tribute to the craftsmanship during that time.
Another well-known legend of Troy is the “Wooden Horse”. While many people came to the aid of Troy during different wars, it was during the Trojan War that the Greeks used a “Wooden Horse” to gain access to Troy. The Greeks presented the “Wooden Horse” to the Trojans as a thank you to Athena yet well-armed men hid inside it that ultimately destroyed the city.
GALLIPOLI – ANZAC WAR TOUR
Our next tour was the Anzac War, or Gallipoli Campaign. The war, the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. The war took place at Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey from April 25, 1915 to January 9, 1916. A joint British and French operation was mounted to capture the Ottoman capital of Istanbul and secure a sea route to Russia. The attempt failed, with heavy casualties on both sides.
The war was a defining moment in history for Turkey as it liberated them from the crumbling Ottoman Empire allowing them to become an independent country. The war is often referred to as the Turkish War of Independence led by the infamous commander and Turkey’s first president, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. In almost every home and business in Turkey, you will find a picture of him as Turkey attributes their independence to him.
BACK TO A-DAM!
Yes, we decided to take a vacation from our vacation so, we spontaneously booked two tickets back to Amsterdam! After traveling through Turkey, we were craving cooler temps and non-Turkish food and decided to head to Holland.
After a few hours of researching flights and few beers, we had our tickets for the next morning. We arrived around 6:30 pm (we missed our 20-minute connection from Munich) and were excited to back to the Dutch city we had only spend two days in roughly a month ago. We headed to our hotel (which was near the airport for the first night), dropped our bags, showered and headed to find a place for dinner.
Lucky for us, Amsterdam was celebrating “Restaurant Week”, similar to “First Bite” in Boulder, highlighting Amsterdam’s dining scene by offering 3-course meals at a discounted rate. We stopped in a small, hip local restaurant in downtown called Bistrot Neuf, which offered a French menu. The food was amazing along with the selected wines that accompanied each course. We both enjoyed a filet of beef served with béarnaise and served over sweet potato mash, with fresh asparagus and onion compote. The tiramisu dessert with vanilla bean ice cream was incredible! More to come as we still have our final day to enjoy…..
Adam and I decided to book a few tours as we made our way towards Istanbul. Our first was a tour of the archeological site of Troy. Also known as Ilium, Troy was built as early as 5000 BC and located in northwest Turkey and best known for being the focus of the Trojan War. The believed history is described in two of the famous Greek poems, Iliad and Odyssey written by Homer.
As we walked around Troy, we learned the stories of Helen of Sparta (the Troy), Achilles, former wars yet was we found to be fascinating were the different empires such as the Roman and Byzantine that ruled the city Troy that both demolished and reconstructed the city nine times beginning as far back as 3000 BC until 500 AD. Sometimes the city was demolished by war and other times by natural causes such as earthquakes and floods. Today, some of the ancient city’s walls and artifacts (pottery, arrows, etc) have been preserved and surprisingly are in good condition, a tribute to the craftsmanship during that time.
Another well-known legend of Troy is the “Wooden Horse”. While many people came to the aid of Troy during different wars, it was during the Trojan War that the Greeks used a “Wooden Horse” to gain access to Troy. The Greeks presented the “Wooden Horse” to the Trojans as a thank you to Athena yet well-armed men hid inside it that ultimately destroyed the city.
GALLIPOLI – ANZAC WAR TOUR
Our next tour was the Anzac War, or Gallipoli Campaign. The war, the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. The war took place at Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey from April 25, 1915 to January 9, 1916. A joint British and French operation was mounted to capture the Ottoman capital of Istanbul and secure a sea route to Russia. The attempt failed, with heavy casualties on both sides.
The war was a defining moment in history for Turkey as it liberated them from the crumbling Ottoman Empire allowing them to become an independent country. The war is often referred to as the Turkish War of Independence led by the infamous commander and Turkey’s first president, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. In almost every home and business in Turkey, you will find a picture of him as Turkey attributes their independence to him.
BACK TO A-DAM!
Yes, we decided to take a vacation from our vacation so, we spontaneously booked two tickets back to Amsterdam! After traveling through Turkey, we were craving cooler temps and non-Turkish food and decided to head to Holland.
After a few hours of researching flights and few beers, we had our tickets for the next morning. We arrived around 6:30 pm (we missed our 20-minute connection from Munich) and were excited to back to the Dutch city we had only spend two days in roughly a month ago. We headed to our hotel (which was near the airport for the first night), dropped our bags, showered and headed to find a place for dinner.
Lucky for us, Amsterdam was celebrating “Restaurant Week”, similar to “First Bite” in Boulder, highlighting Amsterdam’s dining scene by offering 3-course meals at a discounted rate. We stopped in a small, hip local restaurant in downtown called Bistrot Neuf, which offered a French menu. The food was amazing along with the selected wines that accompanied each course. We both enjoyed a filet of beef served with béarnaise and served over sweet potato mash, with fresh asparagus and onion compote. The tiramisu dessert with vanilla bean ice cream was incredible! More to come as we still have our final day to enjoy…..
