ABOUT OUR ENVIRONMENT
Below are some notes on some of the interesting historical sites, and touristic attractions around our motel:
ASSOS
Historical Background
Assos was founded in 8th Century BC by colonising Aeolians from Lesbos, and later conquered by Lydians. During 4th Century both Lesbos and Assos were governed by the despot Hermias, also known as the tyrant of Atarneus, who was a student of Plato. Apparently Hermias wanted to govern his domains in accordance with Platonic principles, and make Assos a centre of learning. He therefore, invited some of the outstanding philosophers and scientists of his time to come and live in Assos. Thus Aristotle stayed in Assos for a few years (348 to 354 BC), and is reputed to have married the niece of the tyrant. This period came to an end with the Persian conquest of the area.
In 334 BC Assos was conquered by the Macedonians of Alexander. The stoic philosopher Cleanthes, who is one of the first to forward the idea that the sun, rather than the earth, is the centre of the cosmos, lived in Assos around this time. Following the break up of the Alexandrine Empire, Assos became part of the Hellenistic Kingdom of Pergamum (241-133 BC). When the Romans came to this area they took possession of Assos from Pergamum; and in 395 AD Assos became an East Roman (Byzantine) possession. In 14th Century AD, Assos was conquered by the Ottoman Turks during the reign of Murad I (1359 – 1389).
Important Remains
The Acropolis of Assos, standing at 236 m. from the sea level, dates back to the Bronze Age, and boasts of some imposing remains of Greek origin. The Temple of Athena, thought to be built circa 530 BC, displays elements of Doric and Ionic schools. Next to the temple is the Necropolis, which dates back to earlier times.
There are some remains dating back from the Hellenistic Period as well. Amongst the most interesting of these ruins is an Agora, a gymnasium, a small temple, a theatre and a bouleterion.
The Hüdavendigâr Mosque, and the Harpusta Bridge have both been built during 14th Century AD, and are the earliest representatives of the Ottoman civilisation in the area.
TROY
Historical Background
According to the Greek myths, the Kingdom of Troy was founded by Tros, the grandson of Dardanos, who crossed to Anatolia from Arcadia in Greece. The city of Ilium (Troy), which forms the backdrop to the Homeric epic Iliad, was founded by and named after Ilus, son of Tros. Again, according to the Greek myths, during the reign of Laomedon, son of Ilus, Heracles conquers the city and puts the King and all his sons, except Priam, to the sword. The Trojan War takes place during the reign of Priam. The Mycenean Greeks, in order to take back “Helen of Troy” (actually Helen hails from Sparta, and is married to King Menelaos), who has eloped with Priam’s son Paris, place the city of Troy under siege. Traditionally, it is believed that the war took place from BC 1193 to BC 1183. However some historians of antiquity date the war as early as 13th, even 14th century BC.
After the war, Troy became a colony of several Greek city states. Alexander of Macedon added Troy to his domains in 4th century BC. Then, in BC 85, the Romans occupied Troy, and the ownership was passed to the eastern Romans in 395. Finally it was conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 14th century.
Important Remains
Troy was re-discovered by the modern world in 1871, during an excavation conducted by the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, at a location known as Hisarlık. During the two expeditions of 1871-73, and 1878-79, Schliemann identified nine layers of ruins, the oldest dating back to the Bronze Age.
Later studies conducted at Hisarlık have indeed, identified nine layers of ruins, and the oldest layer, known as Troy – I dates back to the third millennium BC. The layers up to, and including the fifth layer, Troy – V, cover the period up to 20th or 18th century BC. Because of its strategic location over the commercial sea lanes, it is believed that the city was a rich and thriving commercial centre during this period of time.
Since nothing, except a few arrowheads have been found during the excavations, it is believed that the next layer, Troy – VI, was destroyed completely by an earthquake.
The next layer is Troy – VII, and is subdivided into five layers. It is widely believed that this is the layer related to the Trojan War. The excavations conducted in this layer have unearthed remains of some antic weapons, as well as sundry mutilated skeletons.
Troy – IX was built by Emperor Augustus during the 1st century BC, and flourished as an important commercial centre until 395, when Constantinopolis became the capital of the Eastern Empire. Troy gradually diminished in importance, and was eventually disappeared in the Byzantine era.
Today, visitors may visit the remains of the City at Hisarlık, and a representative Trojan horse.
SITE OF GALLIPOLI BATTLES
Historical Background
One of the bloodiest battles of the 1st World War took place in 1915, on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The static nature of the trench warfare on the Western Front prompted Churchill, the first lord of the British Navy, to seek alternatives to break the deadlock. The War Cabinet accepted his proposal to force the Dardanelles with pre-dreadnoughts,- which now had no place in a modern battle line- and thus capture Constantinople, pushing the Ottoman Empire out of the war.
Thus, a fleet of British and French pre-dreadnoughts tried to force the straits on March 18th, 1915, and having lost several ships, were forced to retreat. The War Cabinet then decided that troops should be landed on the peninsula to silence the Turkish batteries, which had given such a hard time to the allied fleet, and obtain favourable conditions for the passage. On April 25th, British and French troops started landing on five beaches (S, V, W, X, and Y) at Hellespont, at the southern tip of the peninsula. Simultaneously ANZAC troops landed at Arı Burnu (Z beach) on the western side, and some French troops made a faint at Kum Kale, on the Anatolian side. However, after nearly three months, due to the stiff resistance put up by the Turkish defenders, none of the aims of the landing were close to realisation.
To break the resistance of the Turkish defence, the allied command planned a second landing for August 6th, further north, at Suvla Bay. Attacks at Hellespont and ANZAC fronts were planned to commence simultaneously with the new landing. However the Suvla landing was poorly directed and the Turkish resistance all over the peninsula was far too strong for the plan to succeed. Thus the new attack came to nought.
Following these successive setbacks, Lord Kitchener, the British secretary of state for war, visited the Gallipoli front in November 1915, and decided to put an end to this unsuccessful endeavour. The allied troops evacuated the Suvla and ANZAC fronts during the night of December 19/20, and the Hellespont front during the night of January 8/9, 1916.
Important Remains
Gallipoli peninsula is dotted with numerous British-ANZAC, French, and Turkish military cemeteries, and several monuments. The battle sites are now transformed into a national park cum open air museum. Among the most important sites in the region is the British monument at Hellespont, the Turkish Monument of the Unknown- soldier, overlooking the Morto Bay at Hellespont, and the series of epitaphs at Chunuk Bair. Apart from the two official museums at Anafartalar and the Monument, there are several small and interesting museums that are privately managed.