Visiting Küçukkuyu

 We stopped in the city of Küçukkuyu for the night. It was just a random beachside town that was convenient but we ended up really liking it. There were cats just outside our hotel which were really friendly and enjoyed playing with the girls. Since it was a pleasant evening we decided to walk along the waterfront to a restaurant on the beach. The town turned out to be a popular holiday destination for Turks and nothing was in English, but the food was fantastic and quite cheap. The next morning we had breakfast at a place just around the corner from the hotel and the menemen was fantastic. Actually all of the breakfast plates were generous and good. Set us up for a good day of exploring.

More from Troja

 We got to see some of the original mud bricks which were used in some of the early settlements. They are protected from the elements and we were certainly glad to see them. As we were walking around a tour group caught up with us and the girls were asked to pose for a few photographs. We thought it was funny and the other tourists loved it. It was also interesting to see some of the original clay pipes that were excavated and how they fit together. Pretty impressive that they survived so long, modern pipes would certainly not last that long. 

Visiting Troja

 As we headed south along the Turkish coast we stopped at what is believed to be the site of Troy. We were glad to have stopped to see Troja with the multiple layers of ruins built one on top of the other. The location makes sense as the city stood on top of a hill overlooking quite a large space and would have provided quite a defensive advantage. The Trojan horse replica that was there had burned down and work was underway to rebuild it, but we didn't mind. We still had fun exploring and imagining what the city would have been like in its heyday. 

Crossing the Dardanelles

 We drove back to Eceabat and straight on to the car ferry. It was super convenient and we ended up having lunch on the short ferry ride. It was one of the best if not the best grilled cheese sandwich we've had. We also had Turkish tea which made for a very pleasant crossing of the straights to Canakkale. 

Turkish cemeteries

 It was also very moving to see some of the Turkish cemeteries and to see how many Turks died defending their homeland. All of this death was such a waste and even more so in such a tranquil place. As we were driving along there was a fox that stopped us and begged for water. Luckily someone ahead of us had water to give her. Our last stop was a really good look out where Ataturk directed the defence of the various ridges. We could see why as the view was fantastic. 

Memorials and trenches

 We made our way up the escarpment and stopped at a few more memorial cemeteries. The cemeteries were really well maintained and very nicely done. It was really sad to see all the names and ages of the dead soldiers though. We were lucky as we only saw one group of people at the cemetery and we still managed to have it to ourselves for some of the time. We also went to look at the trenches where the Turkish troops set up their defences at the top of the ridges. As we were walking through the trenches a Turkish family joined us and we had a lovely conversation with them. It made it a much richer experience being able to speak to that family as we got a different perspective.