Things to do in Canakkale

The story of the Trojan Horse comes from ancient Greek legend. It tells the story of a Greek coalition that had been besieging Troy for nine years and was unable to capture it, so they pretended to retreat, leaving behind a huge hollow Trojan horse. The Trojan defenders fell into the trap and fell. The Turks built a huge replica of the Trojan Horse near the old city of Troy. It was actually a large wooden building that looked like a horse. There were stairs at the bottom. Tourists could get on the horse and view the entire Troy plain from the platform of the Trojan horse.

From Asia to Europe After leaving Troy, we are going to Istanbul. In the process, we have to cross the Dardanelles and enter the European part. The Dardanelles is also called the Çanakkale Strait. The Dardanelles and the Bosporus are collectively called the Turkish Straits. They are the dividing line between Asia and Europe and the only way from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea. The Sea of ​​Marmara (the smallest sea in the world) is sandwiched between the two straits. The Bosporus is in Istanbul. In the end, we didn't go there. We will talk about it later. According to the tour guide, because Turkey lost the war with Europe, Europe can pass through the Turkish Straits for free for a hundred years, but it seems that it will expire in one or two years. Will Turkey retaliate? Let's eat melons and see. This strait is passed by ferry, and cars go up together. People can rest in the lounge after getting off the car, which sells souvenirs and food. There is also an activity to feed seagulls on the deck. The seagulls keep chasing the boat. They can catch whatever food people throw accurately. It's amazing, but it's indeed much easier than catching fish. It was cloudy that day, and the photos were a bit gloomy.

A castle built on the Gallipoli Peninsula. There are several exhibition spaces inside, so we recommend taking your time to explore.

The scenery of this place is very beautiful, the castle is very distinctive, and the architecture is beautiful and has a sense of history.

The Hagia Sophia was under renovation both inside and out, so taking photos was a bit of a disappointment. The visitor entrance is on the right side of the main gate, and you need to wear a headscarf to enter. We bought our skip-the-line tickets in advance, and although it was Saturday, the lines weren't long. I only spent two hours at the three attractions in total. Although we arrived late, we were able to enter the Hagia Sophia, the Basilica Cistern, and the Blue Mosque smoothly. The Hagia Sophia and the Basilica Cistern are both over 1500 years old. The interior of the Hagia Sophia is weathered by history. Under the same dome, a thousand years ago, Greek chants filled the air, then Latin hymns, and now Arabic calls to prayer—the sounds have changed, but the devout faith in the divine and the spiritual cleansing and awe remain the same. It is a pinnacle of Byzantine architecture and a living fossil of the overlap of Christian and Islamic civilizations. In the past 1500 years, it has undergone four transformations: church—mosque—museum—mosque—and back to mosque. The core architectural marvel is the central dome, approximately 31 meters in diameter and 55.6 meters high, supported by pendentives on a square base. For nearly a thousand years, it was the world's largest cathedral. A single building, layered with Byzantine domes, Ottoman minarets, Kemal Atatürk's secularism, and Erdogan's re-Islamization—this is Hagia Sophia's most unique historical value. While exploring the interior, the wooden windows reminded me of cave dwellings on the Loess Plateau. Even the cathedral's entrances felt like entering a cave, the walls undecorated, just earthen caves. Only the intricate murals on the interior dome hinted at its splendor a thousand years ago.

It was marvelous experience, it definitely one of the must visit spots in Istanbul 😍💐✨I was really impressed with the atmosphere and beautines of this place 😍✨