Legendary Lost City Of Troy: Learn Why Canakkale And Troy Were The Low Point Of The Cruise…And Why I Was OK With That.
by Jeffrey Guard
The Ugly Port of Canakkale
We didn’t arrive at the port of Canakkale until our scheduled 11:00 AM docking time. That was perfectly fine with us; we were reaching that exhaustion point that comes with long vacations. We’ve been traveling for well over a week now and definitely needed some decompression/recharge time.
We had room service come later, and we had a lazy morning, taking our sweet time doing nothing but eating, lounging, reading, and watching the lectures. It was Heaven to get two and a half hours more sleep and not rush around.
As we were finished getting ready, we pulled into port and were shocked by how desperately ugly and industrial-looking the port was.
It had all the warmth and charm of a Russian Gulag.
So far in this cruise, I’ve definitely noticed that what the port looks like almost perfectly matches the experience. Even Heraklion’s port was nicer with welcome tents and decorative touches. At least they tried to dress up the industrial ugliness.
Here, at Canakkale, no such luck—just an ugly slab of concrete, rust, and industrial things lying around. This was disappointing because the early morning voyage getting to Canakkale was quite lovely.
Soon enough, we disembarked the ship, ready for our excursion, the free one, “TRCAK01: Canakkale & Troy.” In this excursion, we planned to visit the ruins of Troy and spend some time at the waterfront in Canakkale.
This excursion was different in that we were given city passes, essentially temporary visas allowing us to be in Canakkale. You obviously will need to always have them with you, and when you get back to the ship, you’ll have to surrender them.
Grubby Shuttle Bus
My excitement in visiting Troy sank when I boarded the shuttle bus. It was by far the grubbiest and most disgusting one that I had been on since the Viking excursion. Our seats and the immediate area around us had not been cleaned, and they were showing their wear and tear.
My terror of getting bed bugs from situations like this turned up a notch, and I had never been so grateful for Viking’s laundry rooms as I was then. I was going to make it a point to do laundry that night before we docked in Istanbul, with the shirt and pants I was wearing to be the very first things to go into the wash.
The drive, which again was about 30 minutes or so, was pleasant and nice enough, but not magical like our drive from yesterday in Kusadasi. Kusadasi felt like you were on the California coast, where you were tucked away into the countryside, mixed with larger urban areas.
The Great Disappointment of Troy
I’ll be blunt: The ruins of Troy were a massive disappointment and would definitely be the lowest point of the cruise/excursions.
I was genuinely excited about this particular excursion because I had just read the novel, “The Song of Achilles” by Madeline Miller, which does an exceptional job of framing the war of Troy through the eyes of Patroclus and Achilles.
It’s not just a best-selling novel; it’s a beautiful, devastating love story set against the war and waste of Troy, and it will leave its mark on you with an appreciation for Troy.
You can imagine my disappointment when, turn after turn, all we saw were piles of ancient bricks, stones, holes, and scattered fragments of this and that.
I was critical of Knossos Palace for its limited number of structures, but Troy made Knossos look like the Parthenon by comparison. Troy had been consumed by nature, buried away long ago, and was discovered by a German treasure hunter who excavated the site with dynamite.
His sole intent was to loot the area for gold and treasure and not care for the actual site. From there, it was plundered for its basic building blocks of stone.
Of course, the saddest part of this excursion was that it did not include the burial/memorial site of Achilles and Patroclus. The guide pointed out into the distance where a bunch of modern windmills spun; that’s where they were buried.
One small highlight was a replica of the Trojan Horse. You can climb into it, up a ladder, and have a look, but it is steep, so be careful. The views are OK and were the highlight of an otherwise lackluster situation.
Another Harbinger: No Cats at Troy or Canakkale
We saw no cats at Troy and Canakkale and that at once made me not like the place.
I wrote what I wrote!
There are homeless dogs, big ones that run around…but zero cats. Visiting any place in Turkey with no cat society is like visiting a place in France with no bakery.
It’s cultural blasphemy.
It Got Better in Canakkale
The bus took us into the port area of Canakkale, and that was a lot more interesting. We had about half an hour to walk the waterfront and just people watch. This was the best part about this port experience. What I appreciated the most was the people watching.
I seriously doubt I’ll ever find myself here again, and so to see families walking together, friends laughing, and people fishing was meaningful. I love people watching, seeing how they live, being reminded that here in this world away, their waterfront is really no different than mine in so many ways.
They also had the Hollywood Trojan horse from the Brad Pitt film that had been donated to the city—which was huge and nice to see, and a small model that showcased Troy and the village beyond the city wall.
The timing could not have been more perfect, as the storm clouds that had been looming over us the entire time were finally breaking into rain. We boarded the bus and went back to port, where we were greeted with a wonderful rainbow and a delicious pink and ultraviolet sunset.
Even though Canakkale and Troy were disappointments, I wasn’t upset. Every vacation has its lows and highs, and besides Crete, this was the lowest point—everything else had been peaks. Frankly, I was starting to feel the psychic exhaustion that comes with long travels—so for today to be less thrilling was nice.
It was nice to relax, to rest, and to reset because the greatest part of the whole cruise was coming our way; soon, we would be in the wild, magical, amazing Istanbul!
Practical Recommendations for Troy/Canakkale
💔🙄 Every cruise has high and low points: Treat this port of call as the low point and rest up, and temper expectations. This is the day to soak up the luxury onboard the Viking Star. With the ruins of Troy, you will have to imagine a lot, and there’s not a whole lot to see.
🚻🧼🫧 Bring your own paper towels/sanitizer because the public restrooms may not have them.
✅🚶🏼♀️➡️🐎 The walk along Troy is easy, lots of smooth, even wooden plank walkways, a fair share of easy stairs. You can also climb inside the Trojan Horse, but the “stairs” are so steep they feel more like ladders, and inside is a bit of a tight squeeze.
🤩🏛️ The waterfront in Canakkale has a replica of Troy, and the Trojan Horse used in the Brad Pitt movie (You cannot climb into that one or touch it). Those are definitely must-sees while you enjoy time at the waterfront.