The dirt road began as soon as we turned off the Çanakkale highway.
Olive groves. Red earth. And in the distance, the silhouette of a horse.
Wood. Enormous. Gleaming in the sun.
“THE TROJAN HORSE!” Selenga shouted from the car window.
Her father laughed. “A replica. But roughly the same size.”
The Wooden Horse
Selenga looked down from inside the horse.
It was hollow. You climbed up by ladder. People could fit inside.
“In the real war, were soldiers inside?”
“According to legend,” her father said. "Homer's Iliad tells the story. Greek soldiers built a giant wooden horse. Selected soldiers climbed inside. The Trojans thought it was a gift and brought it into their city. At night, the soldiers came out."
“Was that real?”
"That's what scientists are still investigating."
The Excavation
Inside the ancient city of Troy, there were signs marking different layers.
“Troy I. Troy II. Troy III...” They went up to nine.
“What are these?” Selenga asked.
“Different cities were built here in different periods. One city was destroyed, and a new one was built on top. Troy IX is the most recent.”
“Which one did Homer write about?”
“Probably Troy VII. Around 1300-1200 BC.”
"That's that old?"
“More than 3,000 years.”
Selenga looked at the stones.
People had lived here 3,000 years ago. They baked bread. They slept. They talked.
Heinrich Schliemann
The guide explained.
“A German archaeologist discovered Troy in the 1870s. His name was Heinrich Schliemann.”
“How did he find it?”
"By reading Homer's book. The book had geographical clues. He followed those clues."
“You can find an ancient city just by reading a book?”
“He did. Schliemann had a vision and made it real.”
Selenga thought about this.
“So a story led him to the truth.”
“Sometimes history is hidden inside legend. To find it, you need to dig — both in the earth and in books.”
The Sea View
From the highest point of Troy, the Aegean Sea appeared.
Blue. Endless.
“Did the Greek ships come from there?”
“According to legend, 1,000 ships. The coast is 5 or 6 kilometers away. On a clear day, you can see it.”
Selenga squinted.
She saw the sea. But she couldn't see the ships from 3,000 years ago.
“I wish I could see them,” she said.
“You can see them in books,” her father said. “Homer drew them. 3,000 years ago. People still read about them.”
What We Learned From This Story
1. Troy (Troia) is an ancient city located at Hisarlik in Çanakkale, Turkey, with roots going back to 3000 BC. 2. Homer's Iliad is one of the world's greatest literary works, telling the story of the Trojan War. 3. The wooden horse legend — scientists haven't proven it happened, but the war itself may have been real. 4. Heinrich Schliemann discovered Troy in 1870 by following Homer's descriptions. 5. Troy became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998.
Questions to Discuss as a Family
1. If you were a soldier hiding inside the wooden horse, how would you feel? 2. What's the difference between legend and history? 3. Can you discover a real place by reading about it in a book?