Troy

One of Turkey's most well-known ancient ruins, this site is thought by many to be the Troy of Homer's Iliad.

Whether it is, or not, the Troy of the Trojan War myths, the multi-layered, rambling ruins here expose a vast history of occupation, abandonment, and reoccupation that stretches right back to the early Bronze Age.

The ruins include well preserved city walls and fortifications, the remnants of a palace, megarons (Mycenean hall complexes) and houses, along with later Roman-era sanctuary and Odeon monuments.

Just down the road from the Troy site is the new Troy Museum, one of Turkey's best museums.

The vast and thoughtfully collated collection inside tells the tale of Troy, from its earliest occupation right through to the modern era, including the mythology that surrounds the site; the controversial and damaging excavations of early archaeological work here; and the story of the missing cache of gold, silver, and copper artifacts (known as Prium's Treasure) currently held at Moscow's Pushkin Museum, which were unearthed at the site and illegally smuggled out of Turkey by Heinrich Schliemann.