Turkey is home to the ancient city of Troy, the legendary setting of Homer’s Iliad.
The archaeological site of Troy lies at Hisarlik in northwestern Turkey, near the Dardanelles. Excavations have revealed multiple settlement layers built one above another, showing that the site was occupied and rebuilt over many centuries.
Homer’s Iliad tells a legendary story involving the Trojan War, Achilles, Hector and the wooden horse. Archaeology cannot prove every detail of the epic, but the site demonstrates that a substantial ancient settlement existed in the location associated with Troy.
Troy’s importance comes from the meeting of literature, archaeology and Bronze Age history. It is sometimes confused with a purely mythical place, yet Hisarlik is a real archaeological site. UNESCO added the Archaeological Site of Troy to its World Heritage List in 1998.