ASSOS ÇANAKKALE
The hilltop town of Behramkale contains the ancient Greek village of Assos. It includes the ruins of a spectacularly situated temple of Athena, a theater and a necropolis. At the foot of the village there are an ancient harbour and a small pebble beach; the locals call this area iskele Mevkii (the Quays). Its old stone houses and warehouses have been transformed into charming hotels and fish restaurants.
History
The Mysian city of Assos was founded in the 8th century BC by settlers from Lesbos, who endowed it with a magnificent temple of Athena around 540 BC. It had its golden age under Hermias, a former disciple of Plato. Philosophers were encouraged to settle in Assos. Aristotle lived there from 348 to 345 BC and married Hermias’ niece, Pythias. The arrival of the Persians, who killed Hermias under torture and forced Aristotle to flee, put an immediate end to the prosperity of Assos.
Alexander the Great drove out the Persians, but Assos suffered from the rise of Alexandria Troas, further north. From 241 to 133 B.C., the city was under the rule of the kings of Pergamon. Returning from Alexandria Troas on his third missionary journey, St. Paul stayed briefly in Assos to meet St. Luke, before embarking for Lesbos. By the end of the Byzantine period, Assos was little more than a village.
Iconic places
The main attraction of Behramkale is the Temple of Athena, which stands on the highest point of the site of Assos, which stretches down to the road below to Iskele Mevkii. The theatre and some scattered remains of the ancient agora are located near the road. The old port and narrow streets of Behramkale village with its historic houses are also a must. The Kadırga cove is a popular destination in Assos for sunbathing and swimming.
Temple of Athena
At the top of the hill (238m) overlooking the town, this impressive temple built in 540BC has short Doric columns.
The concrete restorations lack elegance, but the beauty of the site and the view over Lesbos more than justify the entrance fee. Built by settlers from Lesbos, it once had a frieze, now housed in the Archaeological Museum in Istanbul.
Theatre
Below the agora, you can see an extensively restored theatre and the remains of the city walls; the theatre is accessed through a gate on the winding road down to the harbour. The surrounding fields are littered with sarcophagi (from the Greek sarkophagos, ‘which consumes flesh’) from the ancient necropolis. According to Pliny the Elder, the corrosive stone ‘absorbed’ the flesh of the deceased in 40 days. The site opens intermittently.
Hüdavendigar Camii
Next to the entrance to the Temple of Athena, this 14th century mosque is a rather modest building with a dome on a square building – in the period before the capture of Constantinople, the architectural influence of Hagia
the architectural influence of Hagia Sophia was not yet felt. It was built with materials from a 6th century church. It is one of the two remaining Ottoman mosques of this type in Turkey (the other is in Bursa; Hüdavendigar is Bursa’s nickname).
Culinary specialities
An Aegean breakfast of mainly fresh herbs and vegetables awaits you in the morning. Seafood awaits you for dinner. After a snack of midye dolma (fresh mussels stuffed with rice), you can enjoy grilled octopus for dinner. There is no doubt that you will enjoy the freshest octopus in Assos. An after-dinner stroll can be accompanied by delicious local ice cream