Temple of Athena
Anatolia's only Archaic Doric temple, and the view across to Lesbos outshines its columns.
Gregorof at English Wikipedia — CC BY-SA 2.5 · Dosseman — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dosseman — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dosseman — CC BY-SA 4.0
On a volcanic crag some 240 metres above the Aegean stand the remains of the Temple of Athena, raised around 530 BC and the only Archaic-period Doric temple in Anatolia. The handful of re-erected columns are not really the point; the view is. The Greek island of Lesbos sits so close across the strait that it looks swimmable, the sea wraps three sides of the hill, and the stone village of Behramkale spills down the slope beneath you. Aristotle lived here for three years in the 340s BC, married the local ruler's niece and ran a philosophical circle before leaving to tutor Alexander the Great. Assos is a day trip from Çanakkale and practical only by car or organised tour: the road through Ezine and Ayvacık is roughly 80 to 90 km and takes about an hour and a half, while public transport means a bus to Ayvacık and an irregular dolmuş on to the village. You park at the top of the village and climb a cobbled lane past women selling lace and wild oregano; at the summit the 14th-century Ottoman mosque of Murad I, built from blocks of the ancient city, stands beside the ticket gate and the temple. The climb is no more than fifteen minutes but it is steep, uneven and shadeless: no pushchairs, and under-fives will end up carried. What most visitors skip lies below the temple: the 4th-century BC city walls, among the best preserved Greek fortifications anywhere, a restored Hellenistic theatre facing the sea, and a necropolis of huge stone sarcophagi. Pliny wrote that Assos stone consumed a corpse within forty days, which is where the word sarcophagus, flesh-eater, comes from. These lower ruins tumble down the slope and take another hour on sturdy legs. In August the heat is punishing and the rock glares back at you, so come early or an hour before sunset. End the day in the small stone harbour at the foot of the hill, where the old stone warehouses have become boutique hotels and fish restaurants along a quay a single street wide. The road down is narrow and steep; if you would rather not drive it, park above and walk.
Anatolia's only Archaic Doric temple, and the view across to Lesbos outshines its columns.
Fourth-century BC ramparts among the best preserved in the Greek world, plus a restored theatre facing the sea.
Stone warehouses turned boutique hotels and fish restaurants; the right place to end the day.
Behramkale village, Ayvacık district, Çanakkale
Troy is the famous name but its ruins are modest and the museum is the real strength; Assos is far more beautiful as a site and fills a full day with the harbour. With a single day in the area, Troy is closer and easier with small children; with two days, do not miss Assos.
A pushchair is out of the question: the lane up is cobbled and steep, and the site itself is rough, uneven rock. Children of seven and up enjoy the summit and the harbour; younger ones will be carried up.