Turkey to celebrate the ‘Year of Troy’

ANKARA — Turkey’s tourism industry has launched impressive plans to rely on the rising popularity of the ancient and enigmatic city of Troy to lure more tourists. In January, the Turkish government declared 2018 the “Year of Troy” in honor of the 20th anniversary of the ancient city’s recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The name Troy refers both to a place in legend and a reallife archaeological site.

In legend, Troy is a city that was besieged for 10 years and eventually conquered by a Greek army led by King Agamemnon, while as a real ancient city located on the northwestern coast of Turkey, Troy has been widely identified as its famous namesake in legend since antiquity.

The new Troia Museum in Turkey’s Canakkale province is expected to draw 1 million tourists in its inaugural year.

The authorities have invited several Hollywood celebrities to promote the place dating back to classical antiquity as Asia Minor through an international meeting.

The 10,000-square-meter museum will showcase archaeological findings of the ancient city, including 24 gold pieces known as the treasures of Helen of Troy, which were returned to Turkey from the United States after 125 years.

There is a 70 percent increase in the number of bookings from foreign travel agencies for this year.”

Numan Kurtulmus, tourism minister of Turkey