Women from different countries to trek along 120-km-long Troy Culture Route

ÇANAKKALE

Some 20 women from different countries and different professions will trek along the 120-kilometer-long Troy Culture Route under a project dubbed “Athenas on the March” to celebrate the power of women.

“This is a journey of awareness at a time when violence against women has been on the rise for women who have been put down and scorned for centuries to take their power back and to act freely,” said Şaylan Yılmaz, a yoga instructor who is coordinating the project.

The trek will take place out in the wild in rough conditions and last for seven days, she noted, adding that the participants will have the chance to have different experiences along the route, which goes through 21 settlements, 16 archeological sites and seven historical sites.

“Women have been undervalued for centuries. That is why we are organizing this trek,” she stressed.

Some 20 strong women, inspired by the Goddess Athena, who is the symbol of the wisdom to act at the right time and know the truth, are starting this journey from Çanakkale, said Yılmaz.

The Troy Culture Route, based on the epic poem “The Aeneid,” written by Virgil between 29 and 19 B.C., was designed as part of the Year of Troy celebrations back in 2018.

The route starts in Troy, the city made immortal by Homer’s verses in the Iliad. It is where Paris eloped with Hellen and where the Trojan Wars took place. It is home to Priam’s priceless treasures as per Schliemann and today is on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. It ends at the Antique Harbor of Assos.