Mount Ida (in Turkish, Kaz Dağı, meaning Goose
Mountain) forms the southern edge of the Vale of Troy, a
rich and fertile valley of cornfields and orchards. It is
the frontier between the warm Mediterranean climate and the
colder European climates, holding back the winter storms
which sweep down from the north. Its cool pine woods are
well known as an outpost of wild flowers more familiar in
northern climates such as the Alps or Scotland. In classical
mythology, Mount Ida was the childhood home of Paris. He had
been exposed on the peak at birth by his parent, Priam and
Hecuba, because of a prophecy that he would bring
destruction on Troy: he was raised by shepherds and went on
to fulfill the awful prophecy. From the bare summit, Zeus
watched the progress of the Trojan War, hurtling down to
influence the course of the battle. Throughout The Iliad,
Ida is praised for its springs: ‘fair nurse of fountains and
of savage game’. The base of the mountain is mainly granite,
schist, capped by peaks of limestone, which would account
for the abundant springs and streams which flow south to the
Aegean and north into the Menderes. Locals reported jackals,
bears and leopards on the mountain as recently as the 1960s.
Tour Date
21
- 28 May 2007
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