Troy is located near the Kaz Mountains (and the ancient Mount Ida) and near the modern city of Çanakkale.
People have been living here more or less uninterrupted for around 5,000 years, and the culture and cuisine reflect this depth and fusion of cultures.
The region truly is home to a "food culture," and as a result everything you eat and drink will be absolutely delicious.
Here are some of the local delights you'll be eating when you visit the historic and incredible city of Troy.
Bluefish Pilav
Bluefish is a delicious, fatty fish found in all of Turkey's seas, and it pairs wonderfully with freshly cooked buttery Turkish pilav, with Turkish orzo called şehriye mixed in.
The fish is cooked and served over the rice, allowing its juices to be soaked up and mix with all the flavor of traditional Turkish pilav.
Ezine Cheese
While in Western diets, "feta cheese" tends to have a fairly standard flavor, white cheeses come in a wide variety of flavors in Turkey.
They can be made from either cow, sheep or goat's milk and can be a hard, or soft, and also can be from whole milk or half.
It's an absolute staple of the traditional Turkish breakfast, but it's a fairly big staple of dinners as well and is often eaten as a meze by itself or is consumed in the summer months with watermelon or melons.
Ezine in Çanakkale, or more broadly in the region of Thrace, is considered the homeland for white cheese.
At any cheese shop you'll be able to order just about any variety of white cheese that you want with different tasting notes on offer, but if you have to try one, making it an Ezine white cheese is as good a bet as any.
Çırpma
This dish means literally "mixed" in Turkish, and is a healthy use of the delicious herbs and greens that grow in the region of Troy.
Spinach, or often greens like nettles or leeks are thrown into a kind of omlet and mixed with local cheese for a local delight that you'll be hard-pressed to find outside of the region, which is fair enough because it tastes best with all the ingredients locally sourced!
Grilled Sardines in Vine Leaves
Freshly caught local sardines, called "Sardalya" in Turkish, are a fish you'll find more in the region of Troy than anywhere else.
And, as is standard throughout Turkey, one of the best local ways to enjoy it is stuffed into delicious local vine leaves!
Cheese Helva
This warm dish is soothing and sweet, the perfect mix of a dessert that's light enough to eat in bulk but still pack a wallop of flavor.
Soft, unsalted local cheeses are melted and essentially beaten with sugar and flour until it reaches the right consistency. Simple and delicious!
