Quoted By:
You tear your eyes away from the inner citadel and observe the lower city: under the ivory walls, there are innumerable smaller buildings, palaces, courtyards laid out in orderly lines, with broad stone streets. The lower city is somewhat bisected by a river – the Simeois, and you see smaller ships delivering men and goods along the river’s course to the interior of the city itself. On the outskirts of the lower city, there is yet another fortification – another ring of white walls of perfect manufacture, complete with another set of defensive towers. Finally, below these lower walls, there is a sprawling ocean of wooden and stone huts – you can see that a broad and deep earthen ditch splits this sprawl of lesser buildings in half – you immediately recognize it as a barrier to hostile chariots.
Odysseus, standing besides you on the main deck, cannot stop himself from commenting on your awe:
“Ah, Thessalian – take in these sights well. She is a thing of beauty, is she not? You may not ever return to this place.” The minutes pass slowly, and Ilion slowly sinks behind the coastline ridge, as you approach the piers. Odysseus is speaking, but it takes several moments for you to collect yourself and pay attention to his words.
"- they have created a series of waterways for their use, Nikandros, or otherwise ships would be forced to constantly brave the Dardanelles. From the north - we cannot see it currently, but there is the great harbor of Ilion, and ships enter through the mouth of the network there. Ships pass south, behind the ridge to our east, upon the shoulders of the Simoeis and the Scamander, and disgorge their goods directly into the lower city, or just before the Lower Gates. The military harbor is also upon this manmade passageway - the fleet of Ilion is both large and well-funded, as you can see from the sea traffic surrounding us. And to exit, the Trojans have excavated a water channel through the ridge itself, and so through this system, ships may pass through the harbors. There are gates that separate the smaller harbors from one another - ships are generally only permitted to travel south from the Great Harbor until their exit from the network. It's a clever system - like the one at Nestor's palace in sandy Pylos." Odysseus looks up at you, his handsome face splitting in a warm grin.
"Wear a smile, boy - after long weeks at sea, we will feast and drink, and then sail home Helen in hand!"
"At any rate - it will be simpler for us to notify the port authorities of our arrival, and wait for a messenger from King Priam. No doubt we will be hosted in a palace of a trusted friend to Priam, rather than the Royal Palace itself. The crews will maneuver the ships into the interior harbor until it is time to depart."
>cont
I stole this image from an excellent publication: Searching for the Ports of Troy, by Eberhard Zangger, Michael E. Timpson,
Sergei B. Yazvenko and Horst Leiermann