Want to see a bit of Turkish history that doesn’t involve mosques, mosaics, or Muhammad (PBUH)? Military history buffs, aspiring archaeologists, and clever classicists should take the time to visit Gallipoli and Troy, famous sites of two wars which gave births to heroes and legends. No, we’re not talking about Brad Pitt. We’re going all the way back to Homer’s mythical Troy, and, for Turks, the equally legendary (but better documented) rise of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Homer’s stories of the Trojan War probably have little to do with the actual remains of Troy, but the mystique which once drew treasure-hunters now attracts tourists, and lots of them. Gallipoli, on the other hand, is the site of unambiguous tragedy. In 1915, more than 400,000 men died here when Allied soldiers attempted to capture Constantinople. Atatürk’s rise to fame began here, and the battle is the source for some of his most famous words, known by heart by all Turks.