The famous archaeological site of Troy is situated near the modern Turkish city of Çanakkale, but you don’t even have to leave the city center to catch a glimpse of the legendary wooden horse that the Greeks used to infiltrate the walled city and win the war. In the city’s marina, in fact, the Trojan Horse stands proud, facing the Dardanelles Strait and wowing visitors with its stature.
Of course, this Trojan horse is a modern recreation of the myth – more movie magic than ancient artifact. The statue is a screen-used prop straight from the set of the 2004 Wolfgang Petersen film Troy that was gifted to Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism after the movie wrapped filming.
Made of steel instead of wood and covered by fiberglass, the Hollywood-made Trojan horse weighs 12 tons and stands 40 feet (12.4 meters) tall. Although it’s not possible to climb inside, the statue makes it possible to imagine the uncomfortable lengths that the Greeks went through to win the mythical war.