Assos was a site I knew very little about. It utterly exceeded my very low expectations (and not only because it had what I consider to be the friendliest cat in Turkey). Having no expectations was actually a very interesting way to approach the site, by contrast with places such as Aigospotamoi and Troy. We had talked about these latter places quite extensively in lectures and tutorials.

The exquisite ruins of the Temple to Athena dominate the acropolis of Assos. Surrounding the site are mountains, plains and the sea, which offered us a view to Lesbos (a nice teaser for us, as we were to travel to Lesbos by ferry later in the afternoon). The landscape was breathtaking, and even with the limited ruins still visible it is easy to imagine what an imposing and striking site this would have been in the ancient world.

We finished our visit to the site in the theatre, which is still miraculously intact. As we all sat around, the singers of the group got up to test the acoustics and wow us with their incredible talent. It was a great way to finish our visit to such a fantastic site (and cat).