Day 85 - The Gallipoli Peninsula

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We had an early start today being picked up at 6:45 for our all day tour to the Gallipoli Peninsula. It was a long (and fast) drive to Ecebat where we stopped for lunch at 11:30am. We had covered 300kms in that time including a couple of 30 minute stops. After lunch we hopped on the minivan and our guide started telling the story of the Gallipoli Campaign.
The goal of the campaign was to gain access to the Black Sea to support Russia against the Austrian Hungarian Empire (Germany) during WWI. To do this the allies needed access to the Dardanelles, a body of water down one side of the Gallipoli Peninsula which effectively linked the Mediterranean all the way through to the Black Sea. The offensive which landed on April 25th was the second offensive whose goal was to capture the high point of the penninsula, Chunuk Bair. The first campaign, a direct naval attack, had failed.
We heard many stories of the battles that took place. The Anzac Day landing, the battle of Lone Pine, the battle of the Neck. We heard how 10s of 1000s died on each side. We heard how soldiers died or became very ill in the summer where temperatures reached 40+C and water was in short supply to soldiers freezing to death overnight when it was snowing in winter.
We heard stories of great courage and great futility in a campaign that was, from a military sense, an abject failure for the allies. The most successful operation of the campaign was the withdrawal, when 120,000 troops were evacuated without a single casualty.
The day had a large impact on me. So many lives lost on both sides, of the 97,000 allied dead, 8,700 were Australian. I left with a greater appreciation of the campaign and a much greater respect and sense of gratitude for those who fought and died there.
The first official Australian government visit to Turkey after the war was in 1933. The Turkish prime minister gave a famous speech which I'll include in part.

"Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives ... You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours ... You, the mothers who sent their sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well."

If you ever have the opportunity to visit this part of the world, I highly recommend a trip to the Gallipoli Peninsula.

Our largest concern at the moment is how we source bike boxes and pack our bikes and get them to the airport. A couple of options exist we are discussing but no decisions yet. Tomorrow we are back in tourist mode.

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