Middle East Magic: Gallipoli - The Sounds of Silence

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Anzac Day 2006.... At Anzac Cove.

It was a big 2 days... We started off in Istanbul very early on the mornng before and drove east along Turkey's coast through on down to the Gallipoli Peninsula so as to arrive in time for the afternoon convoy to the site. We arrived there (at the bottom of the hills, on the Bosphorus Strait) just after lunch....only to find there would be a long wait before we could go on up to the site (as you can imagine, thousands of people and hundreds of buses were pouring in for the service, and the road was a one way track through the hills.)

And of course (where else?) we stopped off at the Boomerang Bar to while away the time, (and make the necessary comfort stops!) before the all night and next day event....Finally, after some footpath cricket/ballgames, etc, the OK was given, and we set forth on the drive over the hills, in convoy, to the fabled Anzac Cove.

We arrived about 1 kilometre from the site by about 9pm, then it was all hands on deck to pull out the kitchen gear and get started on cooking dinner - chicken pasta- beside the parked bus. Then, replete with food, dishes all cleaned up, off we traipsed to the site, geared up with warm clothes, and sleeping bags to sit out the night and await the sunrise for the dawn service.....IT WAS FREEZING COLD!!!! Police and security checks were everywhere, not a spare place to be found to laydown, so it was up into the very top and back of the grandstands, wind whistling and cold, to wait out the hours till dawn Thankfully being able/determined to avoid the need to crawl over thousands of bodies to find a loo, I was able to scrunch into the tiny space under the seats for a bit of a shut eye and get ut of the wind, , only coming up occasionally to peek out at the speakers and big screens. However, all discomfort aside, it was the most amazing, humbling and uplifting experience.

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Photos

Anzac Cove
The red structures are the stands put up in recent years to accommodate the visitors for the ceremony (and stop people sleeping in places where some of the soldiers graves may be)

Lone Pine
The memorial framed by the Lone Pine

Memorial Stone
ATATURK 1934 (Full transcript in text entry).
"You the mothers, who sent their sons from far away 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.

Silent markers
Solemnity and sadness....The sense of silence, of a very profound peace pervades the air and the soul...

The Convoy
The cavalcade of buses going to the Anzac Services was seemingling endless!

Walking up from Anzac Cove to the different Memorials and grave sites on top of the hills
After the dawn service at Anzac Cove...walking to the different Memorials (Aust,NZ,Turkish) and grave sites on top of the hills

The turkish memorial
So many Turkish soldiers lost their lives too..it was good to see how much this meant to their country (and families) as well.

Comrades in arms.
the courage and stamina of our forebears commenorated for all time

Gallipoli Peninsula
The natural beauty of the peninsula has also been preserved along with the memories

More scenery
You can see from this just how difficult must have been to traverse and gain ground...what was absoultely wondeful to see was the amount of land area that had been dedicated to the memory of all these men...and left untouched by agriculture or buildings.

Boomerang Bar
The Boomerang Bar...at the bottom of the hill.a mecca for backpackers